Review: Gimme Shelter (1970)
The acclaimed Maysles brother’s film of the Rolling Stones’ last minute, ill-advised free concert in San Francisco at the Altamont Speedway in 1969, which resulted in a few deaths, and is viewed by some as one of the definitive “this is what the druggy terror, ennui, fear of the war, the government, self medicate through fucking and rocking” moments. It’s a terrific film, and like the Maysles other landmark documentaries (Grey Gardens and Salesman among them), refreshingly free of any major editorial hand.
The film plunges you in the moment, opening with a musical number from a Stones show earlier on the same tour (I think) and then showing us Mick Jagger (we’re talking the egotistical, scary to your parents sex symbol here, not the guy spoofing himself on the Simpsons 200 years later) watching himself in an early edit of the Gimme Shelter documentary, particularly footage of when the shit hits the fan between concert goers and the Hells Angels (who were the security for the event). This is probably meant to humanize Jagger a bit, to hint at a new found perspective and remorse at what happened, to dilute the questionable portrait the rest of the film paints of the rocker, but for me, its neither, Jagger’s reactions are too guarded, but that in itself, is the fascination. To the film’s credit, no one is really blamed or exonerated, the ghostly event itself is the culprit. The film is long on mood, short on actual facts, so I would recommend reading the liner notes, which flesh out the film’s multiple perspectives.
A bit of trivia, Mel Belli, a lawyer seen negotiating the Altamont concert (and clearly relishing the attention) also appears courtesy of Brian Cox in David Fincher’s ZODIAC, based on this footage, it would appear Fincher and Co. have done their homework.
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