The Cinema Verite documentary style developed by the French, makes use of improvisation and observational camera work to unveil hidden truths. The Maysles brothers were some of this documentary styles greatest champions. Their Rock n Roll concert documentary, “Gimme Shelter”, is one of their triumphs.
The movie chronicles the last weeks of, “The Rolling Stones”, 1969 US tour, which concluded at the Altman Speedway Free Festival that attracted approximately 300,000 attendee’s and was designed as a counterculture rock concert in the same vein as the Woodstock festival only four months earlier. The Stones were the headline band of the festival, and their show is infamous for using members of the violent, “Hells Angels”, motorcycle gang for stage security, which resulted in extreme violence and death. One of the murders that occurred at the festival happened right in front of the band as they were performing, “Under my Thumb”. The incident changed the very nature of the movie from pop culture entertainment to serious social commentary on the end of the American counterculture movement.
The film is divided into three distinct interwoven sections that result in a stunning and even shocking visual experience. First there are the musical concert numbers which are wonderful and while not as personnel and energetic as the musical sets in Michael Wadleigh’s, “Woodstock”, are still highly entertaining, and feature not only some of the Stones great early songs performed live, but also a great performance by Ike and Tina Turner singing one of the premier songs. The concert footage is not limited to the Altman show but also include songs from the show at Madison Square Gardens. The contradicting comparison of the joyous New York show at the gardens to the violent filled show at the festival is shocking.
Another element of the movie is a depiction of the negotiations between The Stones management and the Altman Speedway management with their attempt to strike an agreement just days before the show was to occur. When comparing these negotiations with those depicted in the Woodstock film, I was struck by the lack of organization and suspicion between the parties that occurred here as opposed to the cooperation and joyous work that was done at Woodstock. When considering that Woodstock was a joyous happy celebration of peace and love, while the Stones Altman festival was a nightmarish violent disaster, these scenes take on a whole different and more serious perspective. Once again as is the case in their cinema Verite style, the Maysles only had to observe with their camera, not realizing at the time as to how profound their observation would become.
In the end four people were killed during the festival, with one of them having been stabbed to death right in front of the Stones. The band would go on and continue to perform even after the murder. The third distinct section of the movie is the improvisational part, which asks the band members to look at excerpts of what was filmed. This included shots of the murder where the murdered man is shown to have brandished a gun before being taken down by the Angels security gang with a powerful knife attack. Here the Wadleigh’s after showing us the footage, show us the reaction to the band members while watching this footage. Their deeply honest shock and look of helplessness is more powerful than the actual depiction of the killing. Mick Jaggar’s numbing expression is unforgettable.
The Maysles’ came into their project with the purpose of observe a defining celebration of the generation of young people who have just gone through a period of protest and manifestation of love. This counterculture revolution was supposed to be the epitome of good against evil. By just placing his cameras as witnesses and observing the reality of what was happening, the movie succeeds in tearing off the hypocrisy of the movement and the reality of the violent period the 60’s actually was. This is an important film and one of the best observational documentaries ever made.
1001 Movies before you die 