Gimme Shelter (Blu-ray)
Directed by David Maysles, Albert Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
Studio: Criterion
Year: 1970
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 91 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0 English
Subtitles: SDH
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.95
MSRP: $ 39.95
Release Date: December 1, 2009
Review Date: November 24, 2009
The Film
4/5
Much more a documentary of an event rather than a rock concert happening, Gimme Shelter is a film that puts a final stamp on the end of the turbulent 1960s. Raw, free, but filled with edgy music that seems to be eerily foretelling an ominous end, Gimme Shelter is not the liberating experience of Monterey Pop but rather a darker, riskier look at a generational movement about to implode. Even now forty years after the fact, the film has lost none of its morose tone or uncompromising frankness about the sundry ups and downs of a rock concert staged for the right reasons that went horribly wrong.
After a series of venue cancellations and other assorted problems, attorney Melvin Belli manages to book a free Rolling Stones concert into the Altamont Speedway in San Francisco, California, scheduled for September 6, 1969. On a cross country concert tour, the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman) have very little to do with the details of the concert staging or venue. However, somewhere along the way there was a tacit arrangement with the Hells Angels to provide a kind of on-stage security for the various groups who were appearing (Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead who at the last minute decided not to appear due to the violent commotion in the crowd and the lateness of the hour), an arrangement that got out of hand when an audience member who was pointing a gun at the stage was stabbed and killed by a Hells Angel member.
For fans of the Rolling Stones, the concert footage in Gimme Shelter makes a neat comparison to the recently released Shine a Light concert and documentary film compiled by Martin Scorsese. Instead of the aged (but still talented) relics of very hard living of Shine a Light, we have young, vibrant, bubbling with enthusiasm over their enthusiastic fan response Stones here on stage leaving little doubt as to why they were one of the top rock acts then (and now). But the Maysles Brothers’ film really isn’t as much a concert movie as it is a look at the events preceding its happenings, events during the concert, and then, spectacularly, footage showing the Stones later (particularly Jagger) watching the filmed concerts, particularly Altamont, rather dispassionately, showing next-to-no emotion at the near-riot leading up to the murder, clearly emotionally uninvested in what he’s seeing in human terms (though the commentators all disagree with this assessment; one can only judge by what the film shows us). The cameras cover the concert from all angles including snaking through the crowd of 300,000 complete with the nudity, the drug use, the sex, and the intense emotions inherent in a concert of this magnitude. From the spectacular shot of the thousands of cars lining the road for miles away from the speedway to some impressive stop motion views of the eventual murdered man with the gun pointing right at Mick before being set upon by the biker with a knife, it’s not a documentary that has lost a second of its power to surprise, shock, and entertain both musically and dramatically.
The Stones sing through some of their more famous number of that period (“Satisfaction” finds Jagger in very poor voice, but “Wild Horses” is a gem; Jagger applauds the image of himself after it concludes), but one of the most impressive segments finds footage of the Stones’ opening act in Madison Square Garden – Ike and Tina Turner – causing the audience to forget for a moment that there was another act to come as Tina practically orgasms on the stage to “I’ve Been Lovin’ You Too Long.” After viewing that footage on the movieola, Mick comments, “Sometimes having a chick is nice.” Jealous much?
Video Quality
3.5/5
The film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 is delivered in a 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Filmed in 16mm, the film is naturally grainy and somewhat soft. Though there is pleasing color and adequate black levels, there are a few age artifacts including some black scratches that occasionally mar the image. Overall, though, it’s a satisfactory if unspectacular video encode. The film has been divided into 27 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The disc offers the choice of DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or 2.0 sound designs. I listened to the 5.1 soundtrack and was thoroughly pleased with the excellent separation of instruments into the various channels during the musical numbers. Bass is also well delivered to the subwoofer, but occasionally the other channels can overpower the center channel’s lead vocals that once in a while get a bit swallowed up in the surrounding soundfield.
Special Features
3/5
The audio commentary is by directors David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin (who also supervised the editing), and collaborator Stanley Goldstein. All were recorded separately and edited together into one track. All of their opinions are valid and interesting, and it makes a very important addition to the film as a whole with their decades-later interpretations on the events of the movie.
The 1969 KSAN Radio Program¸ a four-hour call-in show which took place the day after the concert, has been condensed into a 89 ½-minute audio track with interesting comments from Hells Angels and others who were there and involved in the events pictured in the movie.
There are four outtakes from the film (in fairly rough shape which shows the amount of clean-up the film received) which include Madison Square Garden concert footage (two songs), some additional footage of the Stones watching the movieola, and the Turners backstage at Madison Square Garden. The clips may be viewed separately or in one 18 ½-minute grouping. They’re in 1080i.
Two photo galleries filled with amazing black and white and color photos of the event are available for stepping through. The first set is by photographer Bill Owens while the second set is by Beth Sunflower.
Three trailers are included and all are in 1080i. The first original trailers run 2 ¼ and ½ minutes while the re-release trailer (looking far better than the other two) runs 3 minutes.
The enclosed 37-page booklet features a complete chapter lising, some stills from the movie, and a series of essays on the era, the Stones, and the film itself by writers Amy Taubin, Stanley Booth, Georgia Bergman, Michael Lydon, and Godfrey Cheshire.
The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc, the title of the chapter you’re now in, and index markers for the commentary that goes along with the film, all of which can be switched on the fly. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
More documentary than rock concert, Gimme Shelter is actually an unsettling experience to watch. The Criterion Blu-ray gives it its best opportunity to impress with a vivid picture and excellent sound with a nice assortment of extras that give a very rounded picture of the event and the end of an era.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
