Alternate Takes 02.28.09: Gimme Shelter http://www.411mania.com/movies/columns/98011/Alternate-Takes-02.28.09:-Gimme-Shelter.htm
by Shawn S. Lealos 02.28.2009 Welcome to Week 41 of Alternate Takes This weekend marks a dark time in the history of cinema. The wonderfully sweet and extraordinarily beautiful Coraline is being pulled from the 3D screens across the nation for an awe inspiring 3D performance by the band known as The Jonas Brothers. For those who aren't sure who this band is, don't worry about it, you're better off living in an ignorant bliss. Just last year, Martin Scorsese released a concert film that received a little attention covering a concert by The Rolling Stones. Unfortunately, that film, Shine a Light, paled in comparison to two classic concert films by each of the parties involved. I would beg you to simply smile and nod as tweeners across the nation flock to cinemas to see the latest boy band and remain at home in front of your television and watch two of the greatest concert films ever made - Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz and this week's subject of Alternate Takes, The Rolling Stone's Gimme Shelter. Gimme Shelter remains one of the most controversial films ever made, but it was not originally meant to turn out that way. If you watched the Academy Awards, you might have noticed the montage of documentary films prior to the presentation of the award. The montage was directed by Albert Maysles who, along with his brother David, created some of the greatest documentaries in cinema history. 44 years after Nanook of the North helped usher in the documentary genre, the Maysles brothers gave the format a swift kick in the butt. In 1968, the two created the film Salesman, a story of four door-to-door salesmen assigned to sell very expensive Bibles to low income Catholic families. The film shows the salesmen persuading everyone from lonely widows to Cuban immigrants to bored housewives that they should invest in this "bestselling book" to better their lives. It would go on to receive critical acclaim and place the brothers in the sights of Hollywood producers. Albert was then hired to serve as one of the cinematographers for the Monterey Pop Music Festival. It was through this experience that the brothers set out to create a film based around another film festival, this one at the Altamont Freeway featuring headlining band, The Rolling Stones. What resulted, Gimme Shelter, became the tour-de-force of the brothers' filmmaking career. Gimme Shelter was originally intended to be another in a line of concert films, following the work on the Monterey Pop concert film. The brothers were not the type of people to be star struck, having worked with The Beatles (What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A. ), Truman Capote (With Love from Truman) and Marlon Brando (Meet Marlon Brando) on earlier documentaries, they approached one of the biggest bands of all time as just another project. The resulting film, Gimme Shelter, became much more than just another concert film. It became a portrait of the decade and an end to the culture it accorded. The feature was originally supposed to chronicle the final ten days of the Rolling Stones 1969 North American tour. The footage would stretch from the Thanksgiving weekend concert at Madison Square Garden to a free festival on December 6 at the Altamont Speedway near San Francisco. We start the documentary with a performance of Jumpin' Jack Flash and see the joy of Mick Jagger as he does what he does best - perform. Because of the tragic turn the final concert took, the film then jumps forward in time. We cut to the post-production when the Rolling Stones were invited to watch the film alongside the filmmakers. The footage they listen to is a radio interview with Hell's Angel member Sonny Barger as he defends the actions of the biker gang at the Altamont show and then makes offhanded comments about Mick Jagger, and blames the band for all the violence. This is the first area where the brilliance of the Maysles' technique shines through. We simply listen to the comments and view the faces of Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger as Barger verbally attacks the Stones. The facial reactions of Mick Jagger are especially telling and it is here we see the vulnerability of the vocalist. It is minimalist filmmaking that tells more of a story than any words could. We jump back in time and see the Stones recording a new song (Wild Horses) as well as see some extra footage of the concerts leading up to the Altamont show. Also mixed in is footage of the Rolling Stones' attorney working to get permission for this free show despite numerous blockades lining up to prevent it. The original venue, The Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, backed out due to a scheduling conflict. The next venue was the Sears Point Raceway, but we see the disputes over financial situations. When they finally received permission to play at Altamont Raceway, they encountered problems with city officials about parking as well as problems with neighboring landowners. The addition of these scenes foreshadows warning signs indicating the concert was not meant to be. When the Rolling Stones finally arrive at Altamont, Jagger is greeted by a young man who races forward and punches him in the face. All the signs pointed to tragedy. When the tumultuous concert finally takes place, we are taken through it at a meandering pace, knowing something horrible is going to happen, but being forced to sit and watch the events as they unfold. The pacing was intricate as we slowly build beginning with the arrival of the fans, shot in a breathtaking helicopter shot that allows us see the enormity of the situation. The Hell's Angels would soon arrive and, using broken pool cues, with weights added onto the ends, began to inflict their violent form of justice on anyone who crossed their path. It is unclear why they came. Some believe the Rolling Stones management hired them, but that was refuted in the film by the Stones who feigned ignorance to the reason of their presence. Different reasons for their being there are also given on the Criterion Collection. One person said they believed the Grateful Dead hired them. Another believed the Hell's Angels were expected to protect the stage when concerts came to town. Whatever the reason, the arrival of the notorious biker gang harkened the chaos that followed. We see Jefferson Airplane as they tried to perform their set. That came to an end when singer Marty Balin was knocked unconscious by a member of the Hell's Angels following an altercation onstage. When the musical group questioned the incident, one member of the gang walked to a microphone and made threatening comments. The attack was enough to make the Grateful Dead, who were scheduled to play before the Stones, refuse to perform and immediately leave. When The Rolling Stones finally took the stage, nothing seemed to go right. During the performance of Sympathy for the Devil, a motorcycle backfires and began to smoke, causing the crowd to scatter. Jagger began the song again until more fights broke out between the Hell's Angels and fans on the other side of the stage. The event would culminate in the stabbing death of a man named Meredith Hunter by a member of the Hell's Angels. The death is given poignancy as we see Mick in post production asking the footage be rewound and replayed before finally being paused before the murder. The look on Jagger's face as he stared at the gun in Hunter's hand shows the levels that this tragedy affected him. Due to the severe nature of the incident, it took The Maysles Brothers close to six months to finally convince him to sign a release form for the film. While we see the damage caused by the motorcycle gang, we are not given a side to take. We see confusion and chaos, yet we are shown in a freeze frame that the man killed was indeed holding a gun. The man who stabbed Hunter was eventually cleared of all charges due to self defense. We see that although they knocked out Balin, they also were provoked by the fans, leading to the chaos. Yes, the tragedy is horrible, but who is to blame? Is it the Hell's Angels? Is it Mick Jagger, as Hell's Angel leader Sonny Barger believed? Just last year, it was revealed by an FBI agent that Jagger was the target of a failed assassination attempt by the Hell's Angels as a result of the incident. The movie gives no clear answers and presents the information, allowing us as viewers to connect the dots. "During the Altamont concert there were four births and four deaths" The style of documentary filmmaking has changed over the years. Rarely are we given a great feature with no political opinion for either side. With films by Michael Moore leading us to what he wants us to believe, we have grown accustomed to the work of reporters, advocates and promoters who want to preach their point of view. The style of The Maysles Brothers is not seen as much these days. They took events that turned out to be much more than just another concert video and turned around and refused to showcase the tragedy. The death is shown onscreen but only as part of the events. We do see it in close up and slow motion, but that is because Mick Jagger asks to study the piece. We see the murder through the eyes of the front man. Then he turns and leaves, and so do we. The feature is not about the death of Meredith Hunter, but about the story as it deals with the Rolling Stones. The events are then given to us to view and decide what we believe to be the truth. . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
