Dan's Papers - December 7, 2007 - Alec Baldwin And The Film Gimmie Shelter

There was some old rock n' roll magic emanating from the big screen at the Bay Street Theater last Saturday night as Albert and David Maysles' documentary Gimme Shelter about The Rolling Stones was screened. The rock weekend that featured the movie Woodstock on Friday night and Gimme Shelter on Saturday night attracted a crowd of all ages. Gary Hygon of Bay Street proudly stated, "Not only did the sellout crowd sit through the three hours of Woodstock, they cheered and gave standing ovations to some of the acts in the movie." And the same magic was in the air on Saturday night.

Just before the screening of Gimme Shelter, Alec Baldwin introduced Albert Maysles, the director, producer and main cameraman, to the audience. The timelessness of the Rolling Stones' music provided the magic carpet that carried the audience away. The electric beats of "Honky Tonk Woman," "Satisfaction" and "Symphony with the Devil" ignited emotion. Many swayed and bopped to the music, but some were actually mesmerized by the very young Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who were just in their twenties. The film also featured performances by Jefferson Airplane, Ike and Tina Turner and the Flying Burrito Brothers. At the conclusion of the screening, Brian Cosgrove and Alec Baldwin moderated a fascinating discussion.

Mr. Maysles proceeded to spin some yarn on how he got into making documentaries, which included an unscheduled week outside Cannes as the guest of Orson Welles. He also made a documentary on the Beatles for BBC in 1965 during the height of Beatle mania. He also mentioned that Star Wars creator George Lucas was one of the young cameramen he used while filming Gimme Shelter. He explained how his secret is to get the people beyond the idea of a camera's rolling and then see what happens. "I want you to feel like you are in the room," he explained. Of course there were times when "being in the room" meant "being really stoned," but on this topic Mr. Maysles just smiled. At the end of the documentary there is a scene where a member of the Hell's Angels stabs a young man. The violent act is caught on film. When asked if he felt threatened by the violence going on as they filmed, Mr. Maysles said no and explained, "All I was thinking about was getting the shot." Baldwin proclaimed Gimme Shelter as one of the best rock n' roll documentaries ever filmed with brilliant camera work and wonderful editing by Charlotte Zwerin. Cosgrove was funny and candid and helped move things along smoothly, alternating the flow of questions. Mr. Maysles candidly told the audience that although he has seen this movie many times, this was perhaps his finest viewing of the picture. "While I was watching the movie tonight in the audience, the gentleman sitting behind me put his hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear 'great job.' No one has ever done that before." He gave a shy smile and the audience applauded.

So what did the Stones think about the movie? Maysles said because of the violence issues that arose after the documentary was completed, it was held up and then took six months to get a release. It wasn't until this last summer while the Stones were being filmed by Martin Scorsese at the Beacon Theater that Mr. Maysles got a call from Marty, who said, "Albert what are you doing these days? Mick and Keith would like to know if you would come to the Beacon Theater and do some filming with your camera." Mr. Maysles smiled and said, "I guess they did like my camera work after all." The final shocker was that Mr. Maysles was not familiar with the Rolling Stones music when he first undertook the project. However, after seeing them perform at Madison Square Garden in 1969 before the filming began, he understood their gravitas. His favorite scene in the film is catching the stones listening to the song "Wild Horses" in a hotel room.

As always, Baldwin was coy and entertaining. He failed to mention that this coming summer he and Kate Burton will be performing in the play Private Lives by Noel Coward at Bay Street Theatre from July 8 to 27. Tickets are already available at the box office. The roaring applause at the end of the evening said it all. It was a special night at Bay Street Theatre.