Never before seen footage of Altamont released!

[Cattledog]

This is a guest post by Mike Mashon, head of the Moving Image Section.

Here at the Library, we’re dedicated to the acquisition, description, preservation and accessibility of our film, video, and sound recording collections regardless of perceived “worth.” We really do want to make it all available for future generations ̶ so we don’t necessarily prioritize beloved classics over a refrigerator ad or the song “Fido is a Hot Dog Now.”

But every so often something comes along that attracts a lot of attention – such as a never-before-seen home movie from the notorious Altamont Free Concert in 1969, in which the Hell’s Angels, who had been hired to provide security, stabbed a fan to death during a confrontation over a gun. It was a major cultural turning point of the era, and the heart of the Maysles Brothers 1970 documentary “Gimme Shelter.”

But this new find was home footage from the event that had never seen the light of day and it’s now available for viewing on the National Screening Room. (There is no audio, so don’t try to fix your sound.)


https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2022/01/the-rolling-stones-hells-angels-and-altamont-a-new-view/?fbclid=IwAR1pbu06pg8xBfbjdMlv3pmogijQGVcVall-7euqtCicPcfGgl0QaWGtz5E