DVD
Smithereens
Call Number
- DVD DRAMA (CEN)
Edition
Director-approved DVD special edition.
Languages
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Performers
Susan Berman, Brad Rinn, Richard Hell, Nada Despotovich, Roger Jett, Kitty Summerall.
Publication Information
[Irvington, NY] : Criterion Collection, [2018]
Physical Description
1 videodisc (93 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 folded sheet (color illustrations ; 19 cm.)
Audience
MPAA rating: R.
Summary
Susan Seidelman established her distinctive vision of 1980s New York with this debut feature, the lo-fi original for her vibrant portraits of women reinventing themselves. After escaping New Jersey, the quintessentially punk Wren--a sparkplug in fishnets who lives dangerously downtown--moves to the city with the mission of becoming famous. When not pasting up flyers for herself or hanging at the Peppermint Lounge, she's getting involved with Paul, the nicest guy to ever live in a van next to the highway, and Eric, an aloof rocker. Shot on 16 mm film that captures the grit and glam of the setting, with an alternately moody and frenetic soundtrack by the Feelies and others, Smithereens--the first independent American film to compete for the Palme d'Or--is an unfaded snapshot of a bygone era.
Notes
Title from container.
Originally released as a motion picture in 1982.
Special features: New 2K digital restoration, approved by director, Susan Seidelman ; audio commentary from 2004 featuring Seidelman ; new interviews with Seidelman and actor Susan Berman ; And you act like on too (1976) and Yours truly, Andrea G. Stern (1979), two early shorts by Seidelman, with new introductions by the director.