Street Scenes (1970)

In the late Spring of 1970, nationwide protests against the war in Vietnam focused in the Wall Street area of New York City and ultimately in a major anti-war demonstration in Washington, ... See full summary »

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Stars:

Verna Bloom, Jay Cocks, Harvey Keitel

Cast

Credited cast:
Verna Bloom	...	Herself
Jay Cocks	...	Himself
Harvey Keitel	...	Himself
William Kunstler	...	Himself
Martin Scorsese	...	Interviewer

Storyline

In the late Spring of 1970, nationwide protests against the war in Vietnam focused in the Wall Street area of New York City and ultimately in a major anti-war demonstration in Washington, D.C. A group of New York University film students documented the demonstrations as they happened in both cities. Later, in New York, the massive amount of black and white and color 16mm footage was edited into this important record of the day by day events. The extended final scene, shot by Edward Summer in a hotel room in Washington, D.C., is a spontaneous conversation among Martin Scorsese, Harvey Keitel, Jay Cocks and Verna Bloom who, along with a large group of NYU students, found themselves frustrated and perplexed by the events and hopeful that the protests would result in change.

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Plot Keywords:

two word title | independent film

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Street Scenes 1970

Company Credits

Production Co:

New York Cinetracts Collective

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Martin Scorsese (2000)

User Reviews

Why Can't We SEE This Movie?

This is an amazing historical document, exploring the explosive response to Nixon's announcement of his incursion into Cambodia. Climaxing in an enormous March On Washington, the film records the confrontation of Wall Street working man with the rebellious students and anti-war personalities like Abby Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Bill Kunstler and so on... This film was made less than a year after the Woodstock festival, and a lot of the film-makers involved with the concert film were on hand for this, much darker, movie. The film ends in a remarkable conversation among some of the participants, in a Washington hotel, after the march has largely failed but before everyone decided to throw over the revolutionary goals. Very clearly these people are talking about "revolution" -- they imagined themselves to be in the midst of one, just as had those dead at Kent State, and as had, perhaps, their killers. This is a forgotten moment in American History, and this film lays it out quite strikingly. Criterion, where are you?