#1079: BELL, Martin: Streetwise (1984)

BELL, Martin (United States)
Streetwise (1984)
Spine #1079
Blu-ray


Seattle, 1983. Taking their camera to the streets of what was supposedly America's most livable city, filmmaker Martin Bell, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and journalist Cheryl McCall set out to tell the stories of those society had left behind: homeless and runaway teenagers living on the city's margins. Born from a Life magazine exposé by Mark and McCall, Streetwise follows an unforgettable group of at-risk children -- including iron-willed fourteen-year-old Tiny, who would become the project's most haunting and enduring figure, along with the pugnacious yet resourceful Rat and the affable drifter DeWayne -- who, driven from their broken homes, survive by hustling, panhandling, and dumpster diving. Granted remarkable access to their world, the filmmakers craft a devastatingly frank, nonjudgmental portrait of lost youth growing up far too soon in a world that has failed them.

91 minutes
Color
Monaural
1:40:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2021

Director


Martin Bell was 41 when he directed Streetwise.

Other Bell films in the Collection:

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twenty-eight page booklet featuring an essay by historian Andrew Hedden; journalist Cheryl McCall’s 1983 Life magazine article about teenagers living on the street in Seattle; and reflections on Blackwell written by Mary Ellen Mark.

Commentary

On Streetwise featuring Bell.

Interview 1

With Bell about photographer Mark.

Interview 2

With Streetwise editor Nancy Baker.

Four short films by Bell
  1. Tiny at 20 (1993)
  2. The Amazing Plastic Lady (1995)
  3. Erin (2005)
  4. “Streetwise” Revisited: Rat (2021)
Trailers

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Criterion Collection By Spine #

#331: OZU, Yasujiro: Late Spring (1949)

#304: ROEG, Nicolas: The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976)