Did you miss CBGB?
I did. Well, I should say I missed it in its heyday.

By the time I landed in New York City, the iconic establishment was just a tired bar living off the fumes of its former glories. Listen, I am certainly glad to have made the pilgrimage a handful of times and experienced it well before John Varvatos moved in, but the energy and congregation of locals that helped cultivate a movement of music that still resonates to this day was long gone. All that remained were the aromatics of misguided booze, beer, and smokes... and, of course, their infamous urinals. So before the tears (of regret or nostalgia) begin to well up, we have a way to relive this vibrant moment with the help of some NYU film school students who had enough foresight to film the local drinking hole and music venue in 1977, capturing the sights and sounds of a legend in the making.

We are pleased to offer the following films on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 6:30 p.m.

Second part in the series:

Punking Out (1978, 20 min., 16mm)
Punking Out documents the beginning of the punk rock movement in New York City at CBGB's and the lifestyle that revolves around this scene.  It presents a sometimes shocking look at the attitudes and motivations behind the movement through interviews with outspoken club-goers and band members of the Ramones, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and the Dead Boys.

Wino (c.1970s, 30 min., 16mm)
New York art film pioneer Jack Smith brings his camera to the Bowery and other LES locations, filming the homeless and interacting with them.

Punking Out and Wino photos courtesy of the Reserve Film and Video Collection of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Punking Out has been preserved with funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

This is a FREE monthly series held at Seward Park Library. Documentary and feature films (both 16mm and DVD) shot on location in lower Manhattan are presented the first Tuesday of every month.

Previously: Lower East Side Heritage Film Series, Season 2, Part 1

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