The Connection

In her 1962 debut feature, pioneering American independent filmmaker Shirley Clarke turned an off-Broadway play-within-a-play by Jack Gelber into an innovative cinematic work in which a young director named Jim Dunn (William Redfield) and his cameraman, J. J. Burden (a largely off-screen Roscoe Lee Brown), film a group of heroin junkies and musicians in a New York loft. As they await the arrival of flamboyant drug dealer Cowboy (Carl Lee), the scenes shift between: men delivering alternating soliloquies, a jazz quartet periodically launching into impromptu jams, Dunn—who has never so much as taken a puff of marijuana—spouting off about film theory and authenticity, and the addicts occasionally slipping off to the bathroom to discreetly shoot up. The result is experimental theater meets cinema vérité, enveloped in a self-aware sensibility. The setting never leaves the derelict apartment, but is constantly in motion, and Clarke's editing evokes a rhythm that rises and falls like a sustained piece of music. While not the first American movie to take a serious look at drug use, this is a raw film that initially faced censorship battles due to language that would be considered tame by today's standards. Restored to near pristine condition by Milestone Films, extras include archival footage, interviews, a photo gallery, and bonus songs. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)