Ever since the 1850s, Greenwich Village has been the center of New York City's (and perhaps America's) creative and bohemian community; long a bastion of artists, authors, radicals and free-thinkers, Greenwich Village was a community where outsiders of various stripes would be welcomed with open arms and creativity of all sorts flourished. Both the beatnik and hippie scenes took root there, and the contemporary gay rights movement can be traced back to the riots that occurred in response to police harassment of patrons at the Stonewall, a gay bar in the Village. The Village was also home to a remarkable number of important writers, artists and musicians, from Eugene O'Neill to Bob Dylan. Filmmaker Karen Kramer looks back at Greenwich Village's remarkable history in this documentary, which features vintage photos and film clips along with interviews with Greenwich Village residents both famous and otherwise, including Norman Mailer, Woody Allen, Maya Angelou, Judy Collins, Tim Robbins, Edward Albee, and many more.
by Mark Deming
synopsis
