The Connection - 1961 - Shirley Clarke

Thank the good lord CC partners up with other cool daddy oh's like Milestone to give stinking arm chair filmophiles like me a film like this. I read about this in a book a long time ago, way before we had the internet, and since then i've pined for it like a junky.

Shirley Clarke made a splash—and ignited a landmark censorship case—with her controversial feature debut, an innovative adaptation of Jack Gelber’s off-Broadway play in which the line between documentary and narrative breaks down as a group of junkie jazz musicians crawl the walls while waiting for their next fix. With its restlessly kinetic camerawork, flavorful Beat dialogue, and cool jazz score by pianist Freddie Redd, THE CONNECTION is a groundbreaking depiction of drug addiction and one of the most vital and influential works of the American independent film movement.