Smithereens
Susan Seidelman established her distinctive vision of New York City with this debut feature, the lo-fi original for her vibrant portraits of women reinventing themselves. After escaping New Jersey, the quintessentially punk Wren (Susan Berman)—a spark plug in fishnets—moves to the city with the mission of becoming famous. When not pasting up self-promotional flyers or hanging at the Peppermint Lounge, she’s getting involved with Paul (Brad Rinn), the nicest guy to ever live in a van next to the highway, and Eric (Richard Hell), an aloof rocker. Shot on 16 mm film that captures the grit and glam of downtown in the 1980s, with an alternately moody and frenetic soundtrack by the Feelies and others, Smithereens—the first American independent film to compete for the Palme d’Or—is an unfaded snapshot of a bygone era.
Director-Approved Special Edition Features
- New 2K digital restoration, approved by director Susan Seidelman
- Audio commentary from 2004 featuring Seidelman
- New interviews with Seidelman and actor Susan Berman
- And You Act Like One Too (1976) and Yours Truly, Andrea G. Stern (1979), two early shorts by Seidelman, with new introductions by the director
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Rebecca Bengal
New cover by Jay Shaw
Director-Approved Special Edition Features
- New 2K digital restoration, approved by director Susan Seidelman
- Audio commentary from 2004 featuring Seidelman
- New interviews with Seidelman and actor Susan Berman
- And You Act Like One Too (1976) and Yours Truly, Andrea G. Stern (1979), two early shorts by Seidelman, with new introductions by the director
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Rebecca Bengal
New cover by Jay Shaw
Cast
- Susan Berman
- Wren
- Brad Rinn
- Paul
- Richard Hell
- Eric
- Nada Despotovich
- Cecile
- Roger Jett
- Billy (Eric’s roommate)
- Kitty Summerall
- Eric’s wife
- Robynne White
- Landlady
- Ed
- Katherine Riley
- First hooker
- Amos Poe
- Hustler in bar
- Cookie Mueller
- Horror-movie sequence
- French
- Horror-movie sequence
Credits
- Director
- Susan Seidelman
- Producer
- Susan Seidelman
- Associate producer
- Joanne Gross
- Director of photography
- Khadem
- Production design
- Franz Harland
- Music composed and performed by
- Glenn Mercer
- Music composed and performed by
- Bill Million
- Screenplay
- Ron Nyswaner
- Screenplay
- Peter Askin
- Story
- Susan Seidelman
- Story
- Ron Nyswaner
A scene from Smithereens
