Product Description

From SUSAN SEIDELMAN Director of DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN and SEX AND THE CITY

Filmmaker Susan Seidelman rocked the movie industry with this daring and quirky story of Wren (Susan Berman), a self-promoting Jersey girl desperate to break into the downtown Manhattan music scene. But with no money and no talent, she bounces between a nice guy artist (Brad Rinn) who lives in his van and an arrogant musician (Punk icon Richard Hell) who lives off of anyone who will let him.

SMITHEREENS – which also marked the debut of Oscar®-nominated screenwriter Ron Nyswaner (PHILADELPHIA) and features a score by beloved cult band The Feelies – remains a remarkable time capsule of the early ‘80s East Village scene and made history as the first American independent film invited to compete for the Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

EXTRAS INCLUDE: Audio Commentary with Co-Writer/Director Susan Seidelman Desperately Seeking Susan & Richard – Interviews with Stars Susan Berman and Richard Hell Theatrical Trailers Poster & Still Gallery

Music by The Feelies

Official Selection 1982 Cannes Film Festival

First time ever on DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63376 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-11-16
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

The New York Times
"Funny & Eccentric!"

Customer Reviews

Pain, longing, romance and dirt: Ah! exquisite nostalgia!
Besides capturing the gritty reality of New York City and eighties punk nihilism (unlike Times Square, which makes NYC seem like the innocuous Disneyland it now sadly is), Smithereens captures both the intimacy and estrangement of the punk experience to the jangling beat of such notables as the Feelies, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and Television. Susan Berman delivers a stellar performance as a vulnerable, [angry], terminal misfit/victim/enfant terrible ambiguously coveting celebrity status and the affections of Richard Hell, who also shines as a punk icon and sexy-but-worthless cad. Fun, edgy and disturbing, with a harrowing conclusion and a heartfelt sympathy for its desperate characters. Includes Kitty, my fave cameo, as a sultry, manic-depressive downtown Bardot. If you weren't there, this film will make you feel like you were.

Punky sleeper
Long before "Party Monster" or "Slaves Of New York" explored the underbelly of the NYC downtown arts scene, there was "Smithereens". A young woman hustles her way through the early 80's NYC punk scene in an attempt to grab her "15 minutes" any way she can. Basically a more nihilist, East Coast version of the standard "Bumpkin Getting Off The Bus In Hollywood With Stars In Her Eyes" tale. This gritty little independent feature was the debut for then unknown director Susan Seidelman, who is perhaps best known these days for her involvement with "Sex In The City". Good performances from the mostly unknown cast. Music fans are sure to recognize Richard Hell (of the Voidoids, who penned the memorable punk anthem "Blank Generation") playing an arrogant,self-absorbed musician (wow what a stretch!) "Sex In The City" fans will get a hoot spotting the future 'Mr. Big', Chris Noth, in a (very) small part as a transvestite. "Smithereens" was undoubtedly a blueprint for Seidelman's next film, the much more slickly produced "Desperately Seeking Susan", which I would go so far as to call "Smithereens" with a higher budget! I am hoping that the release of this little "skinny tie era" gem means we will see "Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains" and "Starstruck" available on DVD sometime before they put us in the home?!

So Much to Offer - So Little to Give
I can watch this film over & over. It is about the heart at the end of the rainbow - the million miles between what we want and what we get. Wren(Susan Berman)shows us the difference between charming and nice - so much to offer - so little to give. When a nice-guy-boy-next-door who really loves her invites Wren to Maine, she says, "I don't even LIKE trees." Powerful music in the film glues these smithereens of people's existence together. Wren reminds me of another great own worst enemy: Jane Fonda's Gloria in "They Shoot Horses - Don't They."