ESR presents... "TV PARTY" The Movie

Hello friends, after a hot summer we'll back for some cool films in the crisp autumn.

By special arrangement with Brink Films in New York, we are pleased to present TV PARTY, a 2005 documentary by Danny Vinik.

From 1978 to 1982, Glenn O'Brien hosted a New York city public access cable TV show called TV Party. Co-hosted by Chris Stein, from Blondie, and directed by filmmaker Amos Poe, the hour long show took television where it had never gone before: to the edge of civility and "sub-realism" as Glenn would put it. Walter Steding and his TV Party "Orchestra" provided a musical accompaniment to the madness at hand, and many artists and musicians, from The Clash, Nile Rodgers, Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Bryne and Arto Lindsey were regular guests. It was the cocktail party that could be a political party.

For this documentary, the filmmakers tracked down the trend setting participants still living today and found out what they remember of the period and how the show influenced their lives. In addition, there are tons of vintage clips from the program, with crazy musical performances and much on-screen mayhem. (And let's not forget the show's "theme nights"). Among the interviewees are Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Amos Poe and Tav Falco, and footage from the original show features clips of George Clinton, Jean-Michel Basquiat, John Lurie, David Byrne, Robert Fripp, Mick Jones and many others.

This documentary is a very entertaining look at how one program pushed the envelope of form and content on the TV dial, and is a priceless time capsule of that exciting New York music and art scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

As always, in the true spirit of these screenings, people are always encouraged to hang out and chat afterwards. ESR is more than a screening, it's a community.