On the Bowery: The Films of Lionel Rogosin Vol. 1 (DVD)

Three films from documentarian Lionel Rogosin's inimitable career come together in this deluxe collection:

ON THE BOWERY chronicles three days in the drinking life of Ray Salyer, a part-time railroad worker adrift on New York’s skid row. When the film first opened in 1956, it exploded on the screen, jump-started the post-war American independent scene and shortly won an Oscar nomination. Restored by the Cineteca di Bologna, Rogosin's first theatrical film is simultaneously an incredible document of a bygone era and a vivid portrait of addiction that resonates today just as it did when it was made.

GOOD TIMES, WONDERFUL TIMES was Rogosin’s plea for humanity against war and fascism. For two years, the intrepid director traveled to twelve different countries to collect footage of atrocities from their historical archives, interspersing these harrowing images with scenes of a London cocktail party. Released at the height of the Vietnam War, Rogosin's fourth film quickly became one of the great anti-war films of the era. 

Finally, OUT tells the plight of Hungarian refugees fleeing to Austria in the aftermath of the 1956 revolution. Rogosin boldly made this film for the United Nations itself, aiming to create real-world compassion with an unflinching view upon the consequences of war.

This collection also includes three films by Rogosin's son, Michael, and two complimentary films by Rogosin's predecessors and successors (in order): THE PERFECT TEAM: THE MAKING OF "ON THE BOWERY" (2009); A WALK THROUGH THE BOWERY (2009); MAN’S PERIL: THE MAKING OF "GOOD TIMES, WONDERFUL TIMES" (2008); BOWERY MEN’S SHELTER (1972); STREET OF FORGOTTEN MEN (1935)