Stations of the Elevated is an impressionistic portrait of and tribute to a New York that has long since disappeared.

Newly restored, STATIONS OF THE ELEVATED (1981) is a 45-minute city symphony directed, produced, and edited by Manfred Kirchheimer. Crisscrossing the gritty and majestic urban landscape of 1970s Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan to a score of city noise, jazz, and gospel, STATIONS is an impressionistic portrait of and a tribute to a New York that has long since disappeared. Shot on lush 16mm color reversal stock, the film captures the height of the graffiti movement, showcasing images of subway cars tagged by legends like Blade, Daze, Lee, and many others. By juxtaposing this self-expressive imagery with shots of hand-painted corporate billboard advertising of the day, STATIONS challenges our traditional ideas of urban art, the use of public space, and the city life itself.

Bonus Materials

• New interview with director Manfred Kirchheimer
• Writer’s Bench– new video discussion about graffiti in the film with artist Lee Quinones (Lee) and artist/historian David (Chino) Villorente
• Stations Locations –video update
• Old Timers Day at 5Pointz – artists come together to paint at a legendary wall
• THE NEW YORK FILMS – COLOSSUS ON THE RIVER (1965), CLAW (1968), SHORT CIRCUIT (1973), BRIDGE HIGH (1975)
• New interviews with Kirchheimer about the making of each short film

Cast & Crew

Director: Manfred Kirchheimer

Additional Details

Label: Oscilloscope

Genre: Documentary

Language: English

Run Time: 145 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 11/17/15

UPC: 857490005134