On the Bowery: The Films of Lionel Rogosin, Volume 1 (2-DVD)

Often regarded as the "cinematic equivalent" of Dust Bowl Balladeer Woody Guthrie, documentarian Lionel Rogosin (1924-2000) used his movie camera as a weapon of conscience. With a keen eye and an even sharper intuition for muckraking, Rogosin routinely sought out social injustice and brought it to public attention on the nation's movie screens. Issues that he covered included such hot-button topics as alcoholism, poverty, homelessness war, and labor conflict. This box set offers three key works by the nonfiction pioneer: ON THE BOWERY (1956), which observes three days in the life of railroad worker-cum-alcoholic Ray Salyer; GOOD TIMES, WONDERFUL TIMES (1965) wherein Rogosin makes jarring cross-cuts between the superficial conversation at a British cocktail party and wartime atrocities committed around the world; and OUT! (1957), a short subject film shot for the UN, about Hungarian refugees fleeing to Austria.