Town Bloody Hall

Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary records a debate held in New York in 1971. After publishing a text on the women's movement, Norman Mailer appears on stage with four women thinkers. The documentary adds no commentary. The camera watches the stage and the hall; the speeches are given uncut and the audience's interruptions enter the record too. The interventions of Germaine Greer and Jill Johnston are the most cited passages. The footage sat unedited for years and was only released at the end of the seventies. The narrative takes no side, though Mailer's manner speaks for itself; the documentary leaves the argumentative language of the period as it was. Who it's for: those who follow the history of feminism and direct cinema documentary. Who it's not for: viewers unfamiliar with the context; the film introduces none of its participants.