Now THIS is a rare underground film. Not even the mighty IMDB has much information on this truly obscure piece of 70s counter-culture, which prominently features underground icon and NYC legend David Peel during his time while he was close with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The opening segment is set to "Born in a Prison" by the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band and it just goes deeper from there. David Peel stars in his only "real" acting role, as Freemont Zappata and he leads a gang of rogue information hijackers who attempt and successfully hijack a TV station during the heyday of anarchistic activism.
Bizarrely very serious considering the cast, it even features Harold C Black, a founding member of David Peel & the Lower East Side as well as Teenage Lust, along with Billy Joe White and Peel, to our delight (Harold is the BEST). Although it's not exactly a riveting film, it's still an important piece if underground culture from the era when anything went, so do yourself a favor and don't pass this up.
"THE AIRWAVES BELONG TO THE PEOPLE"
I really didn't think people used to smoke grass out of soda cans this early, that always seemed to be an "80s thing" but who knew this was being done in the early 70s as well? And man if John Lennon & Yoko's version of "New York City" doesn't sound great over this old footage, as well. And how did these lunatics get access to a helicopter?? Please Stand By may not be the be-all, end-all of 60s-70s counter-culture films, but please do watch this while you can as it's only got a few more days before the video comes down, and with NO other access to this rare film, you owe it to yourself to kick back and check it out before it dissolves into the ether.
RIP David Peel
