Shot in 1968, one year after the Summer of Love, LAST SUMMER WON'T HAPPEN is a critical yet sympathetic examination of the anti-war movement in New York City. The film traces the development of a group of activists on the Lower East Side. We see their growth from isolated, alienated individuals to a politically empowered community.
Filmed between the protests at the Pentagon and the demonstrations at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, it includes portraits of Abbie Hoffman, editor Paul Krassner, folksinger Phil Ochs and anarchist Tom "Osha" Neumann.
"An unsentimental, if affectionate behind the scenes look at the Yippies of New York's Lower East Side on the eve of that year's notorious Democratic Convention, as Abbie Hoffman, Paul Krasner, and Phil Ochs laugh, argue, and plot their political trajectories. Must see... for those who were there and those who were not." —Peter Biskind, author of 'Easy Riders, Raging Bulls' and 'Down and Dirty Pictures'
"While Last Summer Won't Happen is ostensibly about life in New York's East Village, its essential concern is with young revolutionists who find the hippies a useful symbol of revolt against capitalism, materialism, and technology. It is a fascinating film, troubling and troubled, and its jumble of styles encompasses the lyrical, pseudo-dramatic, didactic and auto-critical... it is born of an uncertainty about new ways of organizing life and art." —Joseph Morgenstern, Newsweek
"A useful counter-balance... to the sentimental view of hippies given by the commercial cinema." —The Daily Telegraph
"Recommended! There have been a lot of films and docs that consider the aftereffects of 1967's Summer of Love, but this is the original and still the best." —Bill Raker and David B. King, Video TapeWorm
"As good an introduction to the sixties as I can think of." —Louis Proyect, Counterpunch
"The footage of old New York is priceless." —J. Hoberman, Artinfo
"Filmed with a sense of urgency." —Melissa Anderson, ArtForum
"A remarkable testament to a time and a movement, delivered in a manner which I have not seen anywhere else." —James van Maanan, TrustMovies
"[Gives] a glimpse at old(er) New York while reminding us that the more some things change, the more other things stay the same." —Jenn Doll, The Village Voice
1968 New York Film Festival
1969 Festival dei Popoli of Florence
1970 The Museum of Modern Art
32 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 488 8900
