Rhythm Thief (Blu-ray)

Winner of the Best Director Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival and Best Dramatic Feature at SXSW, Rhythm Thief has been restored in 4K to its gritty B&W glory from the 16mm camera negatives. Jason Andrews (Last Exit to Brooklyn) is Simon, a New York City bootlegger who sells stolen music on the streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Ludlow Street chick Cyd (Kimberley Flynn, Michael Mann’s Heat), who has a real job, meets Simon on weekday mornings for sex. Life is good for Simon, until the day he rips off 1-900-BOXX, a militant all-girl punk band fronted by real life rocker Cynthia Sley (of the Bush Tetras). The band comes after Simon, trounces his would-be sidekick Fuller (Kevin Corrigan, The Departed), and ultimately hounds him out of the city with Marty (Eddie Daniels, Bad Lieutenant), a girl from his past, in tow. After a period of exile in Far Rockaway, Simon is drawn back to the neighborhood for a final showdown.