Flowers On A One Way Street chronicle's residents of the York Ville area in the 1960's. The film watches young Toronto activists trying to convince City Hall to ban cars from one of the areas streets. More info here
Mike,where did you obtain a DVD of this movie? I was a resident of Yorkville from 1965 to 1968 when I ran away from home and became a part of the hippie revolution,living in the streets of Yorkville.The greatest time of my existence.I remember the streets full of young rebels,draft dodgers and troubled youth.As many of us as there were,we became one big family...we were to never go hungry or be without a place to spend the night as we took care of one another...Head shops were below street level and every where you went,the streets resonated from the sweet lingering scent of pachouli incense...from street level looking up into an upper window of a local nightclub you could watch a girl swinging from a large swing covered with flowers...Womens College Hospital filled to the brim with hippies requiring treatment which was all free to us...We squated in various abandoned buildings that we fixed up and painted and that we called home and got our clothes from the St Vincent de Paul bins that stood on various corners in town....We stood on the corner of Yorkville Ave and Avenue Rd and sold village newspapers to the hundreds of tourists making their way down the traffic crowded street of Yorkville Ave....When Robin Spry was filming this documentary,I was in this movie but I have yet to see the full lenghth of it only the clip shown online.I was 15 at the time and am now an aging 60 yr old hippie who will always hold true to the days when I had the "best years of my life" but I sacrificed my freedom for 15 minutes of fame because my parents saw this movie on PBS and sent the cops out for me and they brought me back home.Toronto will always be the most beautiful place in my heart and I yearn for those days that were the happiest I've ever known.Please where can I see this movie in its entirety before I die??
I'm happy you reminded me of one of my all time favorite classics, Flowers On A One Way Street. I first saw it back when I was just 12 years old but I can still remember it being a great experience. I saw it again a second time a decade later, after reading an article on www.partsgeek.com about car banning in certain areas, and that second time I understood aspects of the story that were too deep for me to grasp as a child. I now have the DVD of the movie in my personal collection and I like to sometimes watch it again.
A most wonderful film on so many levels: fear of change, council dysfunction, aimless youth, police rigidity, and such a glaring absence of diversity. I expected a movie about a simple traffic management issue, but came away with a fascinating look into Toronto culture, and poiltics of the 1960s. I will never consider Lamport stadium or Allen Road in the same way (these are the names of two politicians featured in the film). Priceless moment for me - the 20 minute discussion on whether or not a deputation's hand written notes should be photocopied ("mimeographed") before the deputant should be allowed to speak. It took longer to debate than it would have to just run to the photocopier! A true must-see movie for any student of urban issues or municipal governance in Canada.
Having been fortunate enough to see this film in its entirety, I sincerely wish it were available on video, because I know so many people who would love it and embrace it and regularly screen it at fundraisers.
I suspect, however, that the NFB has been reluctant to shell out for the rights to the Beatles music in the film, which is really a shame. The movie is a gem and, with the resurgence of urban activism in Toronto and elsewhere, is very much ripe for rediscovery.
Comments
This movie seems fabulous. I
by florist
Fri, 04/06/2012 - 06:44
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Mike Hoffman
by Suzanne
Sat, 02/18/2012 - 03:56
Mike,where did you obtain a DVD of this movie? I was a resident of Yorkville from 1965 to 1968 when I ran away from home and became a part of the hippie revolution,living in the streets of Yorkville.The greatest time of my existence.I remember the streets full of young rebels,draft dodgers and troubled youth.As many of us as there were,we became one big family...we were to never go hungry or be without a place to spend the night as we took care of one another...Head shops were below street level and every where you went,the streets resonated from the sweet lingering scent of pachouli incense...from street level looking up into an upper window of a local nightclub you could watch a girl swinging from a large swing covered with flowers...Womens College Hospital filled to the brim with hippies requiring treatment which was all free to us...We squated in various abandoned buildings that we fixed up and painted and that we called home and got our clothes from the St Vincent de Paul bins that stood on various corners in town....We stood on the corner of Yorkville Ave and Avenue Rd and sold village newspapers to the hundreds of tourists making their way down the traffic crowded street of Yorkville Ave....When Robin Spry was filming this documentary,I was in this movie but I have yet to see the full lenghth of it only the clip shown online.I was 15 at the time and am now an aging 60 yr old hippie who will always hold true to the days when I had the "best years of my life" but I sacrificed my freedom for 15 minutes of fame because my parents saw this movie on PBS and sent the cops out for me and they brought me back home.Toronto will always be the most beautiful place in my heart and I yearn for those days that were the happiest I've ever known.Please where can I see this movie in its entirety before I die??
Flowers On A One Way Street
by Mike Hoffman
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 17:59
I'm happy you reminded me of one of my all time favorite classics, Flowers On A One Way Street. I first saw it back when I was just 12 years old but I can still remember it being a great experience. I saw it again a second time a decade later, after reading an article on www.partsgeek.com about car banning in certain areas, and that second time I understood aspects of the story that were too deep for me to grasp as a child. I now have the DVD of the movie in my personal collection and I like to sometimes watch it again.
Loved It
by Michael Went
Sat, 04/24/2010 - 03:54
A most wonderful film on so many levels: fear of change, council dysfunction, aimless youth, police rigidity, and such a glaring absence of diversity. I expected a movie about a simple traffic management issue, but came away with a fascinating look into Toronto culture, and poiltics of the 1960s. I will never consider Lamport stadium or Allen Road in the same way (these are the names of two politicians featured in the film). Priceless moment for me - the 20 minute discussion on whether or not a deputation's hand written notes should be photocopied ("mimeographed") before the deputant should be allowed to speak. It took longer to debate than it would have to just run to the photocopier! A true must-see movie for any student of urban issues or municipal governance in Canada.
Having been fortunate enough
by Jonathan Goldsbie
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 01:13
Having been fortunate enough to see this film in its entirety, I sincerely wish it were available on video, because I know so many people who would love it and embrace it and regularly screen it at fundraisers.
I suspect, however, that the NFB has been reluctant to shell out for the rights to the Beatles music in the film, which is really a shame. The movie is a gem and, with the resurgence of urban activism in Toronto and elsewhere, is very much ripe for rediscovery.
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