Blizzard of '78. Blackout of '77. Events that I didn't live through, but I have some vague memory of overhearing stories about them. This documentary evokes fiction like The Purge: a night of chaos. It centers around what can happen when mayhem is unleashed in an already economically compromised city. In contrast to a previous NYC black out a decade earlier, during which anarchy did not explode -- the city truly hits rock bottom during this one summer day in 1977. Thousands of criminals (and even would-be non-criminals) demolish parts of the city in an orgy of burglary, arson, and violence. Bodies arrive at blacked out hospitals with deep wounds from broken glass. 100F temperatures add to the misery.
