"JG: How did teenagers respond to the film in that kind of setting?

JM: I think thematically they liked it, and they liked the funny parts, and I think a lot of young people spoke eloquently about the politics involved in the story. But it’s also such a funky little movie. There have been a very limited number of times it’s been shown. I didn't even have a print of the film. I think the film went through the ownership of like four or five different companies after October, just by virtue of companies buying companies buying companies. And eventually it was at Universal Pictures and through James [Schamus], I was able to have them make a print that I could buy, to do screenings. And at those screenings, young people for whom it was like a period piece really enjoyed that part of it, and seeing the culture, and the agency of these characters."

Julia Gunnison interviews Jim Mckay for Screen Slate. Featured 1/28/23 and 2/1/23 at the Museum of Modern Art in a new digital restoration.