The desire to shed or suppress all traces of one's original culture has been a primal experience of nearly all immigrants; Joan Micklin Silver's adaptation of Abraham Cahan's story makes clear that it's a process edged with pathos. Carol Kane stars as Gitl, an Eastern European Jew who arrives with her child on Ellis Island in 1896 to join her husband, Jake (Stephen Keats). She is surprised to discover that Jake has abandoned the mores of his culture by cutting off his beard and earlocks, and he's adopted the mannerisms of his new country, including a new girlfriend (Dorrie Kavanaugh) who runs a dance hall. Gitl, unwilling to part with traditions so easily, creates a rift in the marriage that is difficult to overcome. Kane, who was nominated for an Oscar, and Micklin Silver, in her directorial debut, collaborate to high-caliber effect in this touching, amazingly painstaking evocation of immigrant life on New York's Lower East Side in the 1890s.

A Jewish immigrant woman from Eastern Europe travels to New York's Lower East Side in 1896 to join her husband, whom she discovers has rapidly assimilated, wanting to desperately shed any trace of the provincial, ethnic, and European. His wife (Carol Kane) must therefore decide whether to sacrifice her traditions or her marriage. HESTER STREET was Joan Micklin Silver's directorial debut, and features a moving, Oscar-nominated portrayal by Kane in this adaptation of a story by author Abraham Cahan.

HESTER STREET was shown at the Cannes Film Festival (Critic's Week) May 11, 1975.

The film was shot on location in New York, New York.

The movie is Joan Micklin Silver's (CROSSING DELANCEY) directorial debut.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen - 1.78
Audio:
Monaural - English
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary: Joan Micklin Silver - Director, Raphael Silver - Producer
Production Interviews:
1. Joan Micklin Silver - Director
2. Raphael Silver - Producer
3. Carol Kane - Star
4. Doris Roberts - Star
Text/Photo Galleries:
Liner Notes By Victoria Brownworth And Judith Redding Authors Of Film Fatales

Carol Kane: American actress, TAXI (TV), WHEN A STRANGER CALLS
Steven Keats: American TV Actor
Doris Roberts: American television actress, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND
Stephen Strimpell: 
Lauren Frost: 
Paul Freedman: 
Zvee Scooler: Yiddish-American Actor

Joan Micklin Silver: Director/Screenwriter/Producer

Raphael Silver: 

Katherine Wenning: Editor/Sound Editor