One of the most active and least heralded of the Manhattan-based experimental filmmakers of the 1960s, director/writer Jim McBride won several awards for his first feature, DAVID HOLZMAN’S DIARY (1967). In most of his subsequent films, McBride acted as well as directed -- but neither outlet for his talents brought much food on the table. Compelled to teach school and drive cabs to survive for several years, McBride made a comeback as an actor in Jonathan Demme's LAST EMBRACE. Back on his feet again, Jim McBride wielded the megaphone for such lucrative big-budget features as THE BIG EASY (1987) and GREAT BALLS OF FIRE (1987) -- but not before one last stab at cinema verite with his 1983 remake of Jean-Luc Godard's BREATHLESS.