Graffiti-covered elevated subway trains crisscross the gritty urban landscape of 1970s New York, gliding through the South Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Meanwhile, a commentary-free soundtrack combines ambient city noise with jazz and gospel by Charles Mingus and Aretha Franklin.

Undersung for decades, but beloved among the few who knew his name, Manfred Kirchheimer has been an ardent chronicler of New York City since the 1960s. Sampling the graffiti that once colored the metal-gray subway in this 45-minute treasure, he celebrates the indomitable creativity of the people.