Watching "Street Scenes 1970" was a tingling, often riveting experience. This documentary was put together from footage taken during the turbulent demonstrations on Wall Street last May and in other parts of town and finally in Washington at the antiwar rally….

As a fast-flying, naturally piecemeal assemblage of tense events, often exploding violently and shot through with marvelously revealing human vignettes and testimonies, the final picture, supervised by Martin Scorsese, is admirable on two counts, especially.

One is the frightening vitality of actuality as recorded on raw film, especially in the churning chaos of the earlier Wall Street portion. The other is the balanced, accumulative tone of utterances, from all sides, directed at the candid camera.

Original though it may be, the final chapter, when the young moviemakers sprawl around a Washington hotel room and take personal political inventory, is entirely redundant….

Obviously, Mr. Scorsese and his team care...