The Circle

Produced in 1967, this black-and-white film presents an inmate's view of Daytop, a drug treatment centre on Staten Island, New York, where addicts learn to function without drugs. Uncompromising, often brutal group therapy sessions are designed to strip away the excuses a victim makes for himself. The people and situations depicted are authentic; only one actor was employed. The results obtained at Daytop are regarded by some psychiatrists as a breakthrough.