For a look at NYC in the 40's complete with 3rd avenue El, "The Lost Weekend". For the 50's see "Sweet Smell of Success". The 60's there's "Panic in Needle Park" and "Midnight Cowboy", "Breakfast at Tiffanys", "Barefoot in the Park". The 70's has alot, "Mean Streets", "The Taking of Pelham 123", "Serpico", "French Connection", "Annie Hall & Manhattan", Saturday Night Fever" , "Shaft" and "The Seven Ups". There are so many movies portraying our great city and watching them to see how accurate the location scouts and story match is fun. Dont forget "Goodfellas".
"After Hours" by Martin Scorsese, if you have had a bad night in NYC, this is it in all it's comic and terrifying brilliance.
"Manhattan" has to be included for sure but what about "Klute", "West Side Story" or even "The Three Days of the Condor" and "Breakfast at Tffany's"?
I'm far from New York, but I loved Woody Allen's "Manhattan".
The ferry sounds lovely. Reminded me of Edna St Vincent Millay's lines:
We were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
This is one of the pleasantest "New York Today" columns I've read. Well done, Jonathan.
The ferry sounds lovely. Reminded me of Edna St Vincent Millay's lines:
We were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
This is one of the pleasantest "New York Today" columns I've read. Well done, Jonathan.
2
French Connection to show what DUMBO was like not too long ago--and for that awesome chase seen under the El in Bensonhurst.
Saturday Night Fever when all we wanted to do back then was to get out of the outer boroughs!
Saturday Night Fever when all we wanted to do back then was to get out of the outer boroughs!
2
I've lived in Rockaway my entire life and I have mixed feelings about the ferry. For starters I'm delighted to read positive accounts about the Rockaways especially after the devastation we experienced thanks to Hurricane Sandy. However, the ferry that everyone has fallen in love with has its drawbacks as well. The ferry shuttle doesn't adequately cover the entire peninsula. The shuttle starts at Beach 36th Street and Beach Channel Drive which doesn't help someone like me who live further east. To make matters worse that particular ferry shuttle is nothing more than an old school bus repainted an ugly shade of deep purple decorated with multi-color stripes. Of course ferry shuttle service that serves the affluent western end of Rockaway is a huge white luxury bus that goes from Beach 108th Street to Breezy Point. If this isn't class warfare at its worst I don't know what is.
In addition I'd like to advise those who want to come to Rockaway via the ferry to be prepared for long waits at both Pier 11 and Beach 108th Street. We've been experiencing a lot of problems with ferry overcrowding. Please remember that this is a relatively small ferry, not one of those big ferries that serve Staten Island. Another big concern is that once the ferry arrives at Pier 11 there is no direct access to public transportation.
Just keep those facts in mind before planning a fun filled day in the Rockaways.
In addition I'd like to advise those who want to come to Rockaway via the ferry to be prepared for long waits at both Pier 11 and Beach 108th Street. We've been experiencing a lot of problems with ferry overcrowding. Please remember that this is a relatively small ferry, not one of those big ferries that serve Staten Island. Another big concern is that once the ferry arrives at Pier 11 there is no direct access to public transportation.
Just keep those facts in mind before planning a fun filled day in the Rockaways.
1
There are several subway stops a 3 to 5 minute walk away from Pier 11. I assume there's also bus service.
It is true that at popular times it is necessary to stand in line for a long time. At the Rockaway dock, there was no one there and it was suggested that we wait on line a full 40 minutes before the ferry was to arrive. Unwilling to do that, we came back 30 minutes later, but still got a seat.
It is true that at popular times it is necessary to stand in line for a long time. At the Rockaway dock, there was no one there and it was suggested that we wait on line a full 40 minutes before the ferry was to arrive. Unwilling to do that, we came back 30 minutes later, but still got a seat.
1
I meant Romance in Manhattan (1935)... Also, Splash and Muppets Take Manhattan.
2
What about "The Warriors" (1979)? A cult classic that really captured the atmosphere of the city at that time.
2
My favorite NYC-set films are When Harry Met Sally and Manhattan Romance, but I don't think any one movie can "unite" NYC, nor should it. The city is diverse and I greatly dislike the parochial notion of everyone fitting under one "New Yorker" umbrella.
3
In song lyric terms, Rockaways tend to lead to one song, so:
Tune of Rockabye Your Rockabye Baby
Rock away your stay-cay with a New York fantasy
Europe’s swell, but oh well, your schedule’s really tricky.
Just take the subway to the pier
Never fear, nirvana’s near.
The ferry boat each hour reaches
New memories that wait there on the beaches
Cry no more, ‘cause they say it’s a boat to set you free
So here’s a tip, take a trip - who needs to see Paree?
So get to Wall Street and find that East River
A simple ferry ride will sure deliver!
And rock away your Rockaway stay-cay with a New York fantasy.
Tune of Rockabye Your Rockabye Baby
Rock away your stay-cay with a New York fantasy
Europe’s swell, but oh well, your schedule’s really tricky.
Just take the subway to the pier
Never fear, nirvana’s near.
The ferry boat each hour reaches
New memories that wait there on the beaches
Cry no more, ‘cause they say it’s a boat to set you free
So here’s a tip, take a trip - who needs to see Paree?
So get to Wall Street and find that East River
A simple ferry ride will sure deliver!
And rock away your Rockaway stay-cay with a New York fantasy.
9
“The comedian Amy Schumer is planning to make her Broadway debut this fall in a new play by Steve Martin.” (from the In The News section)
Don’t you predict Bette Midler-type demand for this? Imagining boyfriends breaking it to their girlfriends that they just can’t afford the best seats for this play!
Tune of “Uptown Girl” [from the amazing Amy Schumer film “Trainwreck”)
(Dough-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-
Dough-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
Upstairs, girl
That’s where we’re sitting for her Broadway whirl
You knew we can’t afford a downstairs seat
But I knew seeing her would be a treat, so I repeat -
Let’s head upstairs, girl
I know climbing makes your hair uncurl
We had to save to buy rear mezzanine
And even getting that cost lots of green
The sales went clean.
‘Cause for the orchestra they charge top pri-i-ice
And though the view from upstairs ain’t as ni-i-ice
Be glad we’re in the room, that’s because I assume
(big finish)
That from upstairs, girl
We’ll love the play, and we’ll see okay
From the upstairs, girl
Be glad they had low-price seats upstairs, girl
Don’t you predict Bette Midler-type demand for this? Imagining boyfriends breaking it to their girlfriends that they just can’t afford the best seats for this play!
Tune of “Uptown Girl” [from the amazing Amy Schumer film “Trainwreck”)
(Dough-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-
Dough-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
Upstairs, girl
That’s where we’re sitting for her Broadway whirl
You knew we can’t afford a downstairs seat
But I knew seeing her would be a treat, so I repeat -
Let’s head upstairs, girl
I know climbing makes your hair uncurl
We had to save to buy rear mezzanine
And even getting that cost lots of green
The sales went clean.
‘Cause for the orchestra they charge top pri-i-ice
And though the view from upstairs ain’t as ni-i-ice
Be glad we’re in the room, that’s because I assume
(big finish)
That from upstairs, girl
We’ll love the play, and we’ll see okay
From the upstairs, girl
Be glad they had low-price seats upstairs, girl
9
Ferry companies are for-profit businesses and buddies with De Blasio. Is the this dreamy ferry riding journalism currying favor with the Mayor?
One need only take a gander at the already-long passenger lines for the ferry routes to know that not everything has political overtones.
3
SallyStiller:
I haven't met a single person who has not enjoyed the ferry or delighted in the idea of it. As Butterfield8 noted, the service is extremely popular and lines are quite long. This is not like the scheme by Chris Christie that transported a small number of South Jerseyans at tremendous state expense.
Millions Meant for Rail Tunnel Subsidize Ferry Rides for a Few
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/nyregion/millions-meant-for-rail-tunn...
I haven't met a single person who has not enjoyed the ferry or delighted in the idea of it. As Butterfield8 noted, the service is extremely popular and lines are quite long. This is not like the scheme by Chris Christie that transported a small number of South Jerseyans at tremendous state expense.
Millions Meant for Rail Tunnel Subsidize Ferry Rides for a Few
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/nyregion/millions-meant-for-rail-tunn...
1
Arthur (1981)
Every bona-fide New Yorker knows the best time to stay in the city is when everyone else is away -- but thanks for the tips anyway!
3
For a film that unites New Yorkers against a common threat, I choose Q The Winged Serpent.
The Godfather.. 1 and most definitely 2 for it's portrayal of Italian Immigrant life in NYC at the turn of the 20th century.
4
The list of NYC films more than falls short. It's a nothing.
Certainly "Radio Days," not one of the original choices, is the best, celebrating an era; affectionate and, sadly, elegiac. And what great music! It is the one I would have offered, had I been asked.
But why not consider "The Clock"? In it, a soldier meets a city girl, and they fall in love (of course) against the backdrop of Fifth Avenue, Central Park, and a pre-dawn milk-delivery route. And you'll never find Judy Garland more beautiful.
Time to present our city as more than glamour, corruption, crime, and squalor. While those are all too often in evidence, I was born into a city in which people helped one another, in which our doors remained unlocked and often open until nightfall, and in which kids rode their bikes and played ball without shouting obscenities and slamming into people.
And drivers didn't blast our homes with their barbaric, sonic sound systems as they speed by on residential streets. Today, when that happens, invariably I say to no one in particular, "Who ARE these people?"
Certainly "Radio Days," not one of the original choices, is the best, celebrating an era; affectionate and, sadly, elegiac. And what great music! It is the one I would have offered, had I been asked.
But why not consider "The Clock"? In it, a soldier meets a city girl, and they fall in love (of course) against the backdrop of Fifth Avenue, Central Park, and a pre-dawn milk-delivery route. And you'll never find Judy Garland more beautiful.
Time to present our city as more than glamour, corruption, crime, and squalor. While those are all too often in evidence, I was born into a city in which people helped one another, in which our doors remained unlocked and often open until nightfall, and in which kids rode their bikes and played ball without shouting obscenities and slamming into people.
And drivers didn't blast our homes with their barbaric, sonic sound systems as they speed by on residential streets. Today, when that happens, invariably I say to no one in particular, "Who ARE these people?"
6
does every movie about NYC have to be "gritty" to be real? I personally love You've Got Mail
8
It's a sorry, soft remake of "The Shop Around the Corner." It embraces everything that's wrong with New York: commercialism and over-acquisitiveness. TSATC was about ordinary people who struggle and fall in love. "You've Got Mail" is about privileged Upper West Siders. I love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, but they could not make up for the awful phoniness of that movie.
The most shocking part of YGM was when the Hanks's character's company puts out of business the little bookstore founded by the mother of Ryan's character and she's basically cool with it. She suddenly decides she wants to write kids books instead. It's also terribly unfeminist: man destroys woman's livelihood, but that's OK because she's in love and he's rich.
The most shocking part of YGM was when the Hanks's character's company puts out of business the little bookstore founded by the mother of Ryan's character and she's basically cool with it. She suddenly decides she wants to write kids books instead. It's also terribly unfeminist: man destroys woman's livelihood, but that's OK because she's in love and he's rich.
4
Well, Lifelong Reader, you've got to go a long way to beat "The Shop Around the Corner." It's a great movie.
Even the remake "In the Good Old Summertime" is more down to earth than "You've Got Mail." I guess movies reflect their times.
Even the remake "In the Good Old Summertime" is more down to earth than "You've Got Mail." I guess movies reflect their times.
1
B:
The Shop Around the Corner is one of my favorite movies of all time. I've never cared for In the Good Old Summertime.
But there were other little things that bothered me about You've Got Mail. For example, in a nod to political correctness, Tom Hank's character's best friend was played by Dave Chapelle. (I'm black, so I appreciate diversity in films.) But Chapelle was kind of a token. His character and Hanks's did not have the same close, amusing relationship of James Stewart and Felix Bressart.
The early scene in which Tom Hanks's character scoops up all the caviar at the buffet table and Meg Ryan's character complained that "It's a garnish." It wasn't funny.
The Shop Around the Corner was so much more skilled at capturing something approaching real people who are striving to be someone. We smiled at their little pretensions but felt anguish when we thought that Kralik and Novak weren't going to get together and lose the love of their lives. The relationships between the shop workers and the dynamic of the workplace was better rendered. The subplot with Mr. Matuschek, the shop owner who tried to commit suicide after learning his wife cheated on him, was moving. But he was also very funny:
"I want your honest opinion!"
Ephron was no Lubitsch.
The Shop Around the Corner is one of my favorite movies of all time. I've never cared for In the Good Old Summertime.
But there were other little things that bothered me about You've Got Mail. For example, in a nod to political correctness, Tom Hank's character's best friend was played by Dave Chapelle. (I'm black, so I appreciate diversity in films.) But Chapelle was kind of a token. His character and Hanks's did not have the same close, amusing relationship of James Stewart and Felix Bressart.
The early scene in which Tom Hanks's character scoops up all the caviar at the buffet table and Meg Ryan's character complained that "It's a garnish." It wasn't funny.
The Shop Around the Corner was so much more skilled at capturing something approaching real people who are striving to be someone. We smiled at their little pretensions but felt anguish when we thought that Kralik and Novak weren't going to get together and lose the love of their lives. The relationships between the shop workers and the dynamic of the workplace was better rendered. The subplot with Mr. Matuschek, the shop owner who tried to commit suicide after learning his wife cheated on him, was moving. But he was also very funny:
"I want your honest opinion!"
Ephron was no Lubitsch.
1
I doubt any movie can unite all New Yorkers.What I am shocked about is the total disregard for great New York movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood.Manhattan Melodrama,Dead End,Get Speedy and so many.many more.
4
Rockaway beach is one of the best kept secrets in NYC. You can also hunt for great mussels and clams for dinner. The boardwalk came out great. What a wonderful jewel we have in Rockaway!
4
Really? Are they safe to eat? When you say "hunt" I assume you mean in the sand, not the neighborhood.
1
King Kong, Spider-Man, Miracle on 34th Street, Broadway Danny Rose, Birdman
3
I nominate Jim Sheridan's "In America" (2002). It's not as well known as the films on your list, nor as well known as "My Left Foot" or Sheridan's other films with Daniel Day-Lewis. But leaving aside that it's beautifully written and with a terrific cast, I like that it tends to present New York at street level, as opposed to the sweeping skylines of "Manhattan" or "On the Town". In this way, it presents Hells Kitchen in a similar fashion to the Bed-Stuy of "Do the Right Thing," where individual corners and even street signs seem to function as characters.
5
I took the ferry out to Rockaway last month. It was a gorgeous trip, the first time I've ever passed under the Verazzano. There are shuttle busses at the dock that go to Jacob Riis Park and other locations. A friend liked the Caracas Arepa Bar.
"Travel time from Wall Street/Pier 11 is about an hour minutes."
"an hour minutes"? New time interval.
It was my assumption that the New York movie list was edited to be somewhat family friendly. Otherwise, I would have suggested Midnight Cowboy and The Naked City. Laura and Portrait of Jenny might be fun. I am not interested in seeing any Woody Allen films right now as I don't wish to support a man who pretty convincingly has been accused of being a child molester.
"Travel time from Wall Street/Pier 11 is about an hour minutes."
"an hour minutes"? New time interval.
It was my assumption that the New York movie list was edited to be somewhat family friendly. Otherwise, I would have suggested Midnight Cowboy and The Naked City. Laura and Portrait of Jenny might be fun. I am not interested in seeing any Woody Allen films right now as I don't wish to support a man who pretty convincingly has been accused of being a child molester.
2
Yes, "Portrait of Jenny" would be fun.
Too bad our film critics can't see beyond the last 15 or so years when they try to think in terms of "of all time."
Too bad our film critics can't see beyond the last 15 or so years when they try to think in terms of "of all time."
2
B:
"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" might be another good choice. It's set in a Williamsburg that's unrecognizable today. I caught the end of it the other day on TCM and it's still quite moving.
"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" might be another good choice. It's set in a Williamsburg that's unrecognizable today. I caught the end of it the other day on TCM and it's still quite moving.
3