One More Folded Sunset discovered this incredible little documentary--6 stories of people who live on various Third Avenues in 1980 New York City.
It begins in a junkyard, then moves to the Bowery (13:00)--where a bum reclines in the street and tells the camera, "Do you know who I am? I'm an eccentric millionaire," before we go into a bar where not a single fashion model is sipping a Pimm's Cup. Next, a deeply sad trip to a tenement in the Bronx.
Meanwhile, a young gay hustler washes down his illegal prescription drugs with a can of Yoo-Hoo before taking us into seedy Times Square (36:00), including a glimpse of the vanished Playland where boys as young as seven sell their bodies.
While Mr. Lopez works hard and spreads the word of God, his kids are doing drugs in the streets. At the end, we meet an Italian family and the mother is fan-fucking-tastic--don't miss her.
It's all good. Watch the whole thing...
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a.k.a. The Book of Lamentations:
a bitterly nostalgic look at a city in the process of going extinct
- Jeremiah Moss
- THE BOOK:
"We should all buy Jeremiah Moss’s book, Vanishing New York." --Sarah Jessica Parker
“Essential reading for fans of Jane Jacobs, Joseph Mitchell, Patti Smith, Luc Sante, and cheap pierogi.” --Vanity Fair
"a vigorous, righteously indignant book that would do Jane Jacobs proud." --Kirkus Reviews
THE BLOG:
"the go-to hub for those who lament New York's loss of character." --Crain's
"No one takes stock of New York's changes with the same mixture of snark, sorrow, poeticism, and lyric wit as Jeremiah Moss." --Village Voice, Best of NY
“Jeremiah Moss…is the defender of all the undistinguished hunks of masonry that lend the streets their rhythm.” --Justin Davidson, New York Magazine
"One of the most thorough and pugnacious chroniclers of New York’s blandification." --The Atlantic, Citylab
"Hyperbolic and combative, tireless and passionate." --Salon
I was approached by a boy at the Playland in those years, he bragged that he still didn't have any hair between his legs. I just shrugged as another man brightened and approached, going off with the boy. Ah Times Square, where have you gone?
ReplyDeleteNow only the douches and douchettes survive.
ReplyDeleteUm, let's not be nostalgic for child abuse, ok? But I agree this is a great film and can also be seen at the Paley Center in Midtown.
ReplyDelete"Meanwhile, a young gay hustler washes down his illegal prescription drugs with a can of Yoo-Hoo before taking us into seedy Times Square (36:00), including a glimpse of the vanished Playland where boys as young as seven sell their bodies."
ReplyDeleteThat's fucking disgusting.
Most of "seedy Times Square" was run by the murderous Mafia. No love lost for any of this deadbeat culture, though it is fascinating to read about. I would only want to witness it as a ghost.
Great documentary! Kudos to one more folded sunset for finding it!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely amazing film. The same streets we live on today, yet so completely different. Another world, not so long gone.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing, thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible blast from the past.Few seem happy.Talk about prime candidates for a where are the now?
ReplyDeletejeremiah: oh. my. god. that was a brilliant piece of film. this is what lee daniels wanted to accomplish w/"precious" but fell short, as he put his own spin on it, @times. the editing, choice of music, was on the mark. there were a few mysteries, like the single mother of 2. she said she makes alot of $$, was she an addict? it left me hanging. & the boys, i suppose that may be the same. all the people in the film were likable, except the car thief. that made it possible to sit through the entire piece, as depressing as it was. you wanted the best for all of them.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had a way to catch up with these people to see how things turned out. It'd be interesting to know how they fared as the city changed around them.
ReplyDeletewhat happened to the italians? the man wanted to stay, & the wife went along w/him. it would be great to find the children & grandchildren. did they die there on the block? did they go to assisted care? move w/the family? im sure there is way to trace this. i like them the best, & i see the focus was on them. there were many people like this is williamsburg during the 50s 60s & 70s.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Jeremiah. I was so excited to come across this, & had a feeling others would be interested.
ReplyDeleteMrs Pascone (on Third & 11th, near to where I live) reminds me so much of my former next door neighbor, Connie, who was taken off to Jersey by the family a couple of years ago. She phones regularly to catch up on news & talk about old times. Now almost 92, she lived on the block since 1959, after living in a rental apartment on Van Brunt in Red Hook. Her husband worked in the Navy Yard. They were a lovely couple: loud, through-the-walls argumentative, & very, very kind-hearted.
Like other readers, I'd love to know what happened to the people in the film.
Within a minute hitting 'play' I realized that I'd once checked this out on VHS from the Donnell Library on 53rd.
ReplyDeleteIn '98, when I first saw this, it felt like an era of NYC that I'd arrived just a few years too late for (and I ain't exactly cryin' over that). Now it comes off as ancient history. Not the same place at all. Vanished without a trace.
What I love are the old NY accents that you rarely hear any more. "Gimme fi' dollahs" - priceless. Also interested to see Ricky hanging at 53rd Street and Third Avenue, now the site of that hideous 1980s excrescence known as the Lipstick Building, but formerly the epicenter of male hustling in Manhattan, immortalized in the Ramones' classic "53rd and 3rd", written by Dee Dee to commemorate his days of selling himself there to buy smack. Great video of the city I loved and miss so deeply, no matter how raw, gritty and Weimar-esque.
ReplyDelete@ Gojira
ReplyDeleteHow about "erl" (oil). There's an oldie but goodie. I think that sometimes we don't even realize we have an accent until someone points it out. I only recently saw a youtube video of people making fun (friendly fun) of the way a New Yorker said 'sausage'. I was so confused because it sounded right to me until I heard the other people say 'sah-sige'.LOL.
This is amazing!
ReplyDelete