Based on the book by Dan Wakefield, the film combines stunning archival footage of New York with interviews of the icons of the day - Kerouac, Ginsberg, Baldwin, Mailer, Basie, etc. Offering modern day perspectives.
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Title: New York in the 50's (2000)
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Cast
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David Amram | ... |
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Sam Astrachan | ... |
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| James Baldwin | ... |
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Brock Bower | ... |
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Ann Brower | ... |
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Knox Burger | ... |
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Art D'Lugoff | ... |
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Mary Ann DeWees McCoy | ... |
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| Joan Didion | ... |
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John Gregory Dunne | ... |
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Edwin Fancher | ... |
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Bruce Jay Friedman | ... |
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Jane Wylie Genth | ... |
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| Allen Ginsberg | ... |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Based on the book by Dan Wakefield, the film combines stunning archival footage of New York with interviews of the icons of the day - Kerouac, Ginsberg, Baldwin, Mailer, Basie, etc. Offering modern day perspectives.
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DocumentaryParents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
9 February 2001 (USA) See more »Box Office
Opening Weekend:
$4,552 (USA) (9 February 2001)Gross:
$4,552 (USA) (9 February 2001)Company Credits
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This documentary could just as easily have been called "Greenwich Village In the 50s" and lost nothing in the deal. It is a history of New York City from the vantage point of the disaffected. Those who moved to New York to get away from being the "Silent Generation" and to discover themselves artistically and culturally. Jazz music is here, writers and the founding of Village Voice newspaper is here, Kerouac, Ginsberg and the beats are here. Bob Dylan and the roots of 1960s folk in Washington Square is here. People who were there are interviewed and a lot of archival footage and music is interspersed to give a real sense of the time. With a documentary like this, lasting just about an hour and a half, there is the temptation to want more of whatever may have caught your eye while watching. The documentary does a great job in that it gives you enough to get you started on looking up these great authors and musicians on your own, it makes a point that the groundswell of the 50s in New York was books and words. To lead anywhere else but to these very writings would do an injustice.
Recommended if the whole Beat scene interests you. This would make a GREAT opening film to watch alongside another good docomentary called "Berkeley In The 60s" to see what happened when a lot of these people went west.