#1980s New York

[dbguidebook]

Darling Bonnie's Movie Club: 'Paris Is Burning'. #Societythings

[disappointingyet]

Variety

Director Bette Gordon Stars Sandy McLeod, Luís Guzman, Nan Goldin USA/West Germany/UK 1983 Language English 1hr 40mins Colour 

Weird but absorbing indie noir

What kind of film is this? When it begins with a conversation between Christine (Sandy McLeod) and Nan (Nan Goldin) in a locker room, it feels like this could be an early example of the young-woman-trying-to-do-something-arty-in-NYC-and-struggling microgenre, and that would be fine. Instead, a rather weirder plot is set in play when Christine surprises her friend by saying she would take the one job that Nan knows is available: working the ticket booth at the Variety, a cinema that shows dirty movies.

Christine initially seems pleased with the job, but it seems to have some unsettling effects on her. During conversations in public places with her earnest, somewhat uptight boyfriend Mark (Will Patton), she’ll break into long monologues describing erotic scenarios. 

Then she starts following the besuited middle-aged regular at the Variety who has invited her out. It’s clear he’s involved in dodgy stuff, which might be connected with the corrupt fisherman’s union Mark is doing an investigative report about. Less clear is what Christine is up to, and whether she grasps how much danger she might be in.

Contrasting with the thriller elements are scenes in the bar where Nan works, with groups of women just talking about their lives. 

So what we’ve got is part offbeat noir, part psychological drama and part slice of life. I’m not sure all of that fully gels, and there were occasionally bits where I thought I had missed something but the film works nonetheless. 

I think the thriller elements are surprisingly effective (some other reviews seem to disagree). Like the film as a whole, they gained from being shot in the real world. We get the assorted filth-industry locations of the type so carefully recreated in the David Simon series The Deuce, but these are actual working peep shows etc. We also get the crumbling boardwalk at Asbury Park, a huge fish market and even Yankee Stadium (I was wondering if they had permission to film there or somehow snuck a camera in - not easy to do with the equipment they had in those days.)

There’s an interesting mix of folks involved, some then experiencing their moment, some whose time would come later. Writer Kathy Acker – whose work was daring or notorious, depending on your perspective – gets a script credit. I don’t generally like a sax-driven score, but this one is excellent – it’s by John Lurie, who around the same time was starring in Jim Jarmusch’s breakthrough Stranger Than Paradise, which was shot by Tom DiCillo, who (yes) was one of the cinematographers on Variety.

There are a couple of character actors making early appearances here who are still busy in the 2020s. I’ve already mentioned Will Patton – the other one is Luís Guzmán, who plays Christine’s co-worker at the cinema. I’m here to report that Guzmán arrived in the movies fully formed – to say he’s easily recognisable in Variety is an understatement.

But I’m guessing it’s Goldin’s presence that meant I could see this in a cinema in 2023. Clips from Variety appear in All The Beauty And All The Bloodshed, the recent critically beloved documentary about Goldin’s life and work. She seems to be playing herself: the character is called Nan, she’s a photographer and she works in a bar, as Goldin did at the time. (I'm assuming the bar she worked at and the one in the movie are the same place, but don't know that for sure.)

Variety had a slightly strange origin – Bette Gordon was an underground New York-based  film-maker offered a chance to make a bigger film by a German TV channel (Britain’s recently established Channel 4 contributed too). Gordon came up with idea and asked Acker to write it – but three other people get a credit for the screenplay and I think I can guess which bits are left from Acker’s draft.

It’s very much a snapshot of a moment in early 1980s New York, but it’s also an involving and fascinating movie. I like it a lot.

[trendynewsnow]

The Life and Legacy of Brian Buczak: Remembering an Artistic Pioneer

The Life and Legacy of Brian Buczak The night Brian Buczak passed away, the sky erupted in a dazzling display of fireworks. It was July 4, 1987, and his hospital bed at New York University, positioned along the scenic East River, provided a front-row seat to the vibrant holiday celebrations. His partner, the esteemed Fluxus artist Geoffrey Hendricks, known for his evocative paintings of clouds,…

[zman80]

Green New York Night

[tvneon]

[twixnmix]

Keith Haring, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt, and Beverly Johnson getting ready for New Year’s Eve at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City on December 31, 1987.  

Photos by Tseng Kwong Chi

[retropopcult]

Harold Ramis and Annie Potts during a break in filming on the set of Ghostbusters, 1984.

(Source: Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History)

[undr]

Viviane Moos. Man on Bicycle Riding in Empty, Snowy Street. New York. 1996

[eightiesfan]

City Lights

[yearningforunity]

"Father and Son, Brooklyn, 1982."

Photographer. Jamel Shabazz

[dbguidebook]

*Note: This Post Contains An Affiliate Link. | this post is designed to enlighten x enrich, do not glimpse through in vain, it's advisable to take your time with this as each link leads somewhere else promising & worth it.

Darling Bonnie's Must See Cinema: 'Downtown 81'. #Societythings

The DBXCO. Lifestyle Guide:

Gather your artsy clique, with an emphasis on those who happen to be Basquiat + 1980's New york Art scene enthusiast and host a screening of 'Downtown 81'.

Invoke conversations surrounding the 1980's art scene, the importance of AREA & Basquiat's affiliation with it,

in addition to Basquiat's legacy of being 'The Radiant Child' & Glenn O'Brien's commitment to getting this film, Downtown '81, finished long past Basquiat's passing.

For the affair serve something SAMO like authentic Mr.Chow or at the very least Mr. Chow recreation's.

Post the affair organize a visit to the Basquiat: King's Pleasure exhibit at The Broad Museum and wax poetic about the beauty of Basquiat's supremely jazzy High Street Art aesthetic.

#SOCIETYTHINGS

[2othcentury]

East Village, Manhattan, New York, July 1987 © Meredith Jacobson Marciano

[obsessedbyneon]

Brooklyn Bridge, downtown Manhattan and the Twin Towers. From 'Inside New York' (1991)

Scan

[yodaprod]

1989

[zman80]

PEACE ON EARTH

[tvneon]