tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6072420181476584961.post8401261458542952551..comments2023-11-05T04:01:12.146-05:00Comments on Ad Aged: New York, 1971.george tannenbaumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10974259094860905139noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6072420181476584961.post-6412900901248757702011-04-11T17:16:05.306-04:002011-04-11T17:16:05.306-04:00I was at Columbia in Morningside Heights in the la...I was at Columbia in Morningside Heights in the late 70s and early 80s, it was like a tinderbox; it was waiting to blow. I know we're supposed to bemoan the loss of "grit" and character, but NYC felt like the rape scene in Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange." Horrifying and out of control. The end of civilization. Today it is civilization's apotheosis, or nearly so.george tannenbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10974259094860905139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6072420181476584961.post-30114939637207420322011-04-11T16:55:33.130-04:002011-04-11T16:55:33.130-04:00Lurker and George,
I was at college in Brooklyn fr...Lurker and George,<br />I was at college in Brooklyn from 67-71 and that film was so-oo accurate.<br />There were 8 murders a days, TV just reported the best 2 or 3.<br />(That's around 2,400 a year. Now I hear it's down below 1,000.)<br />Incidentally I read the book, the whole film is true except the car chase actually took place with a subway train, but that wouldn't have looked good on film.<br />And the real-life Popeye Doyle character is the one who plays Doyle's boss in the movie.dave trottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6072420181476584961.post-19754036120366937072011-04-11T12:05:17.699-04:002011-04-11T12:05:17.699-04:00Lurker, the LTD was a Ford model, I believe it was...Lurker, the LTD was a Ford model, I believe it was the top of their line and used the same chassis as the Mercury Marquis. The drug carrying car was a Lincoln Mark III, a car my father drove. It was, along with the Cadillac El Dorado, the most expensive American-made car back in 1971.george tannenbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10974259094860905139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6072420181476584961.post-26615256463678090922011-04-11T11:29:57.810-04:002011-04-11T11:29:57.810-04:00How weird! - I watched it last night too, it was o...How weird! - I watched it last night too, it was on here in the UK. I had seen the first hour about a year ago but missed the last one - so I watched that last night.<br /><br />It was a great film, obviously, with great performances - I only really know Roy Scheider from Jaws and Blue Thunder so it was great to see him a really gritty piece. <br /><br />To chime with what you say about remiding you of a different New York - it was made 8 years before I was born and one of the main thrills I get from watching 'old' films is the chance it gives you to peer back into the past. I like looking at the backgronds of shots, particularly ones in city scenes, just to catch a glimpse of ordinary people going about their day, and to see shop fronts that are real business full of real people. There are some fantastic New York shots in The French Connection that give me a chance to virtually time travel back to New York in a time before I was born, and see it as it really was. <br /><br />Even silly stuff like looking at the cars, (what a fantastic chase sequence under the railway train that film has) - as a non-American, there were loads of manufacturers I didn't recognise (was it an LTD the girlfriend of the gangster drives to drop him off? Never heard of them) and locations in New York off the usual tourist trail that I've seen on my visits there. The Pan Am building is in one shot, and it's great to see the buildings I was in, but 40 years ago. Its so much better than old photos, which whilst great, can't capture the energy of places, like moving footage with sound can. <br /><br />Barring nuclear apocalypse, I envy those in the future who'll be able to watch these films and see real live New Yorkers, from 150 years ago. Will make the study of the past much different to how it is now I think.<br /><br />Will stop now - thanks for the post George.lurkernoreply@blogger.com