Street smart the new york of lumet allen scorsese and lee

368 Pages·2007·4.08 MB·English

Prologue i
Street Smart
i
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Prologue iii
RICHARD A. BLAKE
STREET
SMART
THE NEW YORK OF LUMET,
ALLEN, SCORSESE, AND LEE
The University Press of Kentucky
iv Prologue
Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Copyright © 2005 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre
College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University,
The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College,
Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University,
Morehead State University, Murray State University,
Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University,
University of Kentucky, University of Louisville,
and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508–4008
www.kentuckypress.com
All photographs are courtesy of Jerry Olingher’s Movie Materials Store in New York, N.Y.
09 08 07 06 05 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blake, Richard Aloysius.
Street smart : the New York of Lumet, Allen, Scorsese, and Lee / Richard A. Blake.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8131-2357-7 (alk. paper)
1. New York (N.Y.)—In motion pictures. 2. Lumet, Sidney, 1924—Criticism and
interpretation. 3. Allen, Woody—Criticism and interpretation. 4. Scorsese,
Martin—Criticism and interpretation. 5. Lee, Spike—Criticism and interpretation. I. Title.
PN1995.9.N49B63 2005
791.43’627471—dc22 2005007622
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting
the requirements of the American National Standard
for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of
American University Presses
Prologue v
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Prologue ix
Cinema City: All Around the Town 1
Lower East Side: Sidney Lumet 41
Flatbush: Woody Allen 101
Little Italy: Martin Scorsese 153
Fort Greene: Spike Lee 209
Epilogue 281
Notes 289
Bibliography 303
Index 307
Illustrations follow page 144
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Prologue vii
Acknowledgments
A special note of thanks is due to several colleagues at Boston College.
First of all, thanks to John Michalczyk who, as department chair and
founder of the Film Studies program within the Fine Arts Department,
urged completion of this project and by creative accommodation made
it possible. With his support I was able to obtain a generous grant from
the Boston College university research fund that enabled me to secure
professional assistance to complete the manuscript preparation.
Thanks too to Karen Klein McNulty, Mark Caprio, Eugenie M’Polo,
Coleen Dunkley, and their student assistants in the Media Center who
managed to locate the films and make them available as needed. Finally,
a note of appreciation to the students of the two classes who took a
preliminary tour of New York City neighborhoods in American Direc-
tors, FM 389, and who asked the important questions, as tourists often
do.
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Prologue ix
Prologue
Over a week had passed since the collapse of the World Trade Center.
The afternoon of September 11, I managed to contact a cousin who
lives in our old neighborhood in Brooklyn but works near Ground Zero.
(I’ll call her Jean, even though it isn’t her name.) She was safe. In fact,
while running a bit late that morning, she heard a confused news bulle-
tin on the radio about a fire in the area and further postponed her de-
parture to avoid the possible inconvenience of a subway delay. Within
minutes of the initial news flash, television pictures began to reveal the
extent of the horror. Our conversation that afternoon was hushed and
monotone, like mourners gathered at a funeral, wanting to strengthen
each other but finding our words hopelessly inadequate, empty.
During the next few days, we lost contact. The phone company
temporarily rerouted its ruined lines from commercial centers near the
disaster area through residential sections in Brooklyn. As a result, the
circuits in some neighborhoods became hopelessly overloaded, and some
areas were virtually inaccessible to outside callers. My initial anxiety
about Jean’s safety gave way to worry about her coping with the trans-
figured geography of her life.
After a week or more had passed, workers toiling day and night
gradually managed to restore service. By the time we spoke again, the
merciful numbness was beginning to wear off as we, like most Ameri-
cans, started to feel the pain of the wound that had not yet begun to
heal. Our voices seemed more brittle and our sentences more edgy. Jean
described her persistence in calling coworkers and her relief in learning
that no one from the office had been injured. Their building was still
standing, with apparently only minor damage, but of course the area
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