Blank City (2011)

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Am I Missing Something?

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

When this was at Edinburg, this is what they said: Today, Manhattan is a byword for overpriced property, overexposed landmarks and overdressed fashionistas. In the late 70s, however, it was rat-infested, crime- crippled, cheap and nasty - somewhere for America to dump its immigrants, poor people and artists. Music, art, fashion and filmmaking burgeoned, fueled by drugs, dares, fads, feuds, and a fair helping of madness. LIttle of this is true. NYC has always been about fashion and high prices. Just look at New Yorker Magazine from 1923!!The movie is sort of boring. Let's be honest, these filmmakers are not very good. And there is little new in this documentary that hasn't been covered a gazillion times before.And how many times can you listen to some now rich idiot say "there wasy no money" "we did it for no money" "we didn't have any money."Who does when your 18? What a borefest

As far as the quality of this film, it's very well made. Great interviews with a myriad of directors and actors make for an interesting watch on a lazy weekend day. As far as the content though...meh If your not familiar with this genre of film-making, it won't take you long to figure out these filmmakers were the equivalent of the music Punk Rock pioneers of the day...although...not near as relevant or successful.The main goal of this documentary is show fans how/when/where this style/genre of film making started. You get to find out why these individuals started making films the way they did. They were odd, gory, abstract and stuff you wouldn't normally watch...but hey, it was the 70's and we know what a bizzaro decade that was. So this was the excuse to shock and awe the audience by putting these pointless exercises on celluloid.The main interest for me was the interviews with Jim Jarmusch and Steve Buscemi. Yeah it's the Steve Buschemi we all know and love. He was in one of the early one of these films...it was where he started his acting career. Out of the whole assortment of Directors they talk to and mention Jim Jarmusch is the only one, to this day, who gets mentioned in film circles as a really good film maker. Why? simple...because even though his films are still kind of odd, they are watchable. They have a goal at the end of each one. They're not meandering collages of part shock and art film with no point. They aren't just moving images...they're actual stories.It was funny to sit and listen to some of these directors sit and talk about how great their stuff was and I can guarantee that 99% of the film viewing world hasn't even heard of these people. This is one of these cases where it's in New York so it's important and has meaning and it sets a trend. Well, problem is...it didn't. These were just poor broke people who ran around with 8mm cameras trying to fit into a scene in NY at the time and now they can sit back and talk about their triumph...or their perceived triumph.

I saw this movie in NYC at the IFC. I loved its approach, the way NYC is depicts, it is a raw and truthful documentary. I would advise any NYC lover to go see it. It helps you understand the city and its artistic influence better. It makes you really realize the energy that is lying and present in NYC. At the end of the documentary you manage to get introduced to an artistic movement but it also inspires you. You realize that you can make it, as long as you have passion a hint of madness and you are willing to work hard. I was also so impressed by the team behind the movie and i really hope to see them more on screen. To sum up, i love this documentary because i was introduce and i understood a new subject that i knew nothing about and it inspired me, it lift my spirit up.

Actually it seems, that you don't have to, but I think you should. Again this is a documentary that has a specific target audience and most people who are not into independent movies (or the wave of them coming out of America a few decades ago) won't like it. As you can see in some of the other comments on this title.I respect their comments and their views. I still have to disagree with one of them, which goes a bit too far and does imply something, that the movie does not do or try to do. This movie is not glorifying the filmmakers from that time. Quite the contrary, sometimes they are shown as complete lunatics. But that is the appeal of the movie. It does show you people as they are, without judging them. The judging comes from within the viewer.And while I have to admit not being a big fan (and also not knowing many) of the movies, I really did enjoy the movie. I liked the way it was shot and I liked the interviews. The pacing was great and the shots were interesting. And that was all before the lovely director came on stage and talked a bit about the movie. Unfortunately I had to leave and didn't have a chance to talk to her. But I hope to see more of the team behind this (her "partners in crime" were there too).