can't believe how grim and depressing everything is--but still enjoyed the film since my favorite actor, Roy Scheider is in it
sharewell some people today actually miss New york as it was then, with all the gentrification and rocketting property prices
http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-york-city/2193619-i-miss-old-nyc-1980s-1990s.html
I find it interesting and I like those street scenes in the film
Well, a couple things. First, yeah, the city was in decline in the 70s, so this is the city at its ugliest and grimmest.
But second, the point is, it's supposed to be grim and depressing - it's a contrast between how Popeye and Cloudy are making their living, versus how the Frogs are. The scene where they're eating those wonderful foods in that nice warm French restaurant is contrasted with how the two of them are freezing their asses off outside in the cold eating pizza and coffee shows this.
I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
Compare & Contrast those grim NYC scenes with the wide-angled lens views of Marseille & Washington: sunny, open spaces, colourful, clean, perhaps even more "civilised" compared to the perceived dystopia of New York!
A remarkable contrast.
βWhen is old news gonna be old news?β
β Arnold Vinick (The West Wing)
Love the urban hideousness on parade. Combined with the gritty handheld camera work, it looks like a town I'd never want to visit. By the way, how about Scheider getting buck wild with that shotgun? Coolest movie ever, or at least close to it.
sharePeople were leaving the Northeast part of the U.S. in droves. New York City seemed to be falling apart.
Friedkin considered this film to be an ode to these sections of the City.
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I kinda like "ugly", 70s New York more than the contemporary version. But that's easy for me to say when I've never had to live in NYC at its most dangerous. π
shareIf you want to get the feel, and smell, of '70s NYC, just walk along West 35th Street between 7th and 9th Ave, or anywhere along 8th Ave from 34th to 42nd Streets.
shareI agree, the movie makes NYC look ugly, but that's not how I remember it. I went to work at 120 Broadway in January, 1970, and enjoyed free concerts at lunchtime at Trinity Church, NYU School of Business Administration and Chase Manhattan Plaza. There were great buskers: a brass quintet at the Plaza at Broadway and Liberty Street, and another quintet at Hanover Sq. I'd pick up a sandwich and listen to the group of my choice. The quintet at Hanover Sq. had the edge. There was a steel drum player who played Chopin as well as calypso on his drum. There was a schlock auction gallery on Chambers Street which was fun to watch. The new South Street Seaport Museum was relaxing. You could have a good fishy lunch at Sloppy Louie's across from the Museum. There was often a good concert or show somebody at the office had extra tickets for and I could even buy my own, if necessary. The Dairylea milk company had coupons on the quart milk cartons that could be redeemed for tickets to Shea Stadium. They were always for games against teams like the Expos or Padres, but one night the game happened to have been chosen for Willie Mays Night. When the stores were closed and we needed milk, I went to the gas station on the corner and put a quarter in the slot. A quart carton slid down the chute and landed with a thud. There were two pennies scotch taped to the top of the carton. About 1974, me and the Mrs. went to a jazz joint and had a drink. When we finished, the waiter came by to see if we wanted another round. "How much are they?" I asked, "I've only got $16." The waiter went to the bar, and came back and said "The boss said you can drink tonight for $16." I went to Carnegie Hall one night and saw Dietrich Fischer Dieskau singing Schubert Lieder, and another night and saw Benny Goodman on the 40th anniversary of his 1938 concert. We went to see On the 20th Century and, at first intermission, trotted up to Sardi's. At the other end of the bar was Truman Capote surrounded by a bevy of admirers.
Of course there was crime and racial strife. Isn't there always?
Memories. I remember those milk machines and the Mets coupons on the sides of waxed milk containers. You had to cut them off with scissors. Am I mistaken or did we have to collect 19 of them to redeem a game ticket? I know you couldn't do it with just one. Or maybe it was five coupons with a bottle of Yoo-Hoo.
If you worked down by Trinity Church in the late 60s/early 70s and you lived in Queens, the train you needed to take was the EE local (better known as the "double E").