I mentioned the project in this recent round-up, but I finally sat through all of the first two installments of "Dirty Old Town aka Fun City" (see Part 1 here, and Part 2 here). Part 3, evidently, is still in the works. They originate, I believe, from this blog. If you're a rampant New York City cinephile and location-spotter like myself, they're essential viewing.
As I was watching them, however, I kept anticipating the inclusion of certain other notable scenes from various films, but quite a few of them never materialized. Obviously, to stitch together every single bit of film that depicts New York City would be a herculean effort, but I thought there were some surprising omissions. Sure, a few fleeting seconds of my beloved "After Hours" appear in Part 2, but there weren't any bits that I could see of .. in no particular order ... "Downtown `81," "Desperately Seeking Susan," "Manhattan By Numbers," "Coming to America," "King Kong," "Highlander," "State of Grace," "Hannah & Her Sisters" (or several other Woody Allen films), "The Wiz," "Godspell," "The In-Laws," "Stranger Than Paradise," "The Taking of Pelham 123" or.... (the list goes on .... which favorites would you want to see included?)
In any case, while watching the portions dedicated to to Central Park, I kept waiting for the two scenes below. The first is a lovingly atmospheric clip from Tony Scott's 1983 fangless vampire story, "The Hunger," finding a withering David Bowie attacking a roller skater under Bethesda Terrace in the middle of Central Park (scored by Iggy's Pop's "Funtime").
This second one is the opener for the 1979 adaptation of the musical "Hair." For die-hard (or should that be tye-dye-hard?) hippies, the film of "Hair" is probably as indicative of flower power culture as much as "Rent" flimsily encapsulates the travails of the urban squatter, but that's not why I'm including it. I just love the summer-in-the-city vibe of this bit of footage and the depiction of the park. Dig it.
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