Here’s a fun one.
Being that it’s shot in gritty, grainy black n’ white, this seven minute film — shot on 16mm Bolex — by renowned tv archivist Ira Gallen of downtown Manhattan dates back to 1971, but it looks a bit older.
Some portions of it are easier to make out and recognize than others, but watch long enough and familiar locations will slowly roll into view. Though billed as “East Village,” Gallen's film ventures elsewhere. Stroll down St. Marks Place, and into the leafy byways of Tompkins Square Park (a decade and change before the squatters, punks and rioters) then zip across town to Washington Square Park, rife with giggling children, hirsute, strumming folkies and beardy Marxist prosthletyzers.
What a difference 43 years makes, eh?
Recent Comments