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November 04, 2007

70s NYC In Films

Since I was a kid, I've been obsessed with 1970s New York City. I used to go to the city library and look through issues of Variety to see what films were playing on Times Square. I read magazines to learn about Central Park and Studio 54 and NYU and Greenwich Village. I had a gigantic collection of disco vinyl albums, and later, NYC new wave. Often I wish I'd been born a decade earlier, and I'd moved to NYC in 1981 instead of 1991; many times I'll demand that friends who were there during those years tell me their stories. But I realize I likely wouldn't be here any longer if I had. Anyway, here are clips from some notable and/or notorious films set in New York, starting with Wait Until Dark in the late 60s and going through to the end of the 70s with exploitation horror like Maniac and, one of my all-time favorites, the finally-released-on-DVD Cruising. Note #1: There are pretty important spoilers in a couple of these clips. And Note #2: I've left out Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese movies, since those are too obvious (and, with the exception of Taxi Driver, aren't really among my favorites anyway). Now bring on the disco, the psycho killers, the heroin and coke, the glamour, and even, in the last clip, the poppers.

trailer for Wait Until Dark (dir. Terence Young, 1967):

Rosemary's Baby (dir. Roman Polanski, 1968):

The Boys In the Band (dir. William Friedkin, 1970):

trailer for Panic In Needle Park (dir. Jerry Schatzberg, 1971):

trailer for The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (dir. Joseph Sargent, 1974):

scenes and commentary for God Told Me To (dir. Larry Cohen, 1976):

Looking For Mr. Goodbar (dir. Richard Brooks, 1977):

Saturday Night Fever (dir. John Badham, 1977):

The Eyes of Laura Mars (dir. Irvin Kershner, 1978):

trailer for The Driller Killer (dir. Abel Ferrara, 1979):

trailer for The Warriors (dir. Walter Hill, 1979):

Dressed To Kill (dir. Brian de Palma, 1980):

trailer for Can't Stop the Music (dir. Nancy Walker, 1980):

trailer for Maniac (dir. William Lustig, 1980)--not for the squeamish:

Cruising (dir. William Friedkin, 1980):