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Blank City

Play trailer Poster for Blank City 2011 1h 39m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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82% Tomatometer 45 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
In the late 1970s a group of aspiring New York filmmakers, inspired by the burgeoning underground music scene, takes to the streets to shoot guerrilla-style movies and in the process fosters the influential and highly regarded No Wave movement. This film examines the events that led to No Wave's creation, in which the city itself, which was in decay at the time, plays a significant role. Featuring interviews with Jim Jarmusch, John Waters, Thurston Moore, Debbie Harry and Lydia Lunch.

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Blank City

Blank City

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Critics Consensus

Blank City pays affectionate tribute to the No Wave filmmakers' movement -- and the bygone New York City that birthed it.

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Critics Reviews

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Logan Hill New York Magazine/Vulture 09/23/2020
No Wave filmmakers claimed their work was born out of an angry, nihilistic "no," but their legacy - and this vital documentary - suggests that they also opened up a whole other way of saying "yes." Go to Full Review
Peter Bradshaw Guardian 03/01/2012
3/5
The films emerge as fascinating period pieces filled with too-cool-for-school 70s types; but the most potent figure in the film is New York itself, decrepit but glowering angrily in the background. Go to Full Review
Adam Woodward Little White Lies 03/01/2012
2/5
A dusty feature-length slideshow presented by aging hipsters. Go to Full Review
Marya E. Gates Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack) 02/13/2024
This film is packed with film footage and invaluable on camera interviews. Go to Full Review
Terry Staunton Radio Times 09/23/2020
3/5
What emerges is an affectionate cultural portrait of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and an artistic community based in the derelict tenements and lofts of a run-down city on the verge of bankruptcy. Go to Full Review
Rick Taylor Brightest Young Things 09/23/2020
Thankfully, no matter how scrubbed up and soulless NYC becomes, we'll always have Blank City to remind us that the city's scuzzy, flotsam-riddled past brought its own unique cultural contributions. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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09/04/2014 Great documentary. If you recognize any names involved, you should see it! See more walter m @Harlequin68 11/18/2013 "Blank City" is a spirited and informative documentary about a group of low budget filmmakers operating in New York City in the 70's and 80's. While I could point out that the documentary could have used a better organizational and chronological structure, I think at the same time that would have clashed with the punk music like aesthetic of the movies that were made using 8mm cameras that were bought, stolen or borrowed.(I'm no legal expert but I am pretty sure that the statute of limitations has expired on all the financing via petty larceny.) Of them, some of the names might seem familiar to the casual observer like Jim Jarmusch and Steve Buscemi. And it admittedly did take a few minutes to remember where I recognized Richard Kern, now mostly known for nude photography, from. So, it is perhaps ironic that success and money killed this nascent movement, especially the gentrifying of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, home turf for so many of these artists. See more 07/27/2013 Documentary coverage of the "no Wave" film movement from NYC in the late 70s and early 80s (also known as new cinema) and the later "cinema of transgression". Danhier manages to track down most, if not all, of the major players in the scene, including filmmakers Scott and Beth B, Vivienne Dick, Eric Mitchell, Jim Jarmusch, Nick Zedd, Richard Kern, and James Nares, and stars Lydia Lunch, James Chance, John Lurie, Steve Buscemi, and Ann Magnuson (as well as early affionado Thurston Moore who turns up in every other documentary of this kind). Fascinating to see these talking heads speak and more importantly to see clips of films otherwise difficult to see. But one wonders how the story would have been told differently by Marc Masters who details the movement in Chapter 5 of his excellent book No Wave. To me, the almost total exclusion of the parallel no wave music scene is a serious omission. But Blank City does take you to a time and place that no longer exists and which was very influential on the underground loves of many in my social circle. Let's hope it helps to make the films more available. See more 07/06/2013 Gritty, a little bland, but interesting if you've ever wondered about the creative process with no budget. See more 12/02/2012 i watched it just becaude i'm a big fun of independent film . i would love to see a version of actul films See more 10/19/2012 awesome doc but they omitted talking about one of my fave ovies-"liquid sky" See more Read all reviews
Blank City

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the late 1970s a group of aspiring New York filmmakers, inspired by the burgeoning underground music scene, takes to the streets to shoot guerrilla-style movies and in the process fosters the influential and highly regarded No Wave movement. This film examines the events that led to No Wave's creation, in which the city itself, which was in decay at the time, plays a significant role. Featuring interviews with Jim Jarmusch, John Waters, Thurston Moore, Debbie Harry and Lydia Lunch.
Director
Celine Danhier
Producer
Aviva Wishnow, Vanessa Roworth
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Insurgent Media
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 6, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 15, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$116.0K
Runtime
1h 39m
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