Slaves of New York (1989)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Blistering performances.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I rated this 9, for sporadically brilliant dialogue, some fine-tuned performances, and a bevy of attractive actors of both sexes, in their prime. Viewers who didn't like it because the plot line isn't linear? Y'all missed part of the point. Jan, walking into her apartment where a party is in progress: "What's that noise?" Eleanor: "My life."

When I saw this movie, I thought it was surreal. Then I moved to New York and realized that it was just being honest. The movie takes place against the colorful (sometimes to a ridiculous extent) new york artist scene. I never read the book, so I don't really know (or care) if the movie was true to it or not, but I thought that all the characters were well developed and gave some hilarious performances. The plot flowed seamlessly and by the end you know that, despite the fact that little of what you saw made much sense, there is some strange order to the world and that it's all good. I find myself recommending this movie to all my friends as I would recommend it to anyone interested in New York, art, or the simultaneous crappiness and lovableness of humanity.

Following all the Merchant-Ivory productions in the past, where it took place mainly in Victorian England, those were all ensemble movies, with Helena Bonham Carter at the center of it all. Bernadette Peters could be considered a contemporary version of Bonham Carter's characters. Being that these hapless characters are caught in the middle leading their daily lives with eccentric characters around them. I enjoyed over the years watching this film for several reasons, first one the artwork that is featured in it, next is the music, another this could have been a good lead in for a television series(not the big reason, but part of it. The characters play well off each other, and also gives that feeling of six degrees of separation. I've read the book and it would be hard to film it since it was a collection of short stories, however Merchant-Ivory pulled it off.

I should qualify,First of all, this is the best, most encapsulating movie of the 80's ever produced, IT IS THE SINGULAR HIGHEST PERFOMRNACE OF BURNDADETTE PETERS (which is an outstanding recommendation considering how talented this woman is/even with that talent she has been circumscribed by second-rate films which do not do justice to HER TALENT WHICH THIS FILM TOTALLY DOES!!!)...DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED ON DVD???....this is (and I usually like books better/and having read this novel) the BEST reproduciton of Tama Janowitz's novel-and (having lived in the East Village of NYC during this period) THE MOST STRAIGHTFOWARD/TRUTHFUL/ACCURATE OF FILM REPRESENTATIONS...this is a modern Don Quixote set to 80's East Village setting...the music selection could NOT BE MORE PERFECT!!! (and is still more inspiring than anything produced today)..the character of Stash also amazing....but Burnadette Peters with Ashtray Lopsided Hat is beyond PERFECT...this is perhaps MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME...PLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE RELEASE ON DVD...Merchant/Ivory has never produced anything less than a first rate film!!!!!..that should also make it a sure bett for those concerned more with financial risk of releasing this CLASSIC!!!!