Stations of the Elevated

Last updated
Stations of the Elevated
Stations of the Elevated.jpg
Directed by Manfred Kirchheimer
Produced byManfred Kirchheimer
CinematographyManfred Kirchheimer
Edited byManfred Kirchheimer
Music byCharles Mingus
Aretha Franklin
Production
company
Streetwise Films
Distributed byFirst Run Features
Release date
Running time
45 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Stations of the Elevated is a 1981 documentary film by Manfred Kirchheimer about graffiti in New York City. [1] It debuted at the New York Film Festival. It was re-released June 27, 2014, and shown at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and was re-released throughout the United States in the fall of 2014.

Contents

Background

Kirchheimer had come to the United States as a child in 1936 with his parents to escape Nazi Germany. He filmed Stations of the Elevated in 1977 and he had not known anyone who created graffiti before he started. Most people viewed graffiti artists as a nuisance at best and vandals at worst. Kirchheimer wanted to "elevate" their work as suggested in the title. [2] [3] [4]

He told NPR that he would drive to the Bronx and film the trains going overhead: [2]

They would come by and it would be screaming full of colors — just gorgeous ... The smart thing I did was shoot it all outdoors. Most of the lines are indoors, and the way most people see these paintings was indoors. Doing it outdoors gave a whole other perspective. [2]

Stations of the Elevated debuted in 1981 at the New York Film Festival, but received no reviews and was essentially forgotten afterwards. [4]

Subject

This was the first film to document the graffiti movement in New York City, but it is not a documentary in the ordinary sense. [2] There is no narrator and very little dialogue. Instead, subway cars covered with graffiti are followed as they move along the rails to a jazz soundtrack by Charles Mingus with Aretha Franklin. [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] [8] According to Leigh Silver, "... Kirchheimer captures the urban jungle in all of its untamed glory; shooting from behind branches and between scaffolding, Kirchheimer awaits the lumbering subway trains as they snake across tracks." [9]

At one point in the film, a group of boys are watching the trains whiz by and one boy says: "That one was all right. Wasn’t nothing special. The idea was good". [8]

According to Kevin Jagernauth writing for Indiewire , the graffiti artists featured are "Lee, The Fabulous 5, Shadow, Daze, Kase, Butch, Blade, Slave, 12 T2B, Ree, and Pusher". [5]

Kirchheimer, in his documentary film, also asks visually: How does this artwork that was deemed illegal coexist in a city with advertising that is deemed legal [and] that is possibly more offensive?" [2] He does this by contrasting graffiti covered subway cars with billboards covered with images of products being advertised. [2] [3] [7] [8] [9]

Reception and legacy

Rotten Tomatoes has three reviews all favorable but not enough to score the film. [10] Daniel Walber said that viewing the film made him feel as though it was made by an extraterrestrial and it did so because "it presents the trains as the real New Yorkers". [3] Writing for Complex , Leigh Silver explains "... Stations of the Elevated has lasting power, a certain timelessness that speaks to the soul of New York." [9]

The documentary was restored for a 2014 re-release and was shown at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with a live performance of the soundtrack from the Mingus Dynasty. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>The French Connection</i> (film) 1971 American film by William Friedkin

The French Connection is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, and Fernando Rey. The screenplay, by Ernest Tidyman, is based on Robin Moore's 1969 nonfiction book. It tells the story of fictional New York Police Department detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, whose real-life counterparts were narcotics detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, in pursuit of wealthy French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Subway</span> Rapid transit system in New York City

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the most-used, and the one with the most stations, with 472 stations in operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J/Z (New York City Subway service)</span> New York City Subway services

The J Nassau Street Local and Z Nassau Street Express are two rapid transit services in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Their route emblems, or "bullets", are colored brown since they use the BMT Nassau Street Line in Lower Manhattan.

<i>The Taking of Pelham One Two Three</i> (1974 film) 1974 American thriller film directed by Joseph Sargent

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a 1974 American crime drama film directed by Joseph Sargent, produced by Gabriel Katzka and Edgar J. Scherick, and starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam and Héctor Elizondo. Peter Stone adapted the screenplay from the 1973 novel of the same name written by Morton Freedgood under the pen name John Godey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Beach station (BMT Brighton Line)</span> New York City Subway station in Brooklyn

The Brighton Beach station is an elevated express and terminal station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway. It is located over Brighton Beach Avenue between Brighton 5th Street and Brighton 7th Street in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The station is served by the Q train at all times and is the southern terminal for the B train on weekdays only.

The BMT Canarsie Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its terminus in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn. It is served by the L train at all times, which is shown in medium gray on the New York City Subway map and on station signs.

The IND Culver Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, extending from Downtown Brooklyn south to Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. The local tracks of the Culver Line are served by the F service, as well as the G between Bergen Street and Church Avenue. The express tracks north of Church Avenue are used by the <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction. The peak-direction express track between Ditmas Avenue and Avenue X has not seen regular service since 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the New York City Subway</span>

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system that serves four of the five boroughs of New York City, New York: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Its operator is the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), which is controlled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York. In 2016, an average of 5.66 million passengers used the system daily, making it the busiest rapid transit system in the United States and the seventh busiest in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Chalfant</span> American photographer and videographer (b. 1940)

Henry Chalfant is an American photographer and videographer most notable for his work on graffiti, breakdance, and hip hop culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newkirk Plaza station</span> New York City Subway station in Brooklyn

The Newkirk Plaza station is an express station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway in Flatbush, Brooklyn. It is located on an open-cut at the center of the pedestrian-only Newkirk Plaza shopping mall, which is bounded by Newkirk Avenue on the north, Foster Avenue on the south, Marlborough Road to the west, and East 16th Street to the east. The station is served by the Q train at all times and by the B train on weekdays only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avenue M station</span> New York City Subway station in Brooklyn

The Avenue M station, is a local station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway. It is located in Midwood, Brooklyn, at Avenue M between East 15th and East 16th Streets. The station is served by the Q train at all times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neck Road station</span> New York City Subway station in Brooklyn

The Neck Road station is a local station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at Gravesend Neck Road between East 15th and East 16th Streets in Homecrest, Brooklyn. The station is served by the Q train at all times.

References to the New York City Subway in popular culture are prevalent, as it is a common element in many New Yorkers' lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodhaven Junction station</span> Former railroad station in New York City

Woodhaven Junction was a station complex on the Atlantic Branch and Rockaway Beach Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, located at Atlantic Avenue between 98th and 100th Streets in Woodhaven, Queens, New York City. The elevated Rockaway Beach station was closed in 1962 along with the rest of the branch, while the underground Atlantic Branch station was closed and abandoned on January 7, 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Curry</span> American film director (born 1970)

Marshall Curry is an Oscar-winning American documentary director, producer, cinematographer and editor. His films include Street Fight, Racing Dreams, If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Point and Shoot, and A Night at the Garden. His first fiction film was the Academy Award-winning short film The Neighbors' Window (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graffiti in New York City</span> Street arts evolution in NYC

Graffiti in New York City has had a substantial local, national, and international influence.

<i>Koch</i> (film) 2012 American film

Koch is a 2012 documentary film directed by Neil Barsky about former New York City Mayor Ed Koch. Koch premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 8, 2012 and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films. It opened theatrically in the United States on February 1, 2013 the day Koch's death was publicized.

Manfred Alexander Kirchheimer was an American documentary film maker and professor of film at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He previously taught at NYIT. He was born in Saarbrücken, Germany, and his family moved to New York City in 1936 to escape Nazi Germany. After receiving a B.A. from the City College of New York in 1952, he worked primarily as a film editor and he also began making his own films. A major theme in many of his documentaries is urban life. His most notable documentaries include: Stations of the Elevated, We Were So Beloved, Tall: The American Skyscraper and Louis Sullivan, and Art Is... The Permanent Revolution.

<i>Champs</i> (film) 2014 American film

Champs is a 2014 documentary film focusing on boxers Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and Bernard Hopkins. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2014. Starz released the film on March 13, 2015, in a theatrical release and through video on demand.

<i>Nasty Baby</i> 2015 film

Nasty Baby is a 2015 Chilean-American drama film written and directed by Sebastián Silva and starring Kristen Wiig, Silva, and Tunde Adebimpe alongside Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Agustín Silva, Alia Shawkat, Lillias White, and Anthony Chisholm.

References

  1. ↑ MUBI
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rose, Joel (26 June 2014). "After Decades On VHS, Graffiti's Golden Age Returns To Big Screen". NPR. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Walber, Daniel (24 June 2014). "BAMcinemaFest: 'Stations of the Elevated' Is the Most Important New York City Movie of the Year". Nonfics. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 Perlman, Matthew (17 June 2014). "MT-spray: Old doc about subway graffiti finds new life at BAM". The Brooklyn Paper . Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Jagernauth, Kevin (10 June 2014). "Exclusive: Poster For Restored 1981 New York City Portrait 'Stations Of The Elevated'". Indiewire . Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Staff (2014). "Stations of the Elevated (1980)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  7. 1 2 Scherstuhl, Alan (25 June 2014). "The Paint-Bombed Stations of the Elevated Is a Masterpiece of Train- and Tag-Spotting". The Village Voice . Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Hardy, Ernest (3 September 2003). "In the Beginning: Hip-Hop at the Movies". LA Weekly . Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 Silver, Leigh (6 June 2014). "Graffiti Documentary "Stations of the Elevated" Is Playing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music This Month". Complex . Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Charles Mingus - Stations of the Elevated Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2 July 2014.Note: Rotten Tomatoes misattributes the making of the film Charles Mingus instead of Manfred Kirchheimer.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.