The Automat | |
---|---|
Directed by | Lisa Hurwitz |
Written by | Michael Levine |
Produced by | Lisa Hurwitz |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Philip Lucas |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Hummie Mann |
Distributed by | A Slice of Pie Productions |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 79 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $257,221 [1] [2] |
The Automat is a 2021 American documentary directed and produced by Lisa Hurwitz and written by Michael Levine. It is about the automats once operated by Horn & Hardart. It features an original song by Mel Brooks. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2021. It was released in the United States on February 18, 2022, by A Slice of Pie Productions. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
Horn & Hardart, founded in 1888 by Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart, was noted for operating the first food service automats in Philadelphia and New York City. The restaurant chain was well known in the U.S. for serving food out of a vending machine for a nickel. The last New York Horn & Hardart Automat closed in April 1991.
The documentary details the rise and fall of the Horn & Hardart automats. Director Lisa Hurwitz was inspired to create the documentary because she loved eating in her school cafeteria day after day during her college days. The film features an original song titled "At the Automat" written and performed by Mel Brooks. [3]
The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2021. [4] It was released in the United States on February 18, 2022, by A Slice of Pie Productions. [5]
In the United States, the film earned $13,917 from the Film Forum theater in its opening weekend and $15,013 from three theaters in its second weekend. [6] [7] [8] It made $5,852 (a drop of 61%) from two theaters in its third. [9] The film then began to see an incline in earnings with $7,853 from five theaters in its fourth, [10] $9,119 from nine theaters in its fifth, [11] $12,612 from eight theaters in its sixth, [12] and $16,169 from twenty theaters in its seventh. [13] It added $13,535 (a drop of 16%) in its eighth weekend, [14] $9,549 (a drop of 29%) in its ninth, [15] and $5,571 (a drop of 42%) in its tenth. [16] The following weekend, the film earned $10,959 from twelve theaters, an increase of 97%. [17] It added $4,787 (a decline of 56%) in its twelfth weekend, [18] before an increase of 95% in its thirteenth weekend with $9,314. [19] It then saw a decrease of 78.3% in its fourteenth weekend after earning $2,025, [20] before bouncing back 72.6% the following weekend to $3,496. [21] It went on to earn $2,407, [22] $1,330, [23] $1,037, [24] and $873, respectively throughout the next four weekends. [25] It left theaters in late June but returned by July 8, 2022, grossing $420 from one theater in its twenty-first weekend, [26] before departing again and returning with another $2,055 in its twenty-third. [27]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 98% of 51 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10.The website's consensus reads, "A wistful ode to a bygone era, The Automat will make viewers nostalgic for America's past – and hungry for a meal at the titular diner." [28] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 79 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [29]
The Hollywood Reporter 's Stephen Farber wrote, "Hurwitz supplements the talking heads with tasty archival footage and sharp graphics. Her film is sleek and unpretentious. It wins us over with humor and a pointed touch of melancholy." [30] Variety 's Owen Gleiberman said the film "taps into so many resonant aspects of what America used to be that to watch it is to be drawn into an enchanting and wistfully profound time-tripping reverie." [31] Writing for The New York Observer , Rex Reed said it "gets to the core of the Automat's significance, cutting to the core of its social impact on New York and the changing world we live in." [32] The New Yorker 's Richard Brody said the best part of the film was "its blend of social and intellectual history with its anecdotal history—its evocation of the links between intention, practice, and experience; its depiction of a largely lost aesthetic of daily life." [33]
Horn & Hardart was a food services company in the United States noted for operating the first food service automats in Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore.
An automat is a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drinks are served by vending machines. The world's first automat, Quisisana, opened in Berlin, Germany in 1895.
The Benchwarmers is a 2006 American sports-comedy film produced by Revolution Studios and Happy Madison Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures, directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Allen Covert and Nick Swardson, and starring Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Heder with Jon Lovitz, Craig Kilborn, Molly Sims and Tim Meadows in supporting roles. It tells the story of three nerds and a billionaire forming the titular baseball team to take on the little league baseball teams. The film has developed a cult following over the years since its release, especially amongst baseball fans.
Rosewater is a 2014 American political drama film written, directed and produced by Jon Stewart, based on the memoir Then They Came for Me by Maziar Bahari and Aimee Molloy. It recounts Bahari's 2009 imprisonment by Iran, connected to an interview he participated in on The Daily Show that same year; Iranian authorities presented the interview as evidence that he was in communication with an American spy. Due to the content of the film, Stewart has been accused by Iran's state TV of being funded by Zionists and working with the CIA. The film was released in theaters on November 14, 2014.
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank is a 2022 computer-animated martial arts comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff, Mark Koetsier, and Chris Bailey. The film is a loose remake of the 1974 live-action film Blazing Saddles. It features the voices of Michael Cera, Ricky Gervais, Mel Brooks, George Takei, Aasif Mandvi, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film takes place in a world of anthropomorphic animals, in which a dog named Hank learns to become a samurai to save a cat village from a powerful warmonger.
Death on the Nile is a 2022 murder mystery film directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Michael Green, based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. It was produced by Branagh, Ridley Scott, Judy Hofflund, and Kevin J. Walsh. The film is a sequel to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, and stars an ensemble cast with Branagh and Tom Bateman reprising their roles as Hercule Poirot and Bouc, respectively, alongside Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders and Letitia Wright. The film is the second big screen adaptation of Christie's novel, following the 1978 film.
The King's Man is a 2021 spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek and a story by Vaughn. The third installment in the British Kingsman film series, which is based on the comic book The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, it is a prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). Its ensemble cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Brühl, Djimon Hounsou, and Charles Dance. It focuses on several events during World War I and the birth of the Kingsman organisation.
Amazing Grace is a 2018 concert film "realized and produced" by Alan Elliott. The film's footage was shot under the direction of Sydney Pollack, who does not receive directorial credit, just a "special thanks." Amazing Grace stars Aretha Franklin recording her 1972 live album of the same name. It co-stars James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton, and the Southern California Community Choir, and features her father C. L. Franklin.
Marry Me is a 2022 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Kat Coiro, with a screenplay by John Rogers, Tami Sagher, and Harper Dill. Based on the 2012 graphic novel of the same title by Bobby Crosby, it stars Jennifer Lopez as Kat Valdez, a pop star, who decides to marry Charlie Gilbert, a math teacher holding a "Marry Me" sign, after learning that her on-stage bridegroom Bastian (Maluma) has been having an affair. John Bradley, Sarah Silverman, and Chloe Coleman also star in supporting roles.
Dog is a 2022 American comedy drama road film directed by Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin, both making their respective film directorial debuts, based on a story by Carolin and Brett Rodriguez. The film stars Tatum as an Army Ranger who is tasked with escorting the military dog of his fallen friend to his funeral. The film also stars Jane Adams, Kevin Nash, Q'orianka Kilcher, Ethan Suplee, Emmy Raver-Lampman, and Nicole LaLiberte in supporting roles. The film was produced by Free Association on a budget of $15 million.
Julia is a 2021 American documentary film directed and produced by Julie Cohen and Betsy West. The documentary chronicles the life of Julia Child. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard serve as executive producers.
Cyrano is a 2021 musical romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright and with a screenplay by Erica Schmidt, based on Schmidt's 2018 stage musical of the same name, itself based on the 1897 Edmond Rostand play Cyrano de Bergerac. The film stars Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Ben Mendelsohn.
Belfast is a 2021 British coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film stars Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan and Jude Hill. The film, which Branagh has described as his "most personal", follows a young boy's childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the beginning of The Troubles in 1969.
Infinite Storm is a 2022 American drama adventure film directed by Małgorzata Szumowska, co-directed by Michał Englert, and with a screenplay by Josh Rollins, based on the article High Places: Footprints in the Snow Lead to an Emotional Rescue by Ty Gagne. The film stars Naomi Watts, Billy Howle, Denis O'Hare, Parker Sawyers and Eliot Sumner.
Father Stu is a 2022 biographical drama film written and directed by Rosalind Ross in her directorial debut. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, who also produces, as Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-Catholic priest suffering from inclusion body myositis.
Tár is a 2022 drama film directed, written and produced by Todd Field. The film depicts the life and downfall of a renowned composer-conductor, Lydia Tár, portrayed by Cate Blanchett. The supporting cast includes Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Sophie Kauer, Julian Glover, Allan Corduner and Mark Strong.
Mad God is a 2021 stop motion adult animated experimental horror film written, produced, and directed by Phil Tippett. Completed in 2021, the film was produced over a period of thirty years. It was released on streaming service Shudder on June 16, 2022.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a 2021 American mockumentary comedy-drama film directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, with a screenplay by Fleisher Camp, Jenny Slate and Nick Paley from a story by Fleisher Camp, Slate, Paley and Elisabeth Holm. It is based on a series of shorts of the same name written by Slate and Fleischer Camp. Slate reprises her voice role as Marcel, an anthropomorphic shell living with his grandmother Connie. Fleischer Camp, Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann, Lesley Stahl, and Isabella Rossellini also star.
Hold Your Fire is a 2021 American documentary film written, directed, shot, edited, and produced by Stefan Forbes. It is about the 1973 New York City hostage incident in Brooklyn, New York, which helped birth modern hostage negotiation. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2021. It is set to be released in theaters on May 20, 2022, by IFC Films.
Fourth of July is a 2022 American comedy drama film directed by Louis C.K., and written by Louis C.K. and Joe List. The film stars List as Jeff, a New York City-based jazz pianist and recovering alcoholic who visits his family in rural Maine for Independence Day, and confronts them about the emotional traumas he experienced with them starting when he was a child. It was directed and produced by Louis C.K., who self-financed the film.