On the Bowery

Just a shoutout to Criterion Channel for bringing Lionel Rogosin's work to my attention. This first film of his, On the Bowery, has clear influence from Italian neorealism but with aesthetic tendencies that lend itself to documentary well. It's style with the substance, put together in a way that toes the line between real and artifice with a style that does feel ahead of its time in terms of how Rogosin captures the time period and the actual plight of the working man. Ray Salyer turns to drink when things get rough, something that only makes things harder for himself. The way that his fellow workers/drunks are portrayed throughout the film make alcoholism very much a disease that is but a symptom of a system that does not care for its workers, profits come first

I'm looking forward to watching more of Rogosin's work. His dedication to humanity is apparent in just this film alone

Just a shoutout to Criterion Channel for bringing Lionel Rogosin's work to my attention. This first film of his, On the Bowery, has clear influence from Italian neorealism but with aesthetic tendencies that lend itself to documentary well. It's style with the substance, put together in a way that toes the line between real and artifice with a style that does feel ahead of its time in terms of how Rogosin captures the time period and the actual plight of the working man. Ray Salyer turns to drink when things get rough, something that only makes things harder for himself. The way that his fellow workers/drunks are portrayed throughout the film make alcoholism very much a disease that is but a symptom of a system that does not care for its workers, profits come first

I'm looking forward to watching more of Rogosin's work. His dedication to humanity is apparent in just this film alone

I’ll round up…for now
I bet that bathroom smelt so bad
Score slapped

I’ll round up…for now
I bet that bathroom smelt so bad
Score slapped

A deeply depressing yet searing and necessary docu-fiction film. It captures a post-Robert Moses New York in the 50s, decaying, half-destroyed and with a massive homeless population, with almost unbearable realism. We take the time to listen to the naturalistic, everyday conversations of the local drunks at the bar where much of the story takes place. But rather than feeling exploitative, it is deeply empathetic to the plight of the homeless and alcoholics of the city. This is one of those great New York films where the city is a character in and of itself. A criminally underrated, albeit sometimes soul-crushing piece of work that was a landmark in American independent filmmaking.

A deeply depressing yet searing and necessary docu-fiction film. It captures a post-Robert Moses New York in the 50s, decaying, half-destroyed and with a massive homeless population, with almost unbearable realism. We take the time to listen to the naturalistic, everyday conversations of the local drunks at the bar where much of the story takes place. But rather than feeling exploitative, it is deeply empathetic to the plight of the homeless and alcoholics of the city. This is one of those great New York films where the city is a character in and of itself. A criminally underrated, albeit sometimes soul-crushing piece of work that was a landmark in American independent filmmaking.