"Gritty" 70's films. I'm totally addicted!

I LOVE it ! THIS is the Times Square I remember from my younger days ...I have been in every theater you can see in that color photo (even the Burlesk place LOL !)

 

The Howling

From '81 but it fits the bill - and 'tis the season!

 

Yes, apparently music rights have held up its release on DVD and Blu-ray. It was on iTunes a few years back and looked great in HD.

I also think some of the actors may want to forget it because it's so grim.

 

That Howard Johnson's was there from the '50s until 2005. Gene Hackman had been a maître d' there and Lily Tomlin a waitress.

The white building in the background on the far right is the Brill building. A pivotal location for the music industry starting in the 1930s. It housed music producers, writers and vocalists, promoters, printers and more; all working towards making the next big hit. Just a few names of music icons that got their start there include Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Bobby Darin, Johnny Mercer, Carole King, Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond, Marvin Hamlisch, Laura Nyro, Phil Spector, Liza Mennelli, Tony Orlando, Frankie Valli, Dionne Warwick.
Brill Building - Wikipedia

 

I ate in that Howard Johnson's many times as a kid. I remember that they had great milkshakes

 

I'd love to see a photo of that same spot in Times Square today, side by side with this.

Looks like Will Rogers State Park at 1:19

 

Midnight Express (1978)


Short Eyes (1977)

 

"That spot" is looking North up Broadway, from 46th Street (with 7th Ave just to the right out of the picture).

I found a current view of it on Google Maps — Street View. But you can hardly recognize the contemporary location for many reasons. 1) The 1970s photo was taken with a long lens. That compresses the foreground and background, bringing the background up larger. On the other hand, Google Street View uses a wide angle lens making the background smaller and farther away. So the perspective looks extremely different.
2) Around 2012 they closed off Broadway to car traffic for one block between 46th and 47th and made it a pedestrian mall. So it doesn't appear like a street as in the old photo.
3) Howard Johnson's was replaced by an American Eagle Outfitters and the Burlesk above is now an electronic sign.
4) It does appear that there is still a news stand in pretty much the same spot!
5) The only building still significantly recognizable to my eye is the Brill Building.
6) To make the best comparison, you'd also want to match the month, day of the week and time of day. I'd guess the 70s photo was shot in the Summer, perhaps on a Sat or Sun morning around 9am (based on the clothes people are.wearing, the angle of the light, and light traffic both pedestrian and autos).

I could take a screen-grab of the Google Street View and post it, but I've never utilized any photo hosting website — don't know how it works. If I have time perhaps I'll try to figure it out at some point.

Perhaps almost as interesting, is this even older photo I found of virtually the same scene, but from 1944 (before Hojo's). Appears to have been taken with a normal lens. Again you can see the Brill Building in the background far right.





Another recognizable building is the smaller brown building under the red "Mamma Leone's" billboard. Visable in the 1944 photo, also with a billboard on the roof.



Above is a contemporary shot from a bit of a different angle and a wide angle lens. The Brill Building is just barely visible, lower center/right in the photo.

`​

 

Scarecrow (1973) - IMDb

Scarecrow

 

The funeral home in The Seven-Ups, then and now:






The Seven-Ups Film Locations - On the set of New York.com

 

My favorite film of this genre and to me, the best chase scene of all time, better than either Bullet or French Connection. My friends and I get together and watch it once every couple of years.

 

One of the baddies (the late Earl Hindman)would later hit paydirt with his role as Wilson on Home Improvement.

 

Born Innocent (TV Movie 1974) - IMDb

 

The original Gone in 60 Seconds from 1974.
The only bummer is every version on home video has a replaced modern sounding soundtrack.

 

Cruising"(1980)
cut/missing 40 minutes.

Interior. Leather Bar ( 2013)
Try's to imagine what it would look like.

 

Prime Cut (1972) features both Gene Hackman and Lee Marvin, so your grit is kinda in-built, despite its Kansas setting.

 

Carrie future star also stood out.

 

Has "Fat City" (1972) been mentioned yet? It's not "NYC gritty," but the gritty side of damaged folks, nonetheless:

 

True, but I don't think Sissy, in her first role, quite had the same level of grit or gravitas as the guys I mentioned

 

No! But, she played the part so well.

 

Lee: "you eat guts"
Gene: Yeah..............I like 'em."

 

THe Deer Hunter was the first thing that came to mind.

 

Oh yes, I got addicted to those over the summer as well. Shaft, Across 110th Street, Taxi Driver, Three Days of the Condor, The Marathon Man, After Hours (though an 80s flick), The Taking of Pelham 123... were among those I watched over various weekends. Fantastic movies!

 

Assault on precinct 13- an early John Carpenter movie... it’s not ‘great’, but it is gritty