Next Stop, Greenwich Village
Next Stop, Greenwich Village is a 1976 comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky, featuring Lenny Baker, Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Lois Smith, and Christopher Walken.
Next Stop, Greenwich Village | |
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Directed by | Paul Mazursky |
Produced by | Paul Mazursky Anthony Ray |
Written by | Paul Mazursky |
Starring | Lenny Baker Shelley Winters Ellen Greene Lois Smith Christopher Walken |
Music by | Bill Conti Dave Brubeck Quartet |
Cinematography | Arthur J. Ornitz |
Edited by | Richard Halsey |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 111 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,060,000 (US/ Canada)[1] |
Plot
The film takes place in 1953. Larry Lipinsky is a 22-year old Jewish boy from the Jewish enclave Brownsville in Brooklyn, New York, who has dreams of stardom. He moves to Greenwich Village, much to the chagrin of his extremely over-protective mother. Larry ends up hanging out with an eccentric bunch of characters while waiting for his big break. He has a group of tight-knit friends, which includes a wacky girl named Connie; Anita, an emotionally distraught woman who constantly contemplates suicide; Robert, a young WASP who fancies himself a poet; and Bernstein, an African-American gay man. All the while, he tries to maintain a stormy relationship with Sarah, his girlfriend. This band of outsiders becomes Larry's new family as he struggles as an actor and works toward a break in Hollywood.
Cast
- Lenny Baker as Larry Lapinsky
- Shelley Winters as Fay Lapinsky
- Ellen Greene as Sarah
- Lois Smith as Anita
- Christopher Walken as Robert (as Chris Walken)
- Antonio Fargas as Bernstein
- Mike Kellin as Ben Lapinsky
- Lou Jacobi as Herb
- Dori Brenner as Connie
- Jeff Goldblum as Clyde Baxter
- Rashel Novikoff as Mrs. Tupperman
- Michael Egan as Herbert Berghof, Acting Coach
- Bill Murray (uncredited) as Nick Kessler
- Joe Spinell as Cop at El Station
- Stuart Pankin (uncredited) as Man at Party
- Vincent Schiavelli (uncredited) as Man at Rent Party
- Rochelle Oliver as Doctor Marsha
Production
Filmmaker Mazursky had made his acting debut in Stanley Kubrick's 1953 film Fear and Desire, and Next Stop, Greenwich Village is a semi-autobiographical account of Mazursky's early life as an actor.
The film was entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
Casting
This film is also notable for being Bill Murray's first film, with Murray's having a few minutes of screen time. Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Walken (credited as Chris Walken) are relatively early in their respective careers.
Reception
Critical reception
The film generally was well received by critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a "fresh" score of 80% based on 15 reviews.[3]
References
- Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p233. Please note figures are rentals accruing to distributors and not total gross.
- "Festival de Cannes: Next Stop, Greenwich Village". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
- "Next Stop, Greenwich Village". Rotten Tomatoes.