Monday Movies – The Vanishing El

The elevated line at Broadway and 125th Street

If you are a keen moviegoer like I am, you will almost certainly be familiar with the elevated railway lines that are used to such great effect in films like The French Connection, Saturday Night Fever, and the opening credits of Welcome Back Kotter. While most of the elevated lines in New York City (colloquially referred to as the ‘El’), have long disappeared from Manhattan, wonderful examples of these amazing engineering works can still be seen in Queens and Brooklyn. However, a short section of elevated line for the ‘1’ Train still soars high above Broadway and 125th Street in Harlem.

Manhattan’s most famous surviving section of elevated line today must surely be the formerly abandoned, by now newly renovated west side line. This has undergone a new lease of life, and been reborn as the incredibly popular High Line (see Walking The High Line, Street View Comes to The High Line, and here...). All of which serves to introduce today’s series of Monday Movies featuring the former Third Avenue El.

If Things Could Talk: The Vanishing ‘El’ [10:00]

As the name implies, the Third Avenue El, ran the length of Manhattan’s Third Avenue before crossing over into the Bronx. The first segments of the line opened in Manhattan in 1878, and service continued before the line was eventually shut down in stages – beginning with the Manhattan sections in the 1950s – before the complete shut down of the Bronx section in 1973.

The Third Avenue El was featured in a number of films, including The Lost Weekend (1945),The Naked City (1948), On the Town (1949), The Killer That Stalked New York (1950), and On the Bowery (1956).

The 3rd Avenue El [10:39]

In this film a beatnik photographer with a tripod, a stumbling drunk from the old Bowery, a giddy little girl travelling with her father, and a couple on a romantic excursion help create a loose narrative of life on the old El.

See more films at: http://www.weirdovideo.com 

Melbourne

Flinders Street Station by Adam J.W.C.

~ After an exhausting eight hour day wandering around central Melbourne – buying books and visiting the Melbourne Museum and the Australian Centre for The Moving Image (ACMI), I returned to my house sitting base in Fitzroy North, and pretty much collapsed from the effort.

It doesn’t bode well for the rest of my five week stay, but I’m sure I will adjust to the routine – as long as I don’t make the purchase of books a regular part of that routine. Personally, I thought my Training For Travel program of daily hour long walks would have prepared me better for the rigours of extended city walking, but of course, there is a big difference between walking for an hour, and being on my feet for at least seven of the eight hours I was out and about yesterday.

Right now, I am still in recovery mode. Thankfully, my feet are complaining less, and my back is a lot happier now that I am spending most of the day reading, writing, and relaxing. But watch out, body, tomorrow we hit the streets again. So suck it up, and make the most of your layover day. The adventure is only beginning.

Monday Movies: Musicians Below New York

One of the many things I love about New York City is the range of amazing musicians and singers who eke out a living performing across the city’s subway network. Actually, ‘eke out’ may be the wrong expression. Judging by the amount of money some of these musicians are able to earn in tips (based on my observations), they may in fact be making quite a good living.

Of course, this only applies to the best of the performers, but then to survive as a performer on New York’s subway stations you have to be more than good, you have to be very good. So today, I thought I’d feature some short films that focus on a few of these subway singers.

The first film was uploaded to YouTube by a person using the pseudonym/profile name: mybs86. Regarding the video s/he writes:

"okay- what you are about to watch is a true new york experience. what originally started out as a typical nyc subway ride ... turned into an awesome performance by two people who have never met before. i captured the whole thing on video. the singer continued with another great song after the entire subway car demanded an encore. her name is jessica latshaw- make sure to check out her music."

   

Whether the meeting of musicians was a set up or not is immaterial. It’s a great clip, and Jessica exudes confidence and charisma by the bucket full. Jessica Latshaw has her own Facebook profile [https://www.facebook.com/jesslatshaw], so if you feel so inclined – get in touch and become a Friend/Follower.

Thanks to Gothamist for bringing the Jessica Latshaw video to our attention.

Below New York 
Below New York is the name of a documentary for CamLin Productions, whose first feature “…is a unique and stylized look at some of New York City's finest subway performers, musicians and artists. The film draws the audience into the amazing lives these local performers lead, and how their quest for a venue and sustenance adds a truly wonderful aesthetic to one of the greatest cities in the world.”

   

Below New York – Select Blendz 
One of the groups featured in the Below New York documentary is Select Blendz, an (almost) a’ Capella group that clearly has the doo-wop thing down pat. I say ‘almost’ because they do include an upright bass player in their lineup. This second clip showcases the group on an unnamed New York subway station.

   

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