City News
- Episode aired Mar 19, 1983
- 1h 5m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
19
YOUR RATING
Photos
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Alternate versionsOriginally shown with two short films, "Too Much Oregano" and "Ballet Robotique."
Featured review
Impressive indie feature
My review was written in December 1982 following a showing at a Times Square screening room.
"City News" is a humorous treatment of a dark subject: the struggle of an "underground" newspaper and its publisher-editor to survive in the face of financial problems. Debuting New York filmmakers Zoe Zinman and David Fishelson have fashioned an impressively stylish feature on a low budget, difficult to pigeonhole among recent trends in independent pictures.
Basically a success story, picture unfolds (after an over-expository opening) in a flashback structure as newspaperman Tom Domino (Elliot Crown) pulls an all-nighter typing out his recent life story. Vignettes illustrate in alternately realistic and fanciful form his creative escape into cartooning, finding self-expression in his "City News" autobiographical comic strip that is incorporated into the newspaper. A girl he meets at a Greenwich Village bar, Daphne (Nancy Cohen) provides the inspiration for his comic strip, while figuring prominently in later plot twists.
The varied tone and mix of styles set "City News" apart from the generally monotone nature of most recent indie pics, linking it more with the adventurous (and now out-of-fashion) works of the 1960s. Aided by a driving, predominantly jazz score and enough switches, trick endings and surprises rto keep one guessing, pic evidences embryonic filmmaking talent.
In the egotistical central role (his almost "Hammett"-style combination of both narrating and acting out his story dominate throughout), newcomer Elliot Crown is effective, while diminutive Nancy Cohen provides a good foil as his girlfriend.
Tech credits are above average, particularly the contribution of sound men Checker Dreher and Lee Dichter (latter coming off "The Verdict" and "Sophie's Choice" assignments) in covering the absence of much synchronized sound in this micro-budgeted opus. Jonathan Sinaiko's sharp 16mm lensing (utilizing East Village locales such as the office of John Lesch's since-closed The Other Paper, to whom the film is dedicated) could probably blow up well to 35mm.
"City News" is a humorous treatment of a dark subject: the struggle of an "underground" newspaper and its publisher-editor to survive in the face of financial problems. Debuting New York filmmakers Zoe Zinman and David Fishelson have fashioned an impressively stylish feature on a low budget, difficult to pigeonhole among recent trends in independent pictures.
Basically a success story, picture unfolds (after an over-expository opening) in a flashback structure as newspaperman Tom Domino (Elliot Crown) pulls an all-nighter typing out his recent life story. Vignettes illustrate in alternately realistic and fanciful form his creative escape into cartooning, finding self-expression in his "City News" autobiographical comic strip that is incorporated into the newspaper. A girl he meets at a Greenwich Village bar, Daphne (Nancy Cohen) provides the inspiration for his comic strip, while figuring prominently in later plot twists.
The varied tone and mix of styles set "City News" apart from the generally monotone nature of most recent indie pics, linking it more with the adventurous (and now out-of-fashion) works of the 1960s. Aided by a driving, predominantly jazz score and enough switches, trick endings and surprises rto keep one guessing, pic evidences embryonic filmmaking talent.
In the egotistical central role (his almost "Hammett"-style combination of both narrating and acting out his story dominate throughout), newcomer Elliot Crown is effective, while diminutive Nancy Cohen provides a good foil as his girlfriend.
Tech credits are above average, particularly the contribution of sound men Checker Dreher and Lee Dichter (latter coming off "The Verdict" and "Sophie's Choice" assignments) in covering the absence of much synchronized sound in this micro-budgeted opus. Jonathan Sinaiko's sharp 16mm lensing (utilizing East Village locales such as the office of John Lesch's since-closed The Other Paper, to whom the film is dedicated) could probably blow up well to 35mm.
helpful•00
- lor_
- Jan 22, 2023
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- City News & News Briefs
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content