Next Stop, Greenwich Village [1976 / 2022] [Dual Format] [Blu-ray + DVD] [UK Release]
1953 Was Good Year For Leaving Home!
Fresh out of college, Larry Lapinksy [Lenny Baker] leaves his traditional Jewish home – and his over-bearing mother – in Brooklyn. An aspiring actor, Larry Lapinksy moves to Manhattan and the bohemian enclave of Greenwich Village where he seeks his fortune. Larry Lapinksy quickly takes his place among young creative types and is soon on the verge of a career breakthrough…but his mother finds it hard to let him go.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1976 Cannes Film Festival: Nominated: Palme d'Or for Director Paul Mazursky. 1977 Golden Globes: Nominated: Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for Shelley Winters. Nominated: Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture for a Male for Lenny Baker. National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA: Nominated: Best Screenplay for Paul Mazursky. Writers Guild of America: Nominated: WGA Award (Screen) for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen for Paul Mazursky. 1978 BAFTA Awards: Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Shelley Winters.
FILM FACT No.2: This film is also notable for being Bill Murray's first film, and with Bill Murray having a few seconds of screen time. Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Walken are relatively early in their respective careers.
Cast: Lenny Baker, Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Lois Smith, Christopher Walken, Dori Brenner, Antonio Fargas, Lou Jacobi, Mike Kellin, Michael Egan, Rashel Novikoff, John C. Becher, Jeff Goldblum, Joe Spinell, Denise Galik, Rochelle Oliver, Sol Frieder, Helen Hanft, John Ford Noonan, Carole Monferdini, Gui Andrisano, Joe Madden, Rubin Levine, Rutanya Alda (uncredited), Milton Frome (uncredited), Annie Gagen (uncredited), Ray Gill (uncredited), Paul Mazursky (uncredited), Bill Murray (uncredited), Stuart Pankin (uncredited), Billie Perkins (uncredited), Vincent Schiavelli (uncredited), Filomena Spagnuolo (uncredited), Kandice Stroh (uncredited) and Frankie Verroca (uncredited)
Director: Paul Mazursky
Producers: Anthony Ray and Paul Mazursky
Screenplay: Paul Mazursky
Composer: Bill Conti
Costumes: Albert Wolsky
Cinematography: Arthur J. Ornitz (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: Blu-ray 1080p + DVD 1080i (Color by DeLuxe)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Digital Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: Blu-ray: 111 minutes and DVD: 106 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 2
Studio: 20th Century Fox / Signal One Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ [1976] is a Paul Mazursky's semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story, and with the opening scene, we find Larry Lapinsky [Lenny Baker], a twenty-two-year-old graduate of Brooklyn College is bidding farewell to his possessive clinging arms of a hysterical mother Mom / Faye Lapinsky [Shelley Winters] and his passive father Ben Lapinsky [Mike Kellin]. When he dons a French beret and smiles, we know that Larry Lapinsky is ready for a new life! The unknown awaits him in Greenwich Village — to Larry Lapinsky a place synonymous with freedom and all the wild possibilities every young creative person dreams about escaping to the bohemian, sexually liberated world of Greenwich Village in 1953.
Ostensibly it is about Larry Lapinsky’s development as an actor, the story of Larry Lapinsky primarily revolves around his attempts to negotiate love, sex, and friendship. Larry Lapinsky finds a cheap apartment, starts to take method-acting classes and works in a juice bar. Larry Lapinsky begins to meet a wide range of eccentric aspirants including a suicidal actress Anita Cunningham [Lois Smith], a wildly pretentious actor Clyde Baxter [Jeff Goldblum], an oversexed poet Robert Fulmer [Christopher Walken] a Lothario who cynically uses women, a flamboyant homosexual Bernstein Chandler [Antonio Fargas] who is a black gay and near to a nervous breakdown, Connie [Dori Brenner] an earth mother friend-to-all who is aching with loneliness and Sarah Roth [Ellen Greene], the girl Larry Lapinsky falls in love with. The group explores the ropes of sexuality and betrayal; all the while, Larry Lapinsky's attempts at love are constantly ruined by the sudden appearances of his parents, who especially can't let him go. As Larry Lapinsky responds to these individuals, especially his Mom / Faye Lapinsky, and his girlfriend Sarah Roth, but in the end Larry Lapinsky fashions a kind of declaration of independence which in the end pays off with a trip to Hollywood to appear in a film.
Regardless of what you think of the film’s characters and plot, there is no denying that Paul Mazursky nailed the time and place 100%. Paul Mazursky admits that the film is largely autobiographical and he paid close attention to the small details that make up the setting of the film. Given that the film was shot in the mid-Seventies, Paul Mazursky was able to recreate the period realistically before the entire area of Greenwich Village was gentrified to the point of being unrecognizable now. To make this film now would cost an incredible amount of money, but back then it just took a good eye and a great deal of attention to detail.
Paul Mazursky hired a relatively inexperienced actor like Lenny Baker in the lead role. Lenny Baker is an awkward presence on screen. I found myself torn between thinking that his performance was incredibly accurate and on the other hand thinking that he was one of the worst leading actors ever cast. It is hard to say which perspective is right, but as indicated in the audio commentary Paul Mazursky achieved what he was going for and considered this one of his favourite films. The supporting cast is strong. Ellen Greene is very believable as the love interest in the film. A young and confident Christopher Walken is great in the film and very subtly steals every scene in which he appears. Unlike the rest of the cast, Christopher Walken had that real star presence even at the beginning of his career. Similarly, Shelley Winters is totally fantastic in the film as the overbearing and constantly worried quintessential Jewish mother, who was so totally fabulous.
The very essence of this wonderful 1976 film depicting life in the 1950’s Greenwich Village is fully realized by a wonderful cast. Lenny Baker, who died way too early, was simply wonderful as a Brooklyn College graduate, who leaves home to venture forth to Greenwich Village. It's the place of cafés, of wander and lust, the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg protest era, and all things associated with society at this time. There are also some wonderful support here by up and coming actors at the time like Christopher Walken and Jeff Goldblum as well as Ellen Greene.
Director Paul Mazursky is a very personal film-maker; he has invested a part of himself in every one of his creations, especially with films like ‘Alex in Wonderland,’ ‘Blume in Love’ and ‘Harry and Tonto.’ ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ is no different. It is an autobiographical look at Paul Mazursky's experiences as young actor in Greenwich Village during the early Fifties — a time when creative theatre and Joseph McCarthy were both blooming. The Village then was filled with artists and hopeful actors, novelists and aspiring writers, poets and singers. It was a demilitarized zone set apart from the conformist ethic characteristic of the post-war period. The bohemian life was going through birth pangs and by the middle of the decade would be flowering into the Beat Movement with all its impudence, primitivism, and frankness. The setting of ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ is the twilight zone between conservative, corporate, and suburban values of most Americans and yet-to-come barbaric yawps of the Beat Generation. Paul Maursky's re-creation of this moment is just right, so enjoy, and this film is to treasure for all ages!
In the mould of ‘American Graffiti,’ the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ is a nostalgia flashback to one of those special times and places – in this case, Greenwich Village, New York in 1953 and of course to help create the atmosphere of that period, we have the awesome soundtrack and that the majority of it is performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet that really enhances the atmosphere and ambience of New York in 1953, but there are other musicians that helped to also create the atmosphere and ambience of New York in 1953 and they are Charlie Parker, J.J. Johnson and Glenn Miller and His Orchestra and I feel that to purchase the actual Compact Disc of the soundtrack would really enhance your Compact Disc collection.
IN MEMORIAM: In August 1978, Lenny Baker real name Leonard Joel Baker began his career to be sadly cut short by an illness of “A serious throat ailment” and according to articles in the Detroit Free Press and the Hartford Courant published during that month, caused him to leave the cast of the pre-Broadway show “Broadway, Broadway.” Lenny Baker's final television performance was a guest-star appearance on the sitcom “Taxi” in 1979. Lenny Baker's last noted stage performance was in March 1980, in which he reprised the one-act Horovitz plays he had performed in Paris. Lenny Baker was eventually diagnosed with Medullary thyroid cancer. Decades after Lenny Baker's death, commentator David Ehrenstein speculated in LA Weekly that Lenny Baker had suffered from AIDS, then known as “gay-related immune deficiency” (GRID), for approximately two years before his death. David Ehrenstein's 2003 LA Weekly essay includes a quote from actor Anthony Holland that indicates that Lenny Baker lived in Los Angeles in 1980. As Lenny Baker's illness worsened, he moved to Miami to live with his parents. There is no reliable source to confirm that his illness was indeed HIV-related. Lenny Baker died on the 12th April, 1982, at the Community Hospital of South Broward in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Lenny Baker is buried in Moses Mendelsohn Memorial Park in Randolph, Massachusetts.
Next Stop, Greenwich Village Music Track List
THREE TO GET READY (Written by Dave Brubeck) (uncredited) [Performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet]
BLUE RONDO Á LA TURK (Written by Dave Brubeck) (uncredited) [Performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet]
FOR ALL WE KNOW (Written by Sam Lewis and J. Fred Coots) (uncredited) [Performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet]
PERDIDO (Written by Juan Tizol) (uncredited) [Performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet]
CONFIRMATION (Written by Charlie Parker) (uncredited) [Performed by Charlie Parker]
YESTERDAYS (Written by Jerome Kern and Otto A. Harbach) (uncredited) [Performed by J.J. Johnson]
LITTLE BROWN JUG (Written by Joseph Winner) (uncredited) (Arranged by Bill Finegan) (uncredited) [Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – 20th Century Fox and Signal One Entertainment presents us the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ and has a distinctly shot-on-location New York flavour without resorting to pseudo-vérité style. The visual style hits the right note of unsentimental nostalgia. It has a brilliant 1080p image quality, especially with the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The image is clean and clear, with natural looking film grain that is never obtrusive. The colour palette leans more towards a muted look, but flesh tones appear natural. The cinematography by Arthur J. Ornitz achieves a fantastic look due to his realistic approach to the material. The film is largely visually compelling due to the attention to detail given to the time period. The film is largely visually compelling due to the attention to detail given to the time period. There are no issues with dust, debris or any other age-related artefacts. Quite simply, it looks as if the film has been pulled in pristine condition out of a time capsule. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – 20th Century Fox and Signal One Entertainment brings us the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ and offers a 2.0 LPCM Digital Audio experience. The audio is very pleasing, and the dialogue is very well recorded and always easy to understand. This film is very soft in its approach to setting and the score, with very little noise to take away from the characters talking with one another. The 2.0 LPCM Digital Audio is also very good for the Bill Conti’s evocative composed film score, which is very solid and creative, and neither exhibits any evidence of hiss or other age-related factors.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary by Director Paul Mazursky and Actress Ellen Greene: Here director Paul Mazursky introduces himself and informs us that he is here to talk about the making of ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ and informs us it is one of his favourite film, and probably because it is about his personal journey in his youth, because he was this child from Brooklyn who moved to Greenwich Village and of course eventually moved to California to become a movie star. Paul Mazursky also informs us that he had a great time making the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ sometime in 1975 I guess, because he had just directed the following films, which included ‘Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice’ [1969], ‘Alex in Wonderland’ [1970], ‘Blume in Love’ [1973] and ‘Harry and Tonto’ [1974], and then immediately started writing the script for ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ and when he got about half way through writing it and decided to show it to author and screenwriter Josh Greenfield who wrote ‘Harry and Tonto’ with Paul Mazursky and wanted to know what Josh Greenfield thought of what he had written so far, and Josh Greenfield said it looked real good and just keep going, so Paul Mazursky did just that, because Josh Greenfield gave him so much encouragement to finish the script on a young Jewish man from Brooklyn and Paul Mazursky feels the film is a very personal film about his early life in general and feels very proud that the film was a big box office hit in Europe, because they really loved the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ that relates to the coming of age type film. Throughout this audio commentary, now and again we get comments from the actress Ellen Greene who played the character Sarah in ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ and in this section will let you hear Ellen Greene’s personal comments and then the rest of the audio commentary will be the rest of Paul Mazursky’s personal comments in this brilliant audio commentary, so here is what Ellen Greene said about her experiences in the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ and said and felt it was a really beautiful film, and really wants to give her personal views on the film, and feels the wonderful director Paul Mazursky taught her a great deal to get the best out of here performance in the film. Ellen Greene says that with the scene with Lenny Baker and her wearing the bra, which was a genuine 1950’s bra. Ellen Greene says that she found the audition for the part in the film very easy, especially doing the reading with director Paul Mazursky and told her to trust her instincts and found that comment invaluable and kept that in mind throughout her acting career and found that Paul Mazursky was very a kind person and was also totally amazed when the director offered her the part in the film and what she also liked was being able to do her scenes as we wanted to interpretation them without any pressure from the director. Ellen Greene feels the atmosphere in the film was totally amazing, as were the 1950’s clothes the actors had to wear, but what Ellen Greene really liked in the jazz music used for the soundtrack and especially hearing The Dave Brubeck Quartet which she feels really added to the atmosphere of the film and again also comments that Paul Mazursky was a really magic director to work with and especially able to recreate 1953’s New York and especially Greenwich Village and also that the director made everyone feel important. Ellen Greene talks about her character that would have been in 1953 in New York and a lot of women at the time were very reserved and wore lots of clothing to cover up their bodies. But Ellen Greene feels her character was very rebellious for 1953 and loved that about her character, especially getting a diaphragm fitted and that was totally exciting to Lenny Baker’s character, and Ellen Greene again feels playing that character was really very exciting. Ellen Greene says that the café ORIGINAL CAPPUCCINO scene with some of the other actors in the film was gorgeous and we really loved working in that scene, we got great coffee, we also got great cookies (biscuits) and you can see it in his eye and you see how Paul Mazursky sets up his shots and you feel so ay home with these people, we have great conversation, we read books, there is painters, writers and have creative minds. Ellen Greene says that sometimes love is frightening and even when someone loves you, really loves you, and it is such an overwhelming experience if you are not ready for it. On top of all that, she says that Paul Mazursky wrote into the script about the attitude of the characters and was I believe a cover for my character in the film, where she is smart, funny, but as I say, that is why she went off to the Christopher Walkern character and had sex with him behind Lenny Baker’s back and now my character pulls back, she hides and there is a slight bitch attitude in her character, and I knew those types of girls, because they think to themselves, don’t come too close or touch me with intimacy, because it you do, I give it all up give my power to the man. Ellen Greene says that she is really proud of her character in the film, bit on top of all that, there is a very big total sadness and I am proud of her character, because she is very complex and it had enough edge and she was not always likeable, because she was one scared person. There are a lot of women who distance themselves from life and that they are not in the thrill of life and times, people get bored with life sometimes. Now at last here is the rest of the amazing audio commentary by director Paul Mazursky where he says that at the start of the film and is all about the apartment where Larry Lapinksy is taking the photos of the wall, and although it is supposed to be in Brownsville, which is a residential neighbourhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City, but was actually shot in another part of Brooklyn and he also praises the actor Lenny Baker, he thought was a really wonderful and brilliant actor and points out his large nose, who someone said that it was so large, it could slice bread. Then as Lenny Baker walks into the kitchen with his suitcase, where we find his parents are sitting at the table and of course his mother is the divine actress Shelley Winters who Paul Mazursky who really praises the wonderful actress, and informs us that Shelley Winters had already appeared in three previous Paul Mazursky films and also informs us that Shelley Winters has survived 50 years in the acting profession. When we see the front of the apartment building where Lenny Baker comes out of, Paul Mazursky informs us that was the actual apartment building he was brought up in Brooklyn. Paul Mazursky also informs us that when he showed the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ to the press at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival and when the music of The Dave Brubeck Quartet started, all the press people in the audience started stomping their feet to the music and Paul Mazursky thought they hated the film, and was about to storm out of the auditorium, but Shelley Winters informed Paul Mazursky the press people really loved the film and especially the jazz music. When Lenny Bake finally arrives in Greenwich Village, Paul Mazursky informs us that he lived in that Greenwich Village area off and on over a five year period, but for the film they had to create the actual period of the 1950’s, but luckily some of the original shops were still there for the film, but on the other hand they had to remove all the television aerials, also put up 1950’s advertisements and signs, put all the extras in 1950’s clothing, when we see the scooter, Paul Mazursky comments that this was a real 1950’s scooter. Paul Mazursky talks about the actress Ellen Greene who he thinks was a wonderful actress and with great Jewish qualities and also informs us that the acts appeared in the film ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ and Paul Mazursky also feels that the actress reminded him of one of his early Greenwich Village girlfriend. Paul Mazursky feels that Ellen Greene was like his first girlfriend, especially the dark hair, who use to dress really nice and who had a definite New York accent and that Paul Mazursky was at the time very serious towards that girlfriend, and Paul Mazursky again comments that he felt Ellen Greene was a very talented actress and really liked her performance a great deal and also feels that if Ellen Greene had been around in the 1930’s and 1940’s would have been a very successful actress in Hollywood and would have been in the style of the actresses like Jean Arthur, Ida Lapino or even Carole Lombard. When we see Lenny Baker and Ellen Greene walk into the real bar in Greenwich Village and Paul Mazursky thinks at the time of filming that scene it was an actual gay bar, but of course for the film they had a mixture of straight and gay actor extras and of course Paul Mazursky points out a quick glimpse of the actor Bill Murray with his moustache who is the only scene we see him out of the whole of the film, so slightly confused why he was there in the first place, but Paul Mazursky points out in his own opinion that he was the one that started Bill Murray’s acting film career. Paul Mazursky now talks about the actor Antonio Fargas who plays the black gay character who we first meet in the gay bar who plays an over the top feminine gay character and feels he played his character really well. Paul Mazursky felt the cameraman Arthur J. Ornitz Director of Photography had a really tough time filming in the very small bar and also amazed how he was able to hide all of the lighting and really felt Arthur J. Ornitz did a really marvellous job in a very professional way. When we see Lenny Baker and Ellen Green sitting inside the subway carriage, although it was a real 1950’s one, it did not move, as it was housed in the New York Transit Museum which is located in a decommissioned subway station at 99 Schermerhorn Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 and has different style carriages throughout the history of the New York subway, and to get the effect that the subway carriage is moving, they rigged up some lighting and moved it past the window quite swiftly. When we see Lenny Baker and Ellen Greene get sexually aroused, Paul Mazursky feels that filming that scene was very hot, but had to slightly tone things down, otherwise the censors at the time of the film’s release if it had been a full blown sex scene would not give it a certificate rating, but despite this, Paul Mazursky let the two actors try and be as natural as possible. When we see Lenny Baker on the subway platform, they again had to put up 1950’s advertising signs, as well as film posters of that period and feels the lighting was totally perfect. When we see Larry Baker pick up the empty bottle on the subway platform and does that long academy award acceptance speech, Paul Mazursky felt it was a brilliant performance, but when the policeman turns up, Paul Mazursky felt they bounced off each other perfectly, but you also get to hear Lenny Baker do a couple of impressions, well Paul Mazursky in his youth used to be able to do about 10 to 15 impressions of well-known actors, especially when he did live comedy gigs. When Larry Baker turns up at the Health Store, which Paul Mazursky informs us was a real one, but changed the name of the shop and felt the main male and female actors were brilliant character actors and Paul Mazursky feels he has been very lucky with all the actors he had in his films he directed. When we see Lenny Baker in his Greenwich Village apartment and acting out what his mother would say, “You call this and apartment,” well Paul Mazursky remembers when he got his first Greenwich Village apartment and the time his parents turned up to basically check what his place was like, and basically Paul Mazursky’s his Jewish mother basically also said the same words about his apartment word for word. But the actual apartment that Lenny Baker is filmed in was not an actual apartment, but a set built in the film studio and was done by Production Designer Philip Rosenberg and Paul Mazursky felt he had done a brilliant job in creating an apartment set in 1953 in Greenwich Village. When Larry Lapinsky parents turn up, who are actors Shelley Winters and Mike Kellin and you see Shelley Winters pulls a face of disgust, Paul Mazursky laughs out loud, as again remembering when his parents turned to find out what sort of hovel he is living in, and Shelley Winters saying that wonderful sarcastic quote about the apartment, and Paul Mazursky felt Shelley Winters when she did her scenes was very funny. When we see the scene at the acting school and Lenny Baker is performing with the young actress, the real Acting Coach Herbert Berghof [Michael Egan] and Paul Mazursky felt his performance was really wonderful and before doing that scene, Paul Mazursky asked Michael Egan to please stick to his script he wrote as much as possible, especially making comments about the two actors performance, but to put in as much more emphasises as possible about what he observed, like you would in a real class and Paul Mazursky felt Michael Egan did his script real justice. Paul Mazursky talks about the scene with the two actors Lenny Baker and Christopher Walken arguing about having an abortion and it was like that in America in 1953 and of course there were load of illegal places where you could get an abortion that was so very dangerous and caused a lot of deaths, but also said there were places you could go to that was much safer and in the know, where you could either get an injection or some pills so that it aborts the unborn child, and at the time it would cost you $400 to have the safer way to have an abortion, which of course was a total fortune in the 1950’s, especially for ordinary working people, and Paul Mazursky agrees with legal abortions. When Lenny Baker has his big party in his apartment and was exactly like his first Greenwich Village apartment party and when you see the actor holding up a LIFE magazine that was very popular in that period, they of course had to try and get one to add to a 1950’s atmosphere and the period of the film, and the scene where everyone is acting out in the apartment like they were on a subway, that is the same thing Paul Mazursky did with the parties in his Greenwich Village apartment, but when his parents Shelley Winters and Mike Kellin turn up out of the blue at the party, and the scene we see with Shelley Winters, but Paul Mazursky thought the best scene of all is when Antonio Fargas the black gay character grabs Shelley Winters to dance was totally brilliant and so much fun and Paul Mazursky thought Shelley Winters was outstanding and again reminded him of his Jewish mother, but even better is when Shelley Winters performs on the acting school stage doing singing opera and dancing and I felt was total perfection and totally hilarious laugh out loud moment in the film. When we first meet the actor Jeff Goldblum as Clyde Baxter at the audition office, Paul Mazursky feels this was the actors first screen appearance in a film, and Paul Mazursky comments that because Jeff Goldblum was so tall, you see he has to bend over and lean onto the desk to talk to the young lady, but despite this, Paul Mazursky felt his performance was really wonderful, especially being totally over the top performance and a massive ego trip,. The scene where all five actors turn up at the female friend’s apartment who keeps cutting her wrists, but this time she has actually committed suicide, Paul Mazursky feels suicide is a very difficult subject in a film setting and informs us that one of his girlfriend was always cutting her wrists, but never committed suicide, but with that particular scene in the film, you hear the melodic jazz music with a solo saxophone player and he is the wonderful American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, Paul Desmond and best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, “Take Five” and asked Paul Desmond to come into the recording studio to do several recording sessions for different scenes in the film and Paul Mazursky thought Paul Desmond was totally fantastic. When we see the scene in the studio with all the crew doing some test filming and Lenny Baxter gets his turn to be filmed, Paul Mazursky was in with all that crew as an assistant director and you hear him speak, but there is quite a poignant quote in this audio commentary said by Paul Mazursky, where he says, “My movies are carefully written and there is no improvisation, the only time I use improvisation, is the scene which I have a banter with Jeff Goldblum, where I am playing the assistant director, with the dialogue back and forth, I don’t know if it was written that way or not, but I did it with him, and it worked, like the acting teacher I told him to say a few things as he felt.” Paul Mazursky again harks back again to the 1976 Cannes Film Festival to when his film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ and how they applauded his film, especially from people who knew the Greenwich Village in the 1950’s and he feels it really validated him, which he really needed at the time, because Paul Mazursky it is a very personal and intimate film, but it is also a very funny poignant film and also a great mixture, which is a trade mark of his picture, that is why he loves films, especially like Federico Fellini [Italian film director]. Paul Mazursky remembers fondly of Juliet Taylor who was the casting director for the film and Juliet Taylor introduced to Paul Mazursky totally unknown actors he had never heard or ever seen before like Lenny Baker, Ellen Greene and Christopher Walkern and of course were all very good. Paul Mazursky also says that the 1950’s especially in Greenwich Village the “Beat Generation” and precursors to the 1960’s “Hippy Generation, where we wanted to be free, take drugs like LSD and wanted to go all the way, we wanted to take our clothes off, we wanted to have free love, which Paul Mazursky dealt with in his film ‘Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice’ [1959], but in the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ and in the real life of that area of New York in 1953, the gays had to stay in the closet and had a really terrible secret life and now things are totally different and that secret side of their lives are over for good, but of course later on had to deal with other problems like A.I.D.S., but again the gays eventually survived their adversity and pulled their lives around. Paul Mazursky says that people he knew in Greenwich Village in 1953 had very strong fantasies trying to achieve what they were dreaming about, Paul Mazursky wanted to be a great actor, and thought he would never become a great director or a writer, he was really only interested in acting, whereas Christopher Walkern character achieved his dream in becoming a writer and a poet, whereas women in 1953 had their own issues, but instead they were searching, trying to figure out what to do with their lives. Paul Mazursky thinks Greenwich Village has been infiltrated by STARBUCKS, because it is not the same atmosphere like it was when he moved there, and not like the scene in the café ORIGINAL CAPPUCCINO, still I suppose it is better than nothing, but again it is not the same as it was originally. When you go to STARBUCKS now, all the people are either on their mobile phone or viewing their laptop computer, meaning, in the café scene, all four actors are talking. Paul Mazursky wanted the actors to be true to their characters and like the characters he wrote in the script for the film and one poignant comment that Paul Mazursky points out about Ellen Greene’s character, is when she says, “nobody owns me,” but Paul Mazursky also says that I have seen that line said in different ways, but I cannot remember is people said that line in the 1950’s. Paul Mazursky says that the film poster was done by the best poster artist who was a Philip Williams Poster who really loved the film and Paul Mazursky thinks it is a terrific film poster and I agree with him and even in those days. Paul Mazursky felt totally involved with every aspect in my picture, which again even included the film poster, so the studio was kind enough and open enough and generous enough in letting me chose the film poster design. Paul Mazursky feels you cannot be afraid to make a film, you cannot be afraid if they are not going to get it, or is this too much, or am I going too far with the film and seeing the film today, and you saw a lot of things in the film that really now strike with me now that was very daring when I made the picture, it sounds more like today, but not what the dialogue would sound today, and they are talking about stuff now in films, whereas they were not doing in films in the 1970’s, but only just starting, especially like the film ‘Easy Rider’ where that were opening up and letting us do what we wanted to do. When I direct a film, my primary concerns directing a film in my primary concern is writing for the film and because if you are writing for a film that in the end you are directing, and it is a little easier getting a script from someone and you have to ask an enormous amount of questions, and I do anyway and there were three films I directed I did not write a script, but with these particular writers, it was a pleasure to talk to them in great detail. But most times when I do write a script, I do not out a lot of directions in them that is going to appear in the film, especially the way it looks, the way they act. Paul Mazursky again talks about the small Italian café on the Greenwich Village scene since 1927 called ORIGINAL CAPPUCCINO in Greenwich Village and thinks it still exists, but it is still there, but is now called Caffé Reggio and is still situated in 119 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012 when they filmed inside, and he thought it was a beautiful little café and that is why Paul Mazursky moved to Greenwich Village and it was the start of his education and where he met the real life Greenwich Village Poet Robert Fulmer who is played by Christopher Walkern and the real life poet taught him a great deal about life in general, but Paul Mazursky had a great deal of mixed feeling about the poet, but he actual got Paul Mazursky read a lot of books about lots of different things that he had not read about before and certainly opened up Paul Mazursky’s knowledge of life. Paul Mazursky felt the film was very well edited by the brilliant Richard Halsey and we worked well together on a couple of other films, and they were ‘Moscow on the Hudson,’ ‘Harry and Tonto,’ ‘Down and Out in Beverly Hills’ and ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village.’ Paul Mazursky really likes to work with the editor, gives brief notes during the shooting of the film and then likes to view the dallies which he prefers, and likes to let the editor to do the first edit on his own and leave it to his instincts, then after viewing what the editor has done, then Paul Mazursky like to sit with the editor and view what he has edited and the make comments on what scenes he wants longer and what scenes should be shorter. When we get to the scene around 1:46:00 where Mike Kellin Baker, Shelley Winters and Lenny Baker are sitting around a table in a real apartment in Williamsburg and the Neighbourhood in New York City, New York and eating some food and Paul Mazursky is making comments about different aspect of the scene we are viewing, but mainly talking about the actress Shelley Winters and her brilliant acting performance in showing lots of different emotions, because Lenny Baker id off to Hollywood to make a film and leaving his family behind, and feels Shelley Winters has a high level of performance and was filled with energy and was a kind of improvisation acting performance in what the actress was saying and now and again the actress would stop for a short time and give a certain mothers look at her son who is about to start his journey to the other side of America, but at the same time covers up her unhappiness mania in losing her son and feels Shelley Winters should of won an award for her sterling performance in the film, and when Shelley Winters is saying goodbye to Lenny Baker and says to him “be a good actor” that is why Paul Mazursky wanted the actress in his film. When the end credits roll up the screen, Paul Mazursky starts talking about the people involved with his film and again mentions Juliet Taylor the casting director and how wonderful and talented she was in helping towards making this film. Now to sum up this audio commentary and I thought Paul Mazursky was totally brilliant, very intelligent and showed lots of praise for all his actors and was so very insightful with all aspects towards the film and some of his anecdotes were utterly brilliant and definitely get a top five star rating. As to the Ellen Green audio commentary, well to be brutally honest, I wish they had not allowed this actress to do her part of the audio commentary and the majority of what she said was total rubbish and totally pointless, but when she spoke at about 30 minutes into the film it was quite interesting, but after that it all went downhill and what also annoyed me was how she kept interrupting Paul Mazursky’s insightful audio commentary and in the end Ellen Greene’s comments started to really annoy with her pompous vacuous comments and when I thought she was not going to comment anymore, but then out of the blue she came back and again really got on my nerves to utter contempt. But if Ellen Greene had not been included in this audio commentary and only had Paul Mazursky do his audio commentary, it would have been a hundred times more superior and especially just hearing Paul Mazursky talking about the film. Oh well, you can’t win in that situation and to keep hearing Ellen Greene talking in the 111 minutes made the audio commentary feel like an eternity.
Special Feature: Video Essay on Director Paul Mazursky by Film Critic Mark Searby [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:16] Here Film Critic Mark Searby introduces himself and quotes a saying by director Paul Mazursky by saying “I don’t like movies that are morally simple,” and that quote can explain why all of Paul Mazursky’s films concentrate on the intricate nature of relationships and Paul Mazursky had no time for big lavish set pieces, or multiple explosions as big burly men running around with machine guns. Paul Mazursky was of the opinion that human relationships and interactions what matters the most and the investigations into home truths what set Paul Mazursky’s films apart from all others. Paul Mazursky was born Irwin Lawrence “Paul” Mazursky on the 25th April, 1930 and was born in to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jean (née Gerson), a piano player for dance classes, and David Mazursky, a labourer. Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky's grandfather was an immigrant from Ukraine. Irwin Lawrence “Paul” Mazursky graduated from Brooklyn College in 1951. Being brought up in a Jewish family would prove a great advantage, and when Irwin Lawrence “Paul” Mazursky was looking to write his own material and long before he would be sitting behind a camera, Irwin Lawrence “Paul” Mazursky as a small boy would be sat in a cinema viewing the latest film releases and sometimes his mother would allow him to skip going to school and sometimes with his mother they would both go to the cinema to watch a double bill of foreign films and Irwin Lawrence “Paul” Mazursky was so taken by the images he viewed up there on the silver screen, that on finishing his year in school, would take an acting course at the Broadway College and while there by luck was able to begin his film career as an actor in Stanley Kubrick's first feature, ‘Fear and Desire’ [1953] and it was director Stanley Kubrick asked for verification of his name to appear in the credits and at that point Irwin Lawrence “Paul” Mazursky telephoned his wife Betsy Mazursky who at the time was a librarian and social worker and wanted to know what his first name should be and Betsy Mazursky told him to call himself Paul Mazursky as his real name would take up too many words and would not help his career and of course never looked back. Paul Mazursky then went onto study method acting at the famous Lee Strasberg establishment. Two years later he appeared in a featured position as one of a classroom of teenagers with issues towards authority in the film ‘The Blackboard Jungle’ [1955]. Paul Mazursky’s acting career continued for several decades, starting with parts in episodes of television series such as “The Twilight Zone” and “The Rifleman.” Paul Mazursky then decided that the only way to get into movies was to move to Hollywood in Los Angeles and while studying at the University of California, Paul Mazursky became a writer and worked on “The Danny Kaye Show” in 1963. In 1965, he collaborated with Larry Tucker in crafting the script of the original pilot of “The Monkees” television series, in which they both also appeared in cameos and that was the start of a long comedy writing partnership and it all began with a great success. But Paul Mazursky felt like starting doing an acting career and started doing supporting roles in ‘The Other Side of the Wind’ [1972], ‘A Star Is Born’ [1976], ‘History of the World Part I’ [1981], ‘Into the Night’ [1985], ‘Punchline [1988], ‘Man Trouble’ [1992], ‘Carlito's Way; [1993], ‘Love Affair’ [1994], ‘2 Days in the Valley’ [1996], ‘Miami Rhapsody’ [1995], ‘Crazy in Alabama’ [1999], and ‘I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With’ [2006]. Paul Mazursky also performed the voice of the Psychologist in ‘Antz’ [1998], and a budding musician Bunny voice in the smash hit ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ [2011] animated film. Paul Mazursky’s early acting career was dominated with numerous appearances on TV shows and had a small part as "Sunshine" the poker dealer in The Sopranos. He also appeared in five episodes of season 4 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as Mel Brooks' associate Norm, a role that he later reprised in a season 7 episode and helped himself into his long term comedy roots and he also cast himself in his own films, but also as a supporting character and mainly going uncredited. As a director, Paul Mazursky’s work was an adventure in the everyday lifestyle of different class structures and with his Jewish roots in New York made him want to direct films like contemporary dramatic comedies and include the Academy Award-winning ‘Harry and Tonto’ [1974], the Best Picture-nominated ‘An Unmarried Woman’ [1978], and popular hits such as ‘Moscow on the Hudson’ [1984] and ‘Down and Out in Beverly Hills’ [1986] and Paul Mazursky related this film to his wide-eyed infatuation with the city’s rampant pop nuttiness that sadly underperformed at the box office, but gained a cult status following when it was released onto the VHS tape format and it also gained an accolade on being the first ‘R’ rated comedy for the Walt Disney Pictures. Paul Mazursky’s debut as a film screenwriter was the Peter Sellers comedy ‘I Love You, Alice B. Toklas’ [1968]. The following year he directed his first film ‘Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice’ [1959] and produced and written by Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker, which proved to be a major critical and commercial success. The film was the fifth highest grossing of the year and earned Paul Mazursky his first Oscar nomination. Paul Mazursky always wanted unconventional actors to appear in his conventional films and the characters were full of deep levels of human emotions and had a key eye for talented actors and of course gave great chances for actors like Christopher Walken, Ellen Greene, Dyan Cannon, Ellen Burstyn and Molly Ringwald to star in major roles in Paul Mazursky’s films, that again were previously unknown actors. Paul Mazursky received five Academy Award nominations, four for his screenplay writing on ‘Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice’ [1969], ‘Harry and Tonto’ [1974], ‘An Unmarried Woman’ [1978] and ‘Enemies, a Love Story’ [1989], and once as producer of ‘An Unmarried Woman’ and was nominated for Best Picture. Paul Mazursky was also twice nominated for a Golden Globe and twice for the Cannes Film Festival's Palm d'Or, among many other awards. In 2000, Paul Mazursky was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter Award. In 2000, Paul Mazursky was awarded the Amicus Poloniae (Latin: “Friend of Poland”), which is a distinction established by the Polish ambassador to the United States and conferred annually on citizens of the United States for special contributions to Polish-American relations. In 2010, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association honoured Paul Mazursky with an award for Career Achievement. On the 13th December, 2013, Paul Mazursky was awarded the 2,515th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in front of Musso & Frank Grill. Friends and collaborators Mel Brooks, Richard Dreyfuss, and Jeff Garlin were all present. On the 1st February, 2014, at the Writers Guild of America Awards, Paul Mazursky received the Screen Laurel Award, which is the lifetime achievement award of the Writers Guild of America. Comedian, filmmaker and close friend Mel Brooks presented the award. In May 2014, Paul Mazursky received the Best of Brooklyn Award at his alma mater Brooklyn College's annual gala in New York City. Away from the bright lights of the movie and television industry, Paul Mazursky was totally devoted family man, and especially being married to Betsy Mazursky his wife for over 60 years and his devotion never faded and gave Paul Mazursky the inspiration towards directing the film ‘Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice’ on top of all that, because of that film, both of them attended sessions like in the film to find themselves, but at the same time the couple brought up two daughters Jill Mazursky [Film producer] and Meg Mazursky [Film actress] who starred in her father's 1970 film ‘Alex in Wonderland.’ One of Paul Mazursky’s long term friendships was with fellow actor, writer and director Mel Brooks who dubbed Paul Mazursky “The American Fellini” and both of them came through the studio system at 20th Century Fox where they regularly pitched films together and nine times out of ten got the green light to make a particular film, even when Paul Mazursky and Mel Brooks went their separate ways professionally, they still continued to stay in regular contact and of course still stayed best of friends, especially every Friday lunchtime. When Paul Mazursky sadly passed away due to going into cardiopulmonary arrest and died on the 30th June, 2014, at the age of 84, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and of course left a plethora of distinct body of work that spoke to everyday person about the real issues like love, sex and happiness. Paul Mazursky wasn’t a showman, he simply let his work speak for itself, and especially if you check out the complete list of films Paul Mazursky has been involved in and you will be very surprised how many there are. Despite this featurette being very short, the commentator Film Critic Mark Searby really gave a glowing praise on the wonderful director Paul Mazursky and is well worth viewing and this featurette definitely gets a five star rating from me.
Special Feature: Still Gallery: Here we get to view a vast amount of colourful 1080p images of scenes from the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village,’ and the majority of images are of the main character actors and some of the behind-the-scene images. To advance the images, you have the press the right hand skip button.
Theatrical Trailer [1976] [480i] [1.781] [2:15] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village.’ The trailer is light on plot details, preferring instead to emphasise the offbeat nature of the film’s characters.
Finally, ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ will have fans and detractors in equal measure. It is a well-made and a well thought out film about a class of characters rarely given screen time. For my money, this is the best film in Paul Mazursky's underrated oeuvre. The pairing of a sharp script and a knockout cast of rising stars makes this one irresistible. ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ may show how times have changed, but not so much people, whose search for identity and purpose remain universal throughout a complex social landscape. ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ is a tender, loving ode to writer/director Paul Mazursky’s early adulthood. It’s a film that’s more about character than plot, though the characters are given room to grow as the film progresses. For anyone who lived through the 1950’s in Greenwich Village, the film will have a wonderful, nostalgic feel to it, but more modern viewers may not feel as connected with the film’s characters. For fans of Paul Mazursky’s film, Signal One Entertainment has provided a great looking and sound transfer and the audio commentary is absolutely fantastic, so now is the perfect time to check it out ‘Next Stop, Greenwich Village’ and you will not regret it. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
