Ray Salyer and Gorman Hendricks are two of the forgotten men in Lionel Rogosin’s unforgettable ON THE BOWERY
ON THE BOWERY (Lionel Rogosin, 1956)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
September 17-23
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org
www.ontheboweryfilm.com
One of the greatest documentaries ever made about New York will be shown in a stunning 35mm restoration at Film Forum September 17-23. ON THE BOWERY offers a new look at an underground classic that caused quite a stir upon its release in 1956, winning prizes at the Venice Film Festival while earning criticism at home for daring to portray the grim reality of America’s dark underbelly. After spending six months living with the poor, destitute alcoholics on Skid Row as research, idealistic young filmmaker Lionel Rogosin spent the next four months making ON THE BOWERY, a remarkable examination of the forgotten men of New York, ne’er-do-wells who can’t find jobs, sleep on the street, and will do just about anything for another drink. Rogosin centers the film around the true story of Ray Salyer, a journeyman railroad drifter stopping off in New York City seeking temporary employment. Salyer is quickly befriended by Gorman Hendricks, who not only shows Salyer the ropes but also manages to slyly take advantage of him. Although the film follows a general structure scripted by Mark Sufrin, much of it is improvised and shot on the sly, in glorious black and white by Richard Bagley. The sections in which Bagley turns his camera on the streets, showing the decrepit neighborhood under the El, set to Charles Mills’s subtle, jazzy score and marvelously edited by Carl Lerner, are pure poetry, yet another reason why ON THE BOWERY is an American treasure. The film is screening with THE PERFECT TEAM, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of ON THE BOWERY directed by Rogosin’s son, Michael, which includes a terrific 1999 interview with Lionel in which he talks about his attempt to get James Agee on board, his firing of Helen Levitt as editor, the relationships he developed with the cast and crew, and his intense desire to get at the truth.