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New Yorkers Choose Spike Lee's 'Crooklyn' To Unite Us
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 6, 2017
Modified Sep 6, 2017
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 6, 2017
Modified Sep 6, 2017
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According to the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, their "One Film, One New York" contest "sparked a lively citywide discussion around water-coolers about great New York movies." Water-coolers... is that like Slack? Anyway, their contest—which aimed to choose one New York-themed film that would "unite the city"—is now over, and Spike Lee's Crooklyn was the big winner out of the following five choices:
- Crooklyn, directed by Spike Lee (1994)
- On the Town, directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen (1949)
- New York, New York, directed by Martin Scorsese (1977)
- Desperately Seeking Susan, directed by Susan Seidelman (1985)
- The Wedding Banquet, directed by Ang Lee (1993)
“Crooklyn was written by my younger siblings Joie, Cinque Lee and I,” Spike Lee said upon the announcement. “It's a semi-bio story of our family—the Lees growing up in the pre-gentrified black and Puerto Rican hood of Fort Greene in ‘Da Republic of Brooklyn’ during the early '70s. More than anything, Crooklyn is a love letter to our long gone mother, Jacquelyn Shelton Lee."
New York Times film critic A.O. Scott calls it "a warm and vivid picture of a Brooklyn family in the '70s." Scott will be on hand at the Film Society screening on September 13th, the night of the simultaneous free screenings of the movie. Below you'll find a list of other locations you'll be able to catch it:
PARKS
- Brooklyn — Fort Greene Park (Rain location: McCarren Play Center)
- The Bronx — Crotona Park (Rain location: St. Mary's Recreation Center)
- Manhattan — St. Nicholas Park in Harlem (Rain location: Highbridge Recreation Center)
- Queens — Windmuller Park / Lawrence Virgilio Playground (Rain location: Al Oerter Recreation Center)
- Staten Island — Cloves Lake Park (Rain location: Ocean Breeze Track and Field Athletic Complex)
MOVIE THEATERS
- Alamo Drafthouse Cinema — 445 Albee Square W #4, Brooklyn
- Nitehawk Cinema — 136 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn
- Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater, Manhattan — 165 W 65th St, New York
- Symphony Space — 2537 Broadway, New York
- BAM Rose Cinemas — 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
- Quad Cinema — 34 W 13th St, New York
- Kew Gardens Cinemas, Queens — 81-05 Lefferts Boulevard, Kew Gardens, Queens
- Williamsburg Cinemas — 217 Grand St, Brooklyn
- Cobble Hill Cinemas — 265 Court St, Brooklyn
- Museum of the Moving Image — 36-01 35th Ave, Queens
- Atrium Stadium Cinema — 680 Arthur Kill Rd, Staten Island
Screenings will take place at different times, so check the OneFilmNY website for details regarding specific locations and how to get tickets.
Tagged
crooklyn
free screenings
one film ny
spike lee
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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