Empire City

Jul 1, 1985

1h 29m

★ 9.0

The City That Never Sleeps

Overview

A film essay contrasting the modern metropolis with its "golden age" from 1830-1930, with the participation of some of New York's leading political and cultural figures. Made at a time when the city was experiencing unprecedented real estate development on the one hand and unforeseen displacement of population and deterioration on the other. Empire City is the story of two New Yorks. The film explores the precarious coexistence of the service-based midtown Manhattan corporate headquarters with the peripheral New York of undereducated minorities living in increasing alienation.

Genres

Documentary

History

Production Companies

Michael Blackwood Productions

Empire City Trailers

Cast

Self

Donald Trump

Self

Ed Koch

Self

Jane Jacobs

Self

Elia Kazan

Self

Norman Mailer

Self

Arthur Miller

Self - Narrator (voice)

Jason Robards

His buildings are garish, colorful and completely overloaded. Columns and glittering chandeliers everywhere, and way too much of everything. The Bolivian civil engineer and architect Freddy Mamani Silvestre (*1971) builds houses in El Alto for a nouveau riche upper class of the Aymara, the largest indigenous ethnic group in Bolivia.

0.0

Time Keeps Marching On

Aug 1, 2025

An undocumented immigrant explores his and his family's immigration trauma while grasping hope through a voicemail.

0.0

Make Me Famous

Feb 17, 2023

An investigation of Edward Brezinski, an ambitious, charismatic Lower East Side painter hell-bent on sucess, who thwarted his own career with antics that roiled NYC’s art elite. Brezinski’s quest for fame gives an intimate portrait of the art world’s attitude towards success and failure, fame and fortune, notoriety and erasure.

0.0

J'ai pas les codes : Les aventures inattendues du boulanger de Besançon

Sep 22, 2025

No overview available.

No Image Available

9.0

Sind wir noch ein Volk?

Sep 29, 2025

No overview available.

0.0

La vengeance de Poutine

Jun 1, 2018

No overview available.

0.0

Back At It

Apr 3, 2023

There are thousands of comedians in New York City, performing every night, working hard for laughs from the world's toughest audience. What happens to them when the city that never sleeps grinds to a halt? When the comedy clubs close and no one is laughing? "Back At It" is a chronicle of the tumultuous summer of 2020 in New York, through the eyes of a diverse group of comedians who hustle to keep their comedy alive and to stand out from the throng. It follows them as they take to the streets, rooftops, and parks to entertain a city ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic. It asks how the art of standup changes when the traditional systems and established hierarchy no longer exist? Who will evolve and raise their voice?

0.0

Partners

Mar 27, 2025

When a group of baristas in Buffalo, New York announce their intention to start a labor union, Starbucks responds with an elaborate, illegal anti-union attack. Featuring on-the-ground footage from workers and organisers, Partners takes us to the front lines of the historic union campaign that catalysed America’s Gen Z labour revival.

6.3

The Alto Knights

Mar 19, 2025

Two of New York's most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, vie for control of the city's streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.

5.0

Bronx, New York, November 2019

Oct 21, 2021

No overview available.

6.6

Baldwin's Nigger

Jul 12, 1968

James Baldwin and Dick Gregory discuss the Civil Rights Movement in 1960s Great Britain.

6.0

Édouard, mon pote de droite - Épisode 1 : Le Havre

Aug 21, 2016

A director follows his right-wing friend during his reelection campaign for Le Havre's mayorship.

5.5

Lifestyles of the Ramones

Sep 1, 1990

Documentary on the Ramones, including archival footage, interviews and music videos, this was first released on VHS in 1990 and later re-released on DVD as part of the WEIRD TALES OF THE RAMONES box set in 2005, with expanded content. HEY, HO, LET'S GO!

7.4

The Engineer

Jun 15, 2012

A portrait of the personal journey of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano during his third presidential campaign. It is a moment in contemporary history told from the experiences of the defeated opposing political group. A fundamental piece of the history of Mexico that usually does not reach the public, for it is not written by the victorious; it’s akin to being invited backstage at an unimaginable performance. This story lacks scandal or corruption. It shows how politics takes place in the highest levels in Mexico and shows the human side of a popular leader.

0.0

Les dames du 9e

Sep 14, 1998

Ladies of good families and social standing come to have their afternoon tea with their daughters who will someday follow in the same tradition. A charming portrait of a time that is slowly disappearing.

0.0

The Voice of Innocence

Apr 28, 2019

"The Voice of Innocence" is a documentary that shows how, starting in 1959, the Cuban Revolution put into practice a comprehensive and universal policy of safeguarding the rights of the child, even under the multiple difficulties resulting from the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States more than six decades ago. Cuba is one of the main signatories of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed on 20 November 1989, when the country had already made extraordinary progress in protecting the rights of the child, in comparison to developed countries, such as the United States, which as of today hasn't yet ratified the Convention.

0.0

Jaime Lerner - Uma História de Sonhos

Sep 8, 2016

No overview available.

No Image Available

0.0

BETWEEN TURKEY AND POST-ASSAD SYRIA: WHAT FUTURE FOR THE KURDS OF ROJAVA?

Mar 16, 2025

In Syria, the new government that overthrew Bashar al-Assad's regime on 8 December 2024 has just signed a historic agreement with the Kurds in the north-east of the country. In the heart of a country ravaged by more than 13 years of civil war, this autonomous administration of Syrian Kurdistan could well be integrated into a country that is in need of reconstruction and whose unity remains fragile. But in the north, the war has not stopped. A few kilometres away, neighbouring Turkey has been stepping up its attacks on Rojava for years, while militia abuses persist and the threat of Islamic State continues to loom. From Kobane to Raqqa via the Al-Hol prison camp... For this new long-form feature, Blast took to the roads of northern Syria in January 2025.

6.0

Fernand Pouillon, du point du jour à l’éclipse

Feb 5, 2023

No overview available.

8.0

Politzek, the voices that challenge the Kremlin

Sep 9, 2025

In Russia, criticizing the war in Ukraine or Vladimir Putin’s regime has become a crime. Thousands of ordinary citizens are being arrested, tried, and imprisoned. They are called “Politzek”: political prisoners. Filmed clandestinely over the course of more than a year, Politzek gives a platform to those who, despite the fear, continue to speak out against Putin’s repressive Russia. Through the intersecting stories of a teenager sentenced to five years in prison for criticizing the government on social media, a young artist jailed for placing anti-war stickers, a human rights activist, and two theater directors facing Kafkaesque trials, the film unveils the machinery of state repression in Russia. With rare footage, broken yet unyielding voices, this is a story of silenced resistance.