Times Square (film)
Encyclopedia
Times Square is a 1980
film starring Trini Alvarado
, Robin Johnson
, and Tim Curry
. The plot of the film essentially embodies a punk rock
ethic - misunderstood youth forming a band and, through music
, articulating their frustrations toward adult
authority, personified in the film as parents, the medical establishment, and politicians. In terms of themes and plot, Times Square can be seen as a precursor to director Allan Moyle
's later film Pump Up the Volume
(1990).
) from a poor family and Pamela Pearl (Trini Alvarado
) from a rich family, living in New York City
. After escaping from a hospital (where they are being examined for mental illness), Nicky and Pamela link up with sympathetic disc jockey
Johnny LaGuardia (Tim Curry
). The two girls form an underground punk rock
band, The Sleez Sisters, and become a hit with the city's disillusioned youth after broadcasting their volatile songs and speeches on LaGuardia's radio station. The climax of the film features all the fans of The Sleez Sisters congregating in the streets of New York's Times Square
for a rooftop concert.
from a script written by Moyle and Jacob Brackman
. The movie was inspired by a diary, found in a second-hand couch bought by Moyle, detailing the life on the streets of a young mentally disturbed woman.
The original cut of the film contained lesbian content which was mostly deleted from the final print (which still has subtle lesbian overtones). Moyle revealed in the DVD
audio commentary
that the film's integrity was compromised by the removal of the more overt lesbian content, and the addition of several inappropriate songs to the film's soundtrack at the insistence of producer Robert Stigwood
. Stigwood wanted the film to be another Saturday Night Fever
and insisted that the soundtrack be a double album
to make the film more commercially viable. Moyle and Johnson remarked on the audio commentary that the loss of key scenes made the narrative disjointed and damaged the story's emotion and characterisations. They give as examples the film's focus jarringly changing from Pamela to Nicky and how the increasingly outlandish and unrealistic story undermines the movie's gritty, on-location documentary style. Moyle left production before the film was completed, and further scenes were shot under the supervision of others, mainly footage backed with the new soundtrack additions. The version of the film released to theatres was not Moyle's preferred cut; however, he still acknowledges the finished film's importance as it documents a Times Square that no longer exists. The film was shot on location and captured Times Square's seedy, grindhouse atmosphere before it was cleaned up in the mid 1990s.
and a staple at gay and lesbian film festivals, because of the aforementioned, subtly-portrayed lesbian relationship between the film's two female leads. Kathleen Hanna
of Bikini Kill
and Le Tigre
cites this as one of her favorite films. Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers
have made several references to the movie throughout their career: they covered the original song "Damn Dog" on their debut album Generation Terrorists
(1992) and quoted dialogue from the film in the album liner notes ("Damn Dog" was, however, excluded from the American release of the album). The Manics also named their song "Roses in the Hospital
" after Pamela's line, "What about the roses in the hospital?" (alluding to the scene in which Nicky eats roses to distract Pamela from the doctors and her father). The song's music video
features a girl tied down to a hospital bed, almost certainly influenced by scenes from Times Square. In 1993, for stage performances and publicity shots, Manics bassist Nicky Wire
wore bankrobber-mask-style eye makeup like Nicky Marotta does in the film.
by Anchor Bay Entertainment
in 2000. Audio commentary
was provided by director/co-writer Allan Moyle and star Robin Johnson. Moyle has stated that a director's cut is unlikely to ever surface because the footage needed for its restoration is missing.
of punk rock
and New Wave music
with a wide range of artists including The Ramones, The Cure
, XTC
, Lou Reed
, Gary Numan
, Talking Heads
, Suzi Quatro
, Roxy Music
, Robin Gibb
& Marcy Levy, Patti Smith
and The Pretenders
. The song "Down in the Park
" is credited as being performed by Gary Numan
although technically it was recorded when Numan was using the band name Tubeway Army
. The Suzi Quatro track, "Rock Hard," is identified in the film as being Nicky and Pamela's favourite record.
The soundtrack also features original songs sung by the film's actors, "Damn Dog" by Johnson, "Your Daughter Is One" by Johnson and Alvarado, and "Flowers of the City" by Johnson and David Johansen
. The soundtrack, as a compilation of some of the most important new wave and punk music from the era, achieved far more notoriety than the film did on its release. It also became a collectors' item among fans of XTC, because it included the specially-written XTC track "Take This Town", which for many years was only available on this soundtrack.
In his audio commentary for the Times Square DVD, Alan Moyle mentions that David Bowie
was commissioned to provide a song for the movie's soundtrack, but Bowie's label at that time wouldn't let the filmmakers use it (at the time, Bowie was still under contract with RCA Victor Records, and the Times Square album was issued by RSO Records
, at the time distributed by RCA Victor competitor PolyGram
; however, it's also notable that Lou Reed
, who does appear on the album, was also under contract to RCA Victor). Desmond Child has mentioned in a magazine interview that he collaborated with David Bowie on the song "The Night Was Not" (the song did appear on the Times Square soundtrack, performed by Child's band, Desmond Child & Rouge). Another rumour is that Bowie intended to provide a re-recorded version of his 1971 song "Life on Mars?
" for the Times Square soundtrack. Although it has not been confirmed whether or not Bowie re-recorded a studio version of "Life on Mars?" in 1980, it is worth noting that in that same year, Bowie performed a rearranged, punkier version of the song during a live appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
.
1980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
film starring Trini Alvarado
Trini Alvarado
Trinidad "Trini" Alvarado is an American actress best known for her performances as Margaret "Meg" March in the 1994 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women and Lucy Lynskey in the comedy/horror film The Frighteners...
, Robin Johnson
Robin Johnson
Robin Johnson , is an American actress. Johnson grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York City. She graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1982.-Films:*1980: Times Square*1983: Baby It's You*1984: Splitz...
, and Tim Curry
Tim Curry
Timothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
. The plot of the film essentially embodies a punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
ethic - misunderstood youth forming a band and, through music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, articulating their frustrations toward adult
Adult
An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....
authority, personified in the film as parents, the medical establishment, and politicians. In terms of themes and plot, Times Square can be seen as a precursor to director Allan Moyle
Allan Moyle
Allan Moyle is a Canadian film director. He is best known for directing the films Pump Up the Volume and New Waterford Girl .-Biography:His first major film was Times Square...
's later film Pump Up the Volume
Pump Up the Volume (film)
Pump Up the Volume is a 1990 comedy-drama film written and directed by Allan Moyle and starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis.- Plot summary :...
(1990).
Synopsis
The film is about two teenage runaways, Nicky Marotta (Robin JohnsonRobin Johnson
Robin Johnson , is an American actress. Johnson grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York City. She graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1982.-Films:*1980: Times Square*1983: Baby It's You*1984: Splitz...
) from a poor family and Pamela Pearl (Trini Alvarado
Trini Alvarado
Trinidad "Trini" Alvarado is an American actress best known for her performances as Margaret "Meg" March in the 1994 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women and Lucy Lynskey in the comedy/horror film The Frighteners...
) from a rich family, living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. After escaping from a hospital (where they are being examined for mental illness), Nicky and Pamela link up with sympathetic disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Johnny LaGuardia (Tim Curry
Tim Curry
Timothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
). The two girls form an underground punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band, The Sleez Sisters, and become a hit with the city's disillusioned youth after broadcasting their volatile songs and speeches on LaGuardia's radio station. The climax of the film features all the fans of The Sleez Sisters congregating in the streets of New York's Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
for a rooftop concert.
Production
Times Square was directed by Allan MoyleAllan Moyle
Allan Moyle is a Canadian film director. He is best known for directing the films Pump Up the Volume and New Waterford Girl .-Biography:His first major film was Times Square...
from a script written by Moyle and Jacob Brackman
Jacob Brackman
Jacob Brackman is an American journalist, writer, and musical lyricist.After graduating from Harvard University in 1965, he went to work for Newsweek as a journalist. He remained there for six months and was then hired by The New Yorker...
. The movie was inspired by a diary, found in a second-hand couch bought by Moyle, detailing the life on the streets of a young mentally disturbed woman.
The original cut of the film contained lesbian content which was mostly deleted from the final print (which still has subtle lesbian overtones). Moyle revealed in the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
that the film's integrity was compromised by the removal of the more overt lesbian content, and the addition of several inappropriate songs to the film's soundtrack at the insistence of producer Robert Stigwood
Robert Stigwood
Robert Stigwood is an impresario and entertainment entrepreneur who relocated to England in 1954...
. Stigwood wanted the film to be another Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
and insisted that the soundtrack be a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
to make the film more commercially viable. Moyle and Johnson remarked on the audio commentary that the loss of key scenes made the narrative disjointed and damaged the story's emotion and characterisations. They give as examples the film's focus jarringly changing from Pamela to Nicky and how the increasingly outlandish and unrealistic story undermines the movie's gritty, on-location documentary style. Moyle left production before the film was completed, and further scenes were shot under the supervision of others, mainly footage backed with the new soundtrack additions. The version of the film released to theatres was not Moyle's preferred cut; however, he still acknowledges the finished film's importance as it documents a Times Square that no longer exists. The film was shot on location and captured Times Square's seedy, grindhouse atmosphere before it was cleaned up in the mid 1990s.
Reaction
The movie was not initially a commercial or critical success. However, it has since been rediscovered and has become a cult classicCult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
and a staple at gay and lesbian film festivals, because of the aforementioned, subtly-portrayed lesbian relationship between the film's two female leads. Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna is an American musician, feminist activist, and punk zine writer. In the early- to mid-1990s she was the lead singer and songwriter of Bikini Kill, before fronting Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s...
of Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill was an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington in October 1990. The group consisted of vocalist and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band is widely considered to be the pioneer of the riot grrrl movement,...
and Le Tigre
Le Tigre
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...
cites this as one of her favorite films. Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
have made several references to the movie throughout their career: they covered the original song "Damn Dog" on their debut album Generation Terrorists
Generation Terrorists
- Personnel :Manic Street Preachers*James Dean Bradfield – lead vocals, guitar*Richey Edwards – guitar*Sean Moore – drums, percussion, backing vocals*Nicky Wire – bass, piano on Little Baby NothingAdditional personnel...
(1992) and quoted dialogue from the film in the album liner notes ("Damn Dog" was, however, excluded from the American release of the album). The Manics also named their song "Roses in the Hospital
Roses in the Hospital
"Roses in the Hospital" was the third single taken from the Manic Street Preachers' second album, Gold Against the Soul. It was released in September 1993....
" after Pamela's line, "What about the roses in the hospital?" (alluding to the scene in which Nicky eats roses to distract Pamela from the doctors and her father). The song's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
features a girl tied down to a hospital bed, almost certainly influenced by scenes from Times Square. In 1993, for stage performances and publicity shots, Manics bassist Nicky Wire
Nicky Wire
Nicholas Allen Jones, known as Nicky Wire, is the lyricist, bassist and occasional vocalist with the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.-Early life:...
wore bankrobber-mask-style eye makeup like Nicky Marotta does in the film.
Home video
The movie was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
in 2000. Audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
was provided by director/co-writer Allan Moyle and star Robin Johnson. Moyle has stated that a director's cut is unlikely to ever surface because the footage needed for its restoration is missing.
Soundtrack
The movie features a soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and New Wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
with a wide range of artists including The Ramones, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
, Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
, Robin Gibb
Robin Gibb
Robin Hugh Gibb, CBE is a British singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the Bee Gees, co-founded with his twin brother Maurice , and elder brother Barry....
& Marcy Levy, Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
and The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
. The song "Down in the Park
Down in the Park
"Down in the Park" is a 1979 single written and recorded by Gary Numan with his band Tubeway Army. The first cut from the album Replicas, it was not a hit when released but has long been a critical and fan favourite and for many years was described by Numan as his best composition.-Style:Like the...
" is credited as being performed by Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
although technically it was recorded when Numan was using the band name Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army were a London-based punk rock and new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. They were the first band of the post-punk era to have a synthesizer-based hit, with their single Are 'Friends' Electric? and its parent album Replicas both topping the UK Album Chart in mid-1979.-Line-up:The...
. The Suzi Quatro track, "Rock Hard," is identified in the film as being Nicky and Pamela's favourite record.
The soundtrack also features original songs sung by the film's actors, "Damn Dog" by Johnson, "Your Daughter Is One" by Johnson and Alvarado, and "Flowers of the City" by Johnson and David Johansen
David Johansen
David Roger Johansen is an American rock, protopunk, blues, and pop singer, as well as a songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal protopunk band The New York Dolls and also achieved commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter.-Early life:Johansen was born in...
. The soundtrack, as a compilation of some of the most important new wave and punk music from the era, achieved far more notoriety than the film did on its release. It also became a collectors' item among fans of XTC, because it included the specially-written XTC track "Take This Town", which for many years was only available on this soundtrack.
In his audio commentary for the Times Square DVD, Alan Moyle mentions that David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
was commissioned to provide a song for the movie's soundtrack, but Bowie's label at that time wouldn't let the filmmakers use it (at the time, Bowie was still under contract with RCA Victor Records, and the Times Square album was issued by RSO Records
RSO Records
RSO Records was a record label, formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood in 1973. The "RSO" stands for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. The company's main headquarters were at 67 Brook Street, in London's Mayfair...
, at the time distributed by RCA Victor competitor PolyGram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
; however, it's also notable that Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, who does appear on the album, was also under contract to RCA Victor). Desmond Child has mentioned in a magazine interview that he collaborated with David Bowie on the song "The Night Was Not" (the song did appear on the Times Square soundtrack, performed by Child's band, Desmond Child & Rouge). Another rumour is that Bowie intended to provide a re-recorded version of his 1971 song "Life on Mars?
Life on Mars?
"Life on Mars?" is a song by David Bowie first released in 1971 on the album Hunky Dory. The song—which BBC Radio 2 later called "a cross between a Broadway musical and a Salvador Dalí painting"—featured guest piano work by keyboardist Rick Wakeman. When released as a single in 1973,...
" for the Times Square soundtrack. Although it has not been confirmed whether or not Bowie re-recorded a studio version of "Life on Mars?" in 1980, it is worth noting that in that same year, Bowie performed a rearranged, punkier version of the song during a live appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
.