Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)

Director:

Uli Edel

Writers (WGA):

Hubert Selby Jr. (book)
Desmond Nakano (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 May 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The Novel That Shocked The World Is Now A Movie.

Plot:

Set in Brooklyn during the 1950s against a backdrop of union corruption and violence. A prostitute falls in love with one of her customers...

Plot Keywords:

1950s | Prostitute | Union | Strike | Topless

Awards:

6 wins

Cast

Stephen Lang	...	Harry Black
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Tralala
Burt Young	...	Big Joe
Peter Dobson	...	Vinnie
Jerry Orbach	...	Boyce
Stephen Baldwin	...	Sal
Jason Andrews	...	Tony
James Lorinz	...	Freddy
Sam Rockwell	...	Al
Maia Danziger	...	Mary Black
Camille Saviola	...	Ella
Ricki Lake	...	Donna
Cameron Johann	...	Spook
John Costelloe	...	Tommy
Christopher Murney	...	Paulie

Also Known As:

Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn (West Germany)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA | UK | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | South Korea:18 (cut) | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Allied Filmmakers

Trivia:

Ralph Bakshi had made a previous attempt to direct the film, a production he was to co-produce with Steve Krantz and author Hubert Selby Jr. Actor Robert De Niro accepted a major role in the film. However, the project fell apart when Bakshi and Krantz had a falling out. Bakshi and Selby became friends, and, according to Bakshi, they "tried a few other screenplays after that on other subjects, but I could not shake Last Exit from my mind."

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow (2005)

Soundtrack:

Because I Love My Baby So

Inspired, epic vision of a dark world is an unacknowledged classic

I remember my intense eagerness to see this film. I wasn't entirely sure why at the time but when I finally saw it in 1990 I was devastated and soon addicted to this sad tale of city life spiralling out of control. Its a film with an epic quality and a grand, sweeping style that turns the city scape into a character in itself. This was Uli Edel's (as he was then known) classic and it remains a remarkably strong film. Its not pretty and doesn't hold back in revealing the light and dark of its characters. Brutal it may be, but there is something vital and alive seething in this movie with anger and pain. Its source is Hubert Selby Jr's novel. I believe its a superior adaptation.

The film is based around a union strike which threatens to cripple the city of Brooklyn in the 1950s. The film focuses several characters; Harry, the troubled union leader struggling to come to terms with his desires for other men and his gender-bending lover against the anger, aggression and hypocrisy of the era; a woman, TraLaLa, who sells her body for money but finds herself committing the ultimate crime of her profession by falling for a client - an army man destined to hurt her; a family with a daughter pregnant out of wedlock; a gang of aimless young men hungry for trouble; and a young teen looking for love in TraLaLa.

Its a film full of fascinating performances which reinforce the greatness of this film. Jennifer Jason Leigh burst into the spotlight with her startling performance as TraLaLa. She embodies the role with unceasing honesty and vigour. It is her late scenes in the film which rip at the heart, especially when she finds compassion in an unlikely source at the worst of moments. Her portrayal doesn't seek sympathy - on the contrary Jennifer Jason Leigh gets deep inside the cruel and manipulative character to reveal the hope beneath without a false note. Peter Dobson, Stephen Baldwin are a brilliant combination as the thugs and Alexis Arquette is remarkable as their taunted worshipper, Georgette. Ricki Lake, Sam Rockwell and Stephen lang also excel in a great ensemble film.

I can still picture vividly the majesty and intensity of the strike riot and the water spraying at the wire fence as strikers confront the police.

There are many great scenes such as this which combined with striking performances and an unflinching script and score make Last Exit to Brooklyn a modern masterpiece. This is a highly underrated film, mainly because of the view that the subject matter is too seamy, grotesque and extreme. And there is no doubt this is a confronting, violent and provocative film experience. Unfortunately, because of this widely heralded view, many people are missing out on an unacknowledged classic. Don't miss out.