Slaves of New York (1989)

Eleanor lives with the artist Stash. Just like his artist friends, he is completely unknown but is waiting for the big break. Stash is mean to her and finally she leaves him. Ironically, ... See full summary »

Director:

James Ivory

Writers:

Tama Janowitz (based on the stories by), Tama Janowitz (screenplay)

Stars:

Bernadette Peters, Chris Sarandon, Mary Beth Hurt

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bernadette Peters	...	Eleanor
Chris Sarandon	...	Victor Okrent
Mary Beth Hurt	...	Ginger Booth
Madeleine Potter	...	Daria
Adam Coleman Howard	...	Stash
Jsu Garcia	...	Marley (as Nick Corri)
Charles McCaughan	...	Sherman
John Harkins	...	Chuck Dade Dolger
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Samantha
Joe Leeway	...	Jonny Jalouse
Anna Katarina	...	Mooshka
Bruce Peter Young	...	Mikell
Michael Schoeffling	...	Jan
Steve Buscemi	...	Wilfredo
Jonas Abry	...	Mickey

Storyline

Eleanor lives with the artist Stash. Just like his artist friends, he is completely unknown but is waiting for the big break. Stash is mean to her and finally she leaves him. Ironically, she gets her big break - as a hat designer.

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Plot Keywords:

artist | designer | hat | new york city | apartment | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Esclaves de New York

Box Office

Gross:

$463,972 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Gary Hendler, Merchant Ivory Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wilfredo's clothing line was designed by New York designer Stephen Sprouse.

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Quotes

Eleanor: What happened? Where were you?
Stash: Daria was helping me at the studio and I walked her home and took her dog for a walk and it was attacked by a cheetah.

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Connections

Features Holiday (1938)

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Soundtracks

"Glück, das mir verblieb"
(from opera "Die tote Stadt" Act 1: "Marietta's Lied")
Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Libretto by Julius Korngold (as Paul Schott)
(freely adapted from novel "Bruges la morte" by Georges Rodenbach)
Performed by Carol Neblett, soprano and René Kollo tenor
Munchen Radio Orchestra
Conducted by Erich Leinsdorf
(RCA Records) (P) 1975

User Reviews

Bernadette Peters as a Bohemian

This over-long look at New York's art scene in the 1980 is based on a book of short stories by Tama Janowitz. Like the stories, this film has lots of characters and a meandering plot that basically follows Eleanor (Bernadette Peters) through her life of being a New York "slave" (a person who lives with a person who owns the house or has the lease for the apartment), designing weird hats, looking for love, and the endless whirl of parties, art openings, and friends.

Peters lives with an artist named Stash (Adam Coleman Howard)who is self-absorbed and unpleasant. Stash latches onto wealthy Daria (Madeleine Potter) who is a would-be artist but is too wealthy to really care. They run in the same circle as Marley (Jsu Garcia billed as Nick Corri) who paints but who really wants to start a church in Rome. His agent (Mary Beth Hurt) puts him in touch with a wealthy nutjob (John Harkins) who finances all sorts of weird "art" projects such as the guy in Montana who moves mud from one end of the garden to the other.

The plot follows Peters but also exposes the incredible arrogance of art as well as its cyclic trendiness. What is art? Who knows.

Co-stars in the film include Stanley Tucci, Tammy Grimes, Christine Dunford, Tama Janowita (as Abby), Steve Buscemi, Betty Comden, Chris Sarandon, Mercedes Ruehl, Michael Schoeffling, Bruce Peter Young, Louis Guss, Anthony LaPaglia, and Charles McCaughan as Sherman.

There's a brilliant and very funny interlude as three drag queens with a boom box and dressed in skin-tight red gowns parade down the street as the Supremes lip-syncing to "Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart." The sequence is just another look at fun and silliness of performance art.