Liberty Heights (1999)

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer (WGA):

Barry Levinson (written by)

Release Date:

17 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

You're only young once, but you remember forever.

Plot:

Anti-Semitism, race relations, coming of age, and fathers and sons: in Baltimore from fall, 1954, to fall...

Plot Keywords:

High School | School | Brother | Coming Of Age | Concert

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Adrien Brody	...	Van Kurtzman
Ben Foster	...	Ben Kurtzman
Orlando Jones	...	Little Melvin
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Ada Kurtzman
Joe Mantegna	...	Nate Kurtzman
Rebekah Johnson	...	Sylvia
David Krumholtz	...	Yussel
Richard Kline	...	Charlie, Nate's Assistant
Vincent Guastaferro	...	Pete, Nate's Assistant
Justin Chambers	...	Trey Tobelseted
Carolyn Murphy	...	Dubbie the Blonde
James Pickens Jr.	...	Sylvia's Father
Frania Rubinek	...	Grandma Rose
Anthony Anderson	...	Scribbles
Kiersten Warren	...	Annie the Stripper
Evan Neumann	...	Sheldon (as Evan Neuman)
Kevin Sussman	...	Alan Joseph Zuckerman
Gerry Rosenthal	...	Murray
Charley Scalies	...	Louie
Shane West	...	Ted
Cloie Wyatt Taylor	...	Gail
Susan Duvall	...	Teacher #2
Carlton J. Smith	...	James Brown at the Royal (as Carlton Smith)
Elizabeth Ann Bennett	...	Mary
Ellyn O'Connell	...	Anne Whittier
Doug Roberts	...	Assistant D.A.
Al Brown	...	Bailiff
Kenny Raskin	...	Burlesque Comic
Peter Wilkes	...	Butler
Kimberlee Suerth	...	Buxom Nurse
Mary Lynn Ray	...	Woman in Court #1
Marty Lodge	...	Defense Attorney
Gideon Jacobs	...	Ben Kurtzman - Age 8
Jan Austell	...	Judge
Timothy J. Scanlin Jr.	...	Nick
Ralph Tabakin	...	Phil, Spotlight Man at the Gaitey
Shelley Stokes	...	Box Office Attendant
Patsy Grady Abrams	...	Woman in Court #2
Jay Hillmer	...	Matt
Stan Brandorff	...	Morris
Katie Finneran	...	Mrs. Johnson
Kate Kiley	...	Nurse
Jake Hoffman	...	Turk
Joseph Patrick Abel	...	Lenny
Sekiya Billman	...	Halloween Stripper
Brenda Russell	...	Singer
Barry Black	...	Cantor
Dennis N. Math	...	Rabbi (as Rabbi Dennis N. Math)
Judith Knight Young	...	Teacher #1 - 1944
Stephen Williams	...	Wilbert Mosely
Ty Robbins	...	Sylvia's Mother
Emily Chamberlain	...	Ben's Teacher
Christian T. Dockins	...	Flame
Kenny Pitt	...	Flame
Zahmu Sankofa	...	Flame
Paul Majors	...	Party Fight Guy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matthew Bowerman	...	Student - Orthodox Worshipper (uncredited)
Misha Collins	...	Guy (uncredited)
Christina DeRosa	...	Student (uncredited)
Jacques Derosena	...	Thug Member (uncredited)
Dawn Douglas	...	Concert Goer (uncredited)
Art Hall	...	Youth in Synagogue (uncredited)
Pete Karas	...	Graduation Goer (uncredited)
Michael Luckeroth	...	Gym Teacher (uncredited)
Carolyn Rawleigh	...	Pedestrian (uncredited)
Norm Rebadow	...	Father (uncredited)

Directed by
Barry Levinson

Writing credits (WGA)
Barry Levinson		(written by)

Produced by
Michael Haley	....	associate producer
Barry Levinson	....	producer
Patrick McCormick	....	executive producer
Amy Solan	....	associate producer
Paula Weinstein	....	producer

Original Music by
Andrea Morricone

Cinematography by
Christopher Doyle		(as Chris Doyle)

Film Editing by
Stu Linder

Casting by
Ellen Chenoweth

Production Design by
Vincent Peranio

Art Direction by
Alan E. Muraoka

Set Decoration by
William A. Cimino

Costume Design by
Gloria Gresham

Makeup Department
Eileen Barrett	....	hair stylist
Gina W. Bateman	....	makeup artist (as Gina Wilgis Bateman)
Betty Beebe	....	key makeup artist
Sherri Bramlett	....	hair stylist
Cheryl 'Pickles' Kinion	....	makeup artist (as Cheryl Kinion)
John Quaglia	....	key hair stylist
Patricia Regan	....	makeup artist: Ms. Neuwirth (as Patricia Reagan)

Production Management
Blair Daily	....	post-production supervisor
Lenny Vullo	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert C. Albertell	....	second assistant director (as Robert Albertell)
Michael Haley	....	first assistant director
Eric Henriquez	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Randy Bobbitt	....	art department coordinator
Alfred J. Caragay	....	greensperson
William Catania	....	set dresser
F. Dale Davis	....	head set dresser
Michael Davis	....	construction coordinator (as Michael E. Davis)
Lisa Dietrich	....	set dresser
Susanna Glattly	....	scenic artist
Kristina Kilpe	....	assistant property master
Jay Klein	....	lead man
Ted Lubonovich II	....	propmaker
Ted Nolan	....	prop maker
Rob Simons	....	assistant art director (as Rob Simmons)
Jeff Stacy	....	key set dresser
Sammy Steward	....	greens
Jay Stump	....	greens
Thomas Turnbull	....	construction foreman (as Tom Turnbull)
Lorraine Walker	....	property master
Steven Walker	....	property master (as Steve Walker)
Elizabeth Weber	....	on-set dresser (as Liz Weber)
Billy Crush	....	assistant picture car coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Steve Cantamessa	....	sound mixer
Tony Eckert	....	foley mixer
Dan Engstrom	....	assistant dialogue editor
Sue Fox	....	adr editor
J.R. Grubbs	....	sound effects editor
Lora Hirschberg	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Lora Hirshberg)
Tim Holland	....	supervising sound editor
Tom Johnson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Scott La Rue	....	cable person (as Scott LaRue)
Mary Helen Leasman	....	foley editor
Cheryl Nardi	....	assistant dialogue editor
Timothy Nielsen	....	supervising assistant sound editor (as Tim Nielsen)
Claire Sanfilippo	....	dialogue editor (as Claire Sanfillippo)
Steve Slanec	....	assistant adr editor
Gary Thomas	....	boom operator
Dennie Thorpe	....	foley artist
Dave Tinsley	....	assistant sound engineer
Jana Vance	....	foley artist
Marshall Winn	....	dialogue editor
Jennifer Barin	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)
Sean Landeros	....	machine room operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Michael Bird	....	special effects coordinator
Thomas Fife	....	special effects (as Tom Fiffe)
Dave Gerlach	....	special effects (as David Gerlach)
Douglas Retzler	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Jeffrey Castel De Oro	....	digital compositor
Phil Holland	....	scanning & recording operator
Douglas Smith	....	visual effects supervisor
Brandon Craig	....	render coordinator (uncredited)
Betsy Paterson	....	2D supervisor: Rhythm & Hues (uncredited)
Craig Seitz	....	digital effects compositor: Rhythm & Hues (uncredited)

Stunts
G.A. Aguilar	....	stunts (as George Aguilar)
Peter Epstein	....	stunts
Sean Kelly	....	stunts
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt coordinator (as Conrad Palmisano)

Camera and Electrical Department
Colin Anderson	....	Steadicam operator
Colin Anderson	....	camera operator
Garrett Benson	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Eric Blair	....	assistant camera
James Boniece	....	key rigging grip
Michael Bonsignore	....	dolly grip (as Michael 'Mikael' Bonsignore)
Clyde E. Bryan	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
A. Anthony Cappello	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (as Anthony Cappello)
Tony Chiu	....	film loader
Rodney French	....	dolly grip (as Rodney G. French)
Brian Hamill	....	still photographer
Mike Keelty	....	rigging gaffer
Brett Laumann	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Mitchell Andrew Lillian	....	key grip (as Mitch Lillian)
Charlie Marroquin	....	best boy grip
Steve Mathis	....	gaffer
Paul Murphey	....	video assist operator
Rick Strodel	....	grip
Suzanne Trucks	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Peter Clemence	....	best boy grip (uncredited)
Rob Coughlin	....	grip (uncredited)
Rusty Gardner	....	lamp operator (uncredited)
Lisa Hartjen	....	lamp operator (uncredited)
Richard H. Kryder	....	best boy: rigging crew (uncredited)
Thomas Loizeaux	....	camera operator: "c" camera (uncredited)
Eric Martin	....	lamp operator (uncredited)
Chaz Rainey	....	grip (uncredited)
Clay Valenti	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Kathleen Chopin	....	additional casting
Tracy Kaplan	....	additional casting
Amanda Koblin	....	casting associate
Pat Moran	....	additional casting
Debra Zane	....	additional casting
Eric Zuckerman	....	casting assistant
Abe Forman-Greenwald	....	casting assistant (uncredited)
Michael Hothorn	....	casting assistant (uncredited)
John Strawbridge	....	casting associate (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Deb Dalton	....	set costumer
Steve Ellsworth	....	key costumer
Mitchell Ray Kenney	....	costume supervisor (as Mitchell Kenney)
David Mayreis	....	set costumer
Nancy McArdle	....	costume supervisor
Barbara Miller	....	set costumer
Kelly Porter	....	set costumer
Eva Prappas	....	key costumer (as Eva L. Prappas)

Editorial Department
Blair Daily	....	associate editor
Dale E. Grahn	....	color timer (as Dale Grahn)
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Jason Joseph	....	assistant editor
Bill Daly	....	post-production executive (uncredited)

Music Department
Nancy Allen	....	assistant music editor
Enrico DeMelis	....	music score consultant
Marylou Eales	....	assistant music supervisor
Allan Mason	....	music supervisor
Andrea Morricone	....	conductor
Andrea Morricone	....	music producer
Andrea Morricone	....	orchestrator
Suzana Peric	....	music editor
Joel Sill	....	music supervisor
Fabio Venturi	....	music scoring engineer

Transportation Department
Charles E. Bauer	....	transportation co-captain (as Chuck Bauer)
Thomas F. Lombardi	....	precision driver
Thomas F. Lombardi	....	vehicle coordinator
Michael Luckeroth	....	transportation coordinator
Gerald Titus	....	transportation captain (as Gerry Titus)
Douglas A. Walk	....	driver

Other crew
Wayne Arnold	....	additional second assistant
Kathi Ash	....	location coordinator
Denise A. Beale	....	set production aide (as Denise Beale)
Alicia Beytes	....	office production aide
Leonard Clarke	....	location coordinator (as Leonard Clark)
Tracey Colvin	....	set production aide
Ted Criswell	....	medic
Rick Eggers	....	catering chef
John Erby	....	set production aide
Jeff Flach	....	location manager
Betsy Friedman	....	set production aide
Nicole Furia	....	production accountant
Ginny Galloway	....	production secretary
Donna Lee Greber	....	assistant: Mr. Levinson
Ronald Bruce Holtman	....	key craft service (as Bruce Holtman)
Jon Jolles	....	set production aide
Chris Kable	....	assistant: Ms. Weinstein
Kate Kelly	....	production coordinator
Martin Kircher	....	projectionist
Linda Labov	....	assistant: Ms. Weinstein
Eric Layne	....	assistant accountant
Stephanie Lovell	....	set production aide
Michelle Lynch	....	assistant choreographer (as Michele Lynch)
Ryan McCormick	....	assistant: Mr. McCormick
Jerry Mitchell	....	choreographer
Eric Morgan	....	production secretary
Kendra Pasker	....	office production aide
Luis Perez	....	choreographer: Cha-Cha
Julie Pitkanen	....	script supervisor
Karen Radzikowski	....	set production aide
Chris Rosenbery	....	office production aide
Kenneth Roth	....	set production aide (as Ken Roth)
Marie Rowe	....	executive assistant
Andrew Sachs	....	assistant: Mr. Levinson
Scott Schaeffer	....	production assistant
Scott Schaeffer	....	set production aide
Patrick Shiffrar	....	assistant accountant
Drew Tidwell	....	assistant production coordinator
Mira Tweti	....	publicist
Mikki Ziska	....	set production aide
Janette Evans	....	payroll accountant (uncredited)
Kimberly Masimore	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Kevin Weaver	....	security supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Baltimore Pictures
• Spring Creek Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1999) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2000) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2000) (France) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2001) (Argentina) (VHS)
• SBS6 (2005) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Warner Bros. (2001) (Argentina) (all media)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Atlantic Cine Equipment  cranes and remote heads
• Atlantic Records  soundtrack
• Warner Sunset Records  soundtrack

MPAA:

Rated R for crude language and sex-related material.

Runtime:

127 min | Germany:122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Yiddish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:12 (video rating) | Netherlands:AL | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Baltimore County Courthouse - 401 Bosley Avenue, Towson, Maryland, USA

Company:

Baltimore Pictures

Trivia:

In the scene where they are teeing off at the 'golf course', they are actually standing on the lawn in front of the Mansion House in Baltimore's Druid Hill Park. The Mansion House is the current day administrative offices for the Baltimore Zoo. There is no real golf course in Druid Hill Park.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The film takes place in 1954, but the melody of "Bayom Hahu," which the Cantor sings during the Rosh Hashanah services, was written by Michael Isaacson in the mid-1980s.

Quotes:

[after Trey has crashed his car]
Ted: This is very unfortunate.
Trey Tobelseted: You know, it's obvious the smiling pumpkins distracted me.

Movie Connections:

References "The Milton Berle Show" (1948)

Soundtrack:

Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)

Barry Levinson's Funny, Poignant Look at Changing Times in an Era That Needed Change!

LIBERTY HEIGHTS (LH) is a fine addition to writer/director Barry Levinson's series of nostalgic autobiographical Baltimore-set films. This episodic but heartfelt comedy-drama, set in the mid-1950s, stars Adrien Brody and Ben Foster as brothers Van and Ben Kurtzman, who come of age while grappling with anti-Semitism, their loving dad's (Joe Mantegna) shady business dealings (he runs both a burlesque house and a low-profile numbers racket. My late dad, a bookie, would've loved this guy! :-), racism (Ben and his pretty black classmate Sylvia, appealingly played by Rebekah Johnson, start seeing each other on the sly), and classism (Van falls hard for blonde WASP dream girl Dubbie, who turns out to be a nightmare -- a tragic figure, in fact -- but is capably played by supermodel Carolyn Murphy in her first and, to date, only film role that I know of). While LH isn't quite as sharp and knowing as Levinson's modern classic DINER (with which LH would make an interesting double feature; the DVD includes the DINER trailer, by the way), it's rendered with great affection and attention to detail about the characters, their world, and the changing times they're living in. For me, the wittier moments really made the film -- Ben's anarchic streak livens things up, to say the least! Best Ben moments: 1) his scandalizing his family by dressing as Hitler on Halloween; 2) the act of defiance he and his friends eventually pull at the "NO JEWS..." pool; and 3) the tender yet chaste kiss he gives Sylvia at graduation, freaking out both sets of parents. LH is worth a rental, at the very least!