Chelsea on the Rocks (2008)

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writers:

Abel Ferrara (stories), David Linter (story),

Stars:

Ira Cohen, Gerald Busby, Stanley Bard

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ira Cohen	...	Himself
Gerald Busby	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stanley Bard	...	Himself
Quentin Crisp	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lindsey Noble	...	Herself
Raymond Foye	...	Himself
Lance Loud	...	Himself (archive footage)
Donald Baechler	...	Himself
Zev Greenfield	...	Himself
Van Es. Willem	...	Himself
Joe Andoe	...	Himself
Abel Ferrara	...	Himself
Milos Forman	...	Himself
Laura Kaplan	...	Linda
María Maratea	...	Juanita

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

painter | interview | actor | musician | hotel | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug content, some sexual material and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 2011 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Chelsea Hotel

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,282 (USA) (2 October 2009)

Gross:

$6,911 (USA) (9 October 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apollo Films, Deerjen Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

I Just Never Connected to the Film

Chelsea on the Rocks (2008)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Abel Ferrara's documentary taking a look at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City. The documentary doesn't really focus on the famous people who have lived there even though they are discussed. The main focus appears to be no focus at all as we just get random stories about suicide, death, love, fires, murders, drugs and countless other topics like this. I watch quite a few documentaries including those with subjects that I don't care about or that I'm not totally into. A good film will grab your attention and bring you in no matter what the subject is but CHELSEA ON THE ROCKS never once did that. I really can't remember the last time I saw such a bland and boring documentary but I'm guessing this might appeal to the types of people who lived in this place and know about some of the stories mentioned. Ferrara interviews various people who have lived at the hotel or are currently there. We get some famous people like Ethan Hawke and Milos Forman but the majority of the interviews are just with normal people. Quite often while they're telling their stories we can hear Ferrara in the background usually saying a mixture of cuss words. No matter if the story deals with ghosts, suicide or murder, the director's response is the same. "No sh*t" and "f&*k man" are two phrases that are repeated quite often. I'm really not sure what the director was going for here but it just never connected with me.