Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

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:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Last Exit to Springfield (#4.17)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Harlem Nocturne

Violent slice-of-life that lingers in the memory

Working class life in 1950's Brooklyn is disrupted by a strike.

One of these films that seems about nothing in the explaining (the ups and downs of the roughhouse working-class), but is a very powerful piece in the watching and highly recommended.

The film reminded me of an X rated version of American Graffiti where people go about their ordinary lives, but somehow, we become fascinated. While actually shot in West German (when there was one) there are too many real NY character actors for us to notice.

There is fair amount of stupidity and leaching. The male hustler and the whore stick in your mind longer, but the working class morals of all the characters are well observed. Certain scenes actually play no real role in the plot, but add to the feel of time and place.

A lot of people will be shocked by this movie. It is brutally frank and at times violent, but it is never just put there for entertainment. This is an adult picture dealing with adult themes and adult lives. I found it quite hard to watch at times myself, but I think it is an important film and no insult to the classic Selby book which inspired it.