Liberty Heights (1999)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

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:

School | High School | Anti Semitism | Burlesque | Brother

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

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:

Part of a series of films based Barry Levinson's family and friends from Baltimore. The other films are: Diner (1982), Tin Men (1987) and Avalon (1990).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the part of the film which was set in October/November, 1954, the trees had way too many green leaves on them for Baltimore at that time of the year.

Quotes:

Grandma Rose: Get a haircut.

Movie Connections:

References "The Milton Berle Show" (1948)

Soundtrack:

If

Reality at its Best

This movie is sort of like the concept of the TV show Seinfeld-- it's about nothing. By this I don't mean that it lacks substance, in fact, it has plenty, but I mean rather that it does not involve an intense plot line. It's more like a series of snapshots taken out of one family's album, like a brief recording of one year in their lives. It's as if these people were real, simply going about their lives in their times, and we got to peek in on them, and it is acted in just that way. I think it's very true to director Barry Levinson's vision, a vision that is clear upon viewing his other films that he includes with Liberty Heights as his "Baltimore" films. These include Diner, Avalon, and Tin Men. Because this is not the typical problem arises-conflict ensues-climax is reached-conclusion is found film, Levinson shows us that these people's lives were a series of ups and downs, joys and losses, that summarize American middle-class youth in all ages in history. There connections between the different walks of life and the idea of growing up and discovering diversity around you is what makes this film universal and beautiful, all without handing you morals and themes on a silver platter. This film takes a wonderfully objective viewpoint that allows you to make meaning of it rather than spelling it out for you.