Empire City

Michael Blackwood
1985-07-01

The City That Never Sleeps
9
89 min

A film essay contrasting the modern metropolis with its "golden age" from 1830-1930, with the participation of some of New York's leading political and cultural figures. Made at a time when the city was experiencing unprecedented real estate development on the one hand and unforeseen displacement of population and deterioration on the other. Empire City is the story of two New Yorks. The film explores the precarious coexistence of the service-based midtown Manhattan corporate headquarters with the peripheral New York of undereducated minorities living in increasing alienation.

Cast

Name Character Team
Donald Trump Self Unowned
Ed Koch Self Unowned
Jane Jacobs Self Unowned
Elia Kazan Self Unowned
Norman Mailer Self Unowned
Arthur Miller Self Unowned
Jason Robards Self - Narrator (voice) Unowned