In our post yesterday about the new apartment building on East 11th Street ... Dave on 7th noted that the building adjacent to the lot, 533 E. 11th St., served as the exterior for
"The Super," a rather painful comedy (co-written by Nora Ephron too) from 1991 starring Joe Pesci.
And the plot: "Karma comes into play when a wealthy wisecracking landlord is ordered by a court to live in the filthy building that he runs."
The movie provides a nice time capsule for the neighborhood circa 1990-1991, as you can see in this clip that Dave on 7th sent along...
And a few photos...
[From 1979 via
Michael Sean Edwards]
[From 2011 via Google]
El Sol Brillante showed this at movie night this summer. Classic.
ReplyDeleteIt's our street and we love her.
ReplyDeleteTo see her in her glory in 1905, watch "Ragtime."
To see her at her worst pain in 1981, watch "Downtown 81."
Wow, I remember as a young teen on the other side of the Atlantic watching this movie on TV late one Friday night and really enjoying it (in a sort of "so dumb it's good" kind of way).
ReplyDeleteLittle did I know that twenty years later I'd be living on that block.
Ah, the good old days. And yes, I mean that seriously.
ReplyDeletemy father loves this movie (he only knows the nyc during this period) - gonna love telling him I walk down this street to my laundry! (There are a few feral cats who like to lounge in that vacant lot too)
ReplyDeleteI vaguely remember when they shot this on the block, I live diagonally across from 533.
ReplyDeleteThey took good care to keep my building out of the movie, I guess, since it was a new renovation in '88-89.
I keep meaning to see "Ragtime" -- i know there is a plaque on the Bath House, but I distinctly recall the realtor telling us prospective buyers that our building was used in that film, even going so far as to try and nickname the building "Ragtime" in the prospectus......