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Spooky season gives way to the Big Apple this month at The Frida! All month long, our New York November series will present an eclectic assortment of movies about or set in New York City. Featuring directors as diverse as Noah Baumbach, John Carpenter, and Frank Oz and everything from action and horror to dramas and comedies, this wide selection of titles is guaranteed to give you a new, multifaceted look at The City That Never Sleeps. Start spreading the news and grab tickets while they’re hot!
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three – November 1, 2, 4, & 5
Directed by Joseph Sargent | 1974
In New York City, a criminal gang led by the ruthless “Mr. Blue” (Robert Shaw) hijacks a subway car and threatens to start shooting one passenger per minute unless they receive a million dollars in cash from the city within an hour. On the other end of the line, crusty veteran transit policeman Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau) has his hands full dealing with the mayor’s office and his hotheaded fellow cops, while also trying to deliver the ransom before the deadline expires.
Dog Day Afternoon – November 1, 2, 4, & 5
Directed by Sidney Lumet | 1975
Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturale. Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale) attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny’s motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.
Frances Ha – November 3 & 5
Directed by Noah Baumbach | 2012
Greta Gerwig is radiant as Frances, a woman of twenty-seven living in New York trying to sort out her ambitions, her finances, and, above all, her intimate but shifting bond with her best friend, Sophie (Mickey Sumner). Struggling to find work as a dancer, Frances constantly moves between apartments and odd jobs to maintain stability. As life goes on however, her options for the future appear fewer than before, and her friends seem liable to disappear along with them.
After Hours – November 3, 4, & 5
Directed by Martin Scorsese | 1985
An ordinary word processor (Griffin Dunne) has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl (Rosanna Arquette) in Soho whom he met that evening at a coffee shop.
See It On 16mm Presents: Death Wish – November 5
Directed by Michael Winner | 1974
After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect named Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.
Crooklyn + Clockers: Spike Lee Double Feature – November 13 & 14
Directed by Spike Lee | 1994 & 1995
Crooklyn: As her teacher mother, Carolyn (Alfre Woodard), and her jazz musician father, Woody (Delroy Lindo), worry over monthly bills, grade-schooler student Troy Carmichael (Zelda Harris) banters and bonds with her four brothers. Against her will, Troy is sent to her aunt’s southern home for a summer visit, but when she returns to her bustling Brooklyn neighborhood, she learns that a family member is gravely ill. Already mature, Troy is forced to face to some very grown-up facts about life and loss.
Clockers: Nineteen-year-old “Strike” Dunham (Mekhi Phifer) is a small-time street drug dealer for Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo), who wants Strike to kill a former dealer who stole from him. When the man turns up dead, Strike is suspected. But before homicide detective Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) has a chance to investigate, Strike’s brother, Victor (Isaiah Washington), confesses to the crime — and Klein suspects that Victor, a virtuous family man, is trying to cover up for Strike.
Uncut Gems – November 13 – 15
Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie | 2019
Howard Ratner (Sandler), a charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score, makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.
The Warriors – November 16 & 17
Directed by Walter Hill | 1979
When the Gramercy Riffs — the most powerful gang in New York City — propose a truce to unite every gang for collective control of the city, the leader of the malicious Rogues responds with violence. News of the crime makes its way to the Warriors, who are falsely implicated in the act, causing the Riffs to place a hit on the group. The only way to redeem their name results in a thirty-mile trek from the Bronx to their home in Coney Island, in which they find themselves against the entirety of New York’s most dangerous groups.
Uptown Girls – November 16
Directed by Boaz Yakin | 2003
Molly Gunn (Murphy), the freewheeling daughter of a deceased rock legend, is forced to get a job when her manager steals her money. As nanny for precocious Ray (Fanning), the oft ignored daughter of a music executive, she learns what it means to be an adult while teaching Ray how to be a child.
Little Shop of Horrors – November 17
Directed by Frank Oz | 1986
Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) is a nerdy orphan working at Mushnik’s, a flower shop in urban Skid Row. He harbors a crush on fellow co-worker Audrey Fulquard (Ellen Greene), and is berated by Mr. Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia) daily. One day Seymour finds a very mysterious unidentified plant which he calls Audrey II (Levi Stubbs). The plant seems to have a craving for blood and soon begins to sing for his supper.
Ms .45 + Driller Killer: Abel Ferrera Double Feature – November 17
Directed by Abel Ferrera | 1981 & 1979
Ms .45: A shy and mute seamstress named Thana (Zoë Tamerlis) goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day. She wanders the New York streets at night in a sexy black dress with her attacker’s gun strapped to her garter belt, blowing away any man who tries to pick her up.
Driller Killer: An artist named Reno Miller (Ferrara) is driven to insanity while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings and look after his female roommates. He takes to the New York streets at night and kills homeless people at random with his drill.
The Muppets Take Manhattan – November 20 – 22
Directed by Frank Oz | 1984
When the Muppets graduate from Danhurst College, they take their song-filled senior revue to New York City, only to learn that it isn’t easy to find a producer who’s willing to back a show starring a frog and a pig. Of course, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy won’t take no for an answer, launching a search for someone to take them to Broadway.
When Harry Met Sally… – November 21 – 22
Directed by Rob Reiner | 1989
During their travel from Chicago to New York, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) debate whether or not sex ruins a friendship between a man and a woman. Eleven years later, and they’re still no closer to finding the answer.
Gloria – November 24 & 26
Directed by John Cassavetes | 1980
When a young boy’s family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria (Gena Rowlands) becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run all throughout New York.
Rosemary’s Baby – November 24 & 26
Directed by Roman Polanski | 1968
A young couple, Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes), moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family. When they become visited by equally mysterious neighbors, Rosemary begins to become unwinded by a supernatural presence that may desire what grows from within her.
American Psycho – November 24 – 25
Directed by Mary Harron | 2000
Patrick Bateman (Bale), a wealthy New York investment banking executive, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends. As he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies, everyone around Bateman begins to question whether his well-being is as intact as he believes.
Cinematic Voic Presents: Escape from New York – November 25
Directed by John Carpenter | 1981
In the distant future of 1997, crime is out of control and New York City’s Manhattan is a maximum security prison. Grabbing a bargaining chip right out of the air, convicts bring down the President’s plane in bad old Gotham. Gruff Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), a one-eyed lone warrior new to prison life, is coerced into bringing the President, and his cargo, out of this land of undesirables.
Members Only: Taxi Driver + Mean Streets Double Feature – November 26
Directed by Martin Scorsese | 1973 + 1976
Taxi Driver: Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city. When Travis meets pretty campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), he becomes obsessed with the idea of saving the world, first plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate, then directing his attentions toward rescuing 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster).
Mean Streets: A slice of street life in Little Italy among lower echelon Mafiosos, unbalanced punks, and petty criminals. A small-time hood gets in over his head with a vicious loan shark. In an attempt to free himself from the dangers of his debt, he gets help from a friend who is also involved in criminal activities.
Shaft + Superfly Double Feature – November 27 & 29
Directed by Gordon Parks & Gordon Parks Jr. | 1971 & 1972
Shaft: John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) is the ultimate in suave Black detectives. He first finds himself up against Bumpy (Moses Gunn), the leader of the Black crime mob, then against black nationals, and finally working with both against the white mafia who are trying to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter.
Superfly: Priest (Ron O’Neal), a suave top-rung New York City drug dealer, decides that he wants to get out of his dangerous trade. Working with his reluctant friend, Eddie (Carl Lee), Priest devises a scheme that will allow him make a big deal and then retire. When a desperate street dealer informs the police of Priest’s activities, Priest is forced into an uncomfortable arrangement with corrupt narcotics officers. Setting his plan in motion, he aims to both leave the business and stick it to the man.
Arvida Books Presents: The Godfather – November 30
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola | 1972
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino) steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
