The Taking of New York City: Crime on the Screen and in the Streets of the Big Apple in the 1970s

New York City in the 1970s was plagued by crime, graft, catastrophic finances, and crumbling infrastructure, symbolizing the plight of American cities after the 1960s. The Taking of New York City is a history of both New York and some of the decades' most definitive films, including The French Connection, the first two Godfather movies, Taxi Driver, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Blaxploitation classics such as Shaft and Super Fly. Author Andrew Rausch meticulously separates fact and fiction, giving an unvarnished look at how bad things could get in the "Rotten Apple" and how movies told that story to the country and the world.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 05 January 2025
Publisher: Globe Pequot Press

New York City experienced a period of decline in the 1970s, characterized by rampant crime, graft, catastrophic finances, and crumbling infrastructure. It became a symbol of the plight of American cities after the 1960s. The city's troubles were widely portrayed in the news media and numerous films, which depicted it as a grim, violent place overridden with muggers, pimps, and killers. The Taking of New York City is a history of both New York and some of the decades' most definitive films, including The French Connection (1971), the first two Godfather movies (1972 & 1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and many more. It was also an era in which the city wrestled with racial tensions that threatened to tear the nation apart, particularly in "Blaxploitation" classics such as Shaft (1971) and Super Fly (1972). These films depicted the city as a nightmare, a vile dystopia where the innocent could not rely on the local law enforcement, who were seemingly all on the take. If one took Hollywood's word for it, the only way to find justice in 1970s New York City was by grabbing a gun and meting it out themselves. Author Andrew Rausch meticulously separates fact from fiction in this illuminating book, giving an unvarnished look at how bad things could get in the "Rotten Apple" and how movies told that story.

Weight: 540g
Dimension: 236 x 161 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781493078714