Sexyloutak
Absolutely the worst movie.
InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Justina
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
SnoopyStyle
Bill Cunningham is an influential and beloved fashion photographer working at the New York Times but very few people actually know him. He has been photographing the fashion seen on the streets for around 30 years. He rides his bicycle. He eats cheap food. He doesn't spend money on clothes. His small Spartan apartment is filled with file cabinets holding all his negatives. He doesn't care about money. He and his friend Editta Sherman are getting evicted. At his core, he is obsessed with fashion and photographing the changing style in New York. It's a fascinating portrait. It also doesn't shy away from the obvious personal questions. It comes later in the movie just as the lack of personal life starts to be prominent. It reveals the real person behind the camera.
nathanschubach
I can't positively gush about this movie more than any other viewer can. This documentary warms the heart and allows people to see a side of life not many seem to slow down enough to view. I had never heard of him before watching this, but Bill truly is a great man. This movie makes me want to slow down and appreciate the everyday styles that people choose. I loved the various side-interviews with notable subjects of his photographs and colleagues, many of whom have similarly quirky yet important stories to tell. The music was so well grafted into the scenes that you may overlook it, but it guides the times and New York-living so well that it shouldn't be overlooked, either. If you're looking for a heart-warming documentary about a very important figure and artist in modern fashion photography, you'll enjoy learning about Bill as much as I did.
bandw
This documentary about Bill Cunningham, a fashion photographer for the New York Times, and New York City street photographer, held my interest until it started getting repetitive. Indeed, Cunningham, now in his 80s, is a unique character what with his ascetic lifestyle and riding his bike all over New York City pursuing his passion for photographing any mode of dress he finds interesting. And the irony of his photographing the rich and famous was not lost on me. But I began to tire of all of the footage that had him riding his bike around and the mechanics of publishing his photographs.The most frustrating thing for me was that I wanted to see more of his work. For the most part we see images, frequently multiple images per frame, for a split second. Impossible to absorb them with any level of appreciation. There were several scenes showing Cunningham working with an assistant (and driving him nuts) to compose layouts for the Times. Again, all we see is split second takes showing him moving images around. Damn it, I wanted to see more of his work. Don't most artists say that you can know them best through their work? We don't get to see enough of Cunningham's work to make that judgment. We often see Cunningham rushing down a sidewalk in front of someone he wanted to photograph so that he could get some good shots when they passed by. These scenes made me uncomfortable by their apparent rudeness, but maybe that is pretty low level stuff for New Yorkers. But I have to think that many a person who was idly walking down the street one day only to find their picture in the New York Times the next day would be a bit irritated. There was a missed opportunity to discuss the legality of photographing people in public spaces.
brimon28
Once upon a time this reviewer was a photographer who rode a bicycle for work. I carried a camera always. Film, until digital became cheaper. Here we have a man in love with his city and his camera. Director Press (what an apt name!), who also photographs and cuts, sets out to draw a man. In doing so he puts a tiny figure into a broad panorama of what some would say is the cultural capital of the world. Could a Bill Cunningham exist anywhere else? OK, we spend a little time in Paris, but the flavor is New York. This reviewer knows New York, has been influenced by Paris with but fleeting visits. This film alludes to the work of Jean Luc Godard, a director of imagination. Amongst photographers, Paris and New York evoke images that stimulate and provoke.In my reviews I've been critical of hand-held camera work. Otherwise fine films, I believe, have suffered because the cinematographers have forgotten that viewers expect to see steady images. This film uses hand-held wisely, intercutting it with fixed scenes. There is a rhythm of busy, noisy shots interspersed with quiet, even contemplative material. This is an absorbing, thoughtful motion picture, telling a story of a "stills" master.As I walked out of the cinema, people chatted animatedly with strangers about what they had seen, a reaction I had not before seen. My own reaction was envy and admiration. Here was an octogenarian riding a bike, when I had had to give it up; a photographer productive and imaginative. Lovely and exciting.
