Chelsea on the Rocks
Director: Abel Ferrara
Year Released: 2008
Rating: 2.0
Gritty Ferrara gives his own rough portrait of a New York landmark, the Hotel Chelsea, and how what was once home to undesirables and artists and orgies is now being "sanitized" by new ownership. It's disorganized and cluttered - and Ferrara the interviewer can't just let his subjects 'talk' - in an attempt to be 'free form,' plus those re-enactments of the parties and the Sid & Nancy debacle are utterly unnecessary (and bad). Still, there are a few great stories in here about the hey-day of the establishment, particularly from former head honcho Stanley Bard (a bohemian at heart) and Czech director Miloš Forman ("What's more macho than to be killed by a fireman?").
