Customer Reviews

American Experience - Coney Island

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I saw this years ago, and still can't get it out of my mind. It is haunting in every way, from the simple up and down single note piano soundtrack to the ageless black and white photos. It has a storyline with a sad ending, and yet is not depressing; it goes somewhere beyond joy or sadness, and yet it contains plenty of both. It is strongly tied in my mind to the American story of immigrants, entrepreneurship, more! more! more! lights and razzle-dazzle, and yet has a coda like a lone clown blowing a sad tune from a Fellini movie. I hope that it will haunt you, too.

There are nights when I have watched this film twice or three times in a row. Wonderful silent film and still photographs accompanied by Eli Wallach's narration and a haunting score. Return to the days when Coney Island was the latest thing in American amusement. There are no other words besides "absolutely stunning."

I highly recommend this installment of American Experience. Between the archive footage, celebrity voice overs and atmospheric sound track it really conveys a sense of what New York life was like at the turn of the century.

Coney Island has become legend. What once was a place for people to gather in excitement and fun is now a hollow ghost of its former self. Still, it is fun to look back on the way it once was during a simpler time in history.

This documentary is extremely well done. The narration is excellent and combines well with the film clips used. The editing is also masterful and helpful to the storytelling. Surprisingly, the film footage is in good condition. Since most of it did not come from a major motion picture, one would think it would be in the same condition as most newsreel footage, but it is clear and watchable. (Ironically, the bit from Clara Bow's "It" is in bad shape; it has since been restored.)

The only major flaw here is the little information provided about the 1920s and 30s. So much is explored from the early 1900s because that is when the amusement parks really took off, but what of the time between that and the collapse? One can get an idea of what it was like based on the film clips, but judging from the bathing suits, most of the clips come from the earliest parts of the century.

Overall, this film is a fascinating look at an era lost to the modern world. It is nostalgic and lovingly told.

this is a fascinating documentary about coney island spectacles before the dawn of the PC era. a brilliant capture of the evolution of one of new york's most intriguing historical landmarks, featuring everything from the advent of the baby incubator, to a village of little people, to the electrocution of a runaway elepahant. my boyfriend and i went to coney island again after seeing it, and it totally enhanced the experience--a must-see for every new yorker, or new york enthusiast.

For anyone to understand what Coney Island means to people (especially those with a direct connection to the place), they'd have to see this documentary. The legendary amusement parks and their eventual demise is a compelling story of the rise and fall of a universal icon.
In this, the first of Ric Burns' American Experience documentary films, the dynamic of this unique place is captured so well, I can barely watch it without tears emerging uncontrollably from my eyes.
A must see for anyone interested in New York City, the rise of recreation and amusement in America for the new working class with a day off, amusement parks; and most of all Coney Island itself.

This is something I remember first watching when I was 11 or 12 years old. It was something my mom wanted me to see because she experienced herself the joys of the (final) years of Steeplechase Park at Coney Island;the human roulette wheel,the blow hole theater,the Nathan's hot dogs;she did it all and all of that is here only more. After watching this I have to admit to myself Luna Park,although it's heyday was at the turn of the century and it burned down 40 years before I was born,looked pretty cool. This documentary shows how a famous beach inspired forward thinking showmen and arcitects to build three amusment parks on Coney Island in the early 1900's;how they provided whimsey,abandon and in some cases cultural stimulation to Americans.At the time Americans were witnessing the end of the Victorian age and the beginning of the modern world-Coney Island blended the two by inventing it's own world that mixed both the reason and morality with invention and industriousness;the perfect mix of old and new. This story becomes bittersweet at the end when Coney Island goes into decline-reason being first one of it's three assmusment parks burning down,the passing and downfall of it's innovators and the fact that the rest of New York (and the country) started catching up fast to the diversions Coney Island offered after WW1. One thing I should say about this is this movie is at least 15 minutes longer then the one PBS originally aired. One whole segment taken entirely from the televised version revolves around how after WW1 Coney Islands two remaining amusment parks began to rely mainly on circus type sideshows,not rides or spectacles to stay afloat. This dreamy documentary is mainly fancinating except,as stated by another review it does feature a chilling film made at Coney Island around 1907 or something of an old elephant named Topsy being electrocuted.Some might find this offensive and not want young kids to see this.And while it is highly unpleasant it illustrates that even the most fun place in the world has it's darker side. But there is a happy ending to this story not shown on this DVD;several years after this was made Austraillia opened up it's own Luna Park;not only does it have a lot of the same features as the original but it remains highly popular. Which proves to me with no doubt that if fire hadn't gutted it the original Luna Park,in the proper hands would've surely made a comeback.A compelling DVD for fans of Coney Island history,amusement parks and even some sociologists.

Having been lucky enough to have seen and videotaped the original broadcast of Ric Burn's "Coney Island" way back in 1991 I found myself becoming more and more obsessed with this brilliant documentary. At the time I worked nights and would get home around 3 or 4 a.m. every night - most nights I would pop in my tape of "Coney Island" - I lived and breathed this film. It is everything the above review says it is and more. Anyone with a interest in history, immigration, carnivals, amusement parks, nostalgia, film and photography should definatley purchase this film. You will not regret it. Other titles from the amazing Ric Burns include " The Way West", " The Donner Party" " New York" as well as the epic "The Civil War" which he did with his brother Ken. As far as "Coney Island" goes you'd be nuts to pass this one up.

I saw this documentary yrs. ago on PBS. I gave it to the daughter of the man that re-openned Steeplechase in the 60's after George C. Tilloue sold it to Trumps father. He intially opened it as a parking lot and then added rides and called it Steeplechase Park for almost 50 yrs. His daughter, now 50 had never seen this film. She was suprised to see how large Coney was at the turn of the century. Her father will be too when he sees this film. You have to see this especially if you are a Coney Island fan or a New Yorker!

What an impressive "style" of telling the history of Coney Island ! You float through the telling of this story in a haunting mist of many bygone scenes - which made me feel like I were looking through a dusty photo album from a trunk found in the attic of a Victorian home, and my imagination sent flying as I thumbed through the pages. The superb, stylized narrative telling of this history is - the other fifty percent of its' mesmerizing mood. And there's alot of story to tell. As far as I'm concerned - this film should receive some type of an award, if it already hasn't ? It is a real work of "art." I would have to sit and think alot - to adequately express all that could be said, because there is much to be said. I guess other's comments have done that for me.