Customer Reviews

An Englishman in New York

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"An Englishman in New York" is a superb biopic on Quentin Crisp, reprised by John Hurt who had been in the original The Naked Civil Servant Crisp settles down in the Big Apple, just as gay culture around him is changing. His friend Patrick introduces him to a bar where there are muscular "clones"--and as a dandy he feels out of place. He makes wise,witty observations on the nature of life and love,and the importance of living with integrity. Crisp never lived in the closet. Crisp was at once a man of his time--he knew under British law he could be imprisoned for his consensual,intimate acts with other men--and he paved the way for others like himself to be free.

John Hurt perfectly portrays Crisp as the quasi-Buddhist, observant, insightful and wise. Hurt is still a wonderful actor,even if he stars in clunkers like The Oxford Murders ( Crimes à Oxford ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ] Cynthia Nixon of Sex and the City: The Complete Series (Collector's Giftset) briefly portrays his late in life friend/performance artist Penny Arcade.

The movie even has a film within the film itself--Crisp starring as Queen Elizabeth I in Orlando Surprisingly,Tilda Swinton doesn't make a cameo. The aged,slowly dying Crisp ironically intones,"Never die. Never grow old" as he bestows a queenly blessing.

"An Englishman in New York" is great as a biopic/documentary,or simply as a drama. It's a quiet little masterpiece.

AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK is a exceptionally well done film about the last years of the infamous Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt, 25 December 1908 - 21 November 1999), an English writer and raconteur - one who is skilled at regurgitating funny anecdotes he heard someone else say first. Writer Brian Fillis has provided a highly polished script for director Richard Laxton, the two thus being able to bring to life this icon of homosexuality in the 1970s who, after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant, came to America to do 'speaking engagements', better described as cabaret comedy/philosophy routines. He dressed effeminately because that is the way he saw himself, and he adapted to life in New York with a joy that made people notice and respect him finally.

John Hurt brings a brilliant luster to his role as the strange but lovely elderly Crisp who sits before audiences and says what comes to his mind. He is befriended by Christopher Street editor Phillip Steel (Dennis O'Hare) who gives him work as a movie critic, noticed by promoter Connie Clausen (Swoosie Kurtz) who schedules him heavily in nightclubs as an act, shy painter Patrick Angus (Jonathan Tucker) whom he champions among galleries, and kooky performance artist Penny Arcade (Cynthia Nixon). At the height of his popularity he makes a comments about AIDS being a 'fad', something that unites gays with a disease that Crisp claims is just what the straight public wants, and his popularity among his audience wanes. He discovers Angus is stricken with the disease and mourns his too soon death, and is sheltered by Steel as he grows into a fragile very elderly 91 year old. Throughout the film Hurt glows as the strange but somehow lovable Crisp, showing us all a side of a man who has been too often dismissed as a weird one. This is a very tender film, complemented by a first class cast, and one that deserves very wide attention. Grady Harp, September 10

An Englishman in New York is a well done biopic that chronicles the life and times of Quentin Crisp (portrayed by John Hurt) after his move to New York from Great Britain. This sequel to The Naked Civil Servant, which also does a fine job of telling the story of Quentin Crisp in earlier days, has an excellent cast, great choreography and fine cinematography, too. The acting is very convincing and I was never once bored.

We see Quentin Crisp arriving in New York and he instantly falls in love with Manhattan and Greenwich Village in particular. He eventually befriends Philip Steele at Christopher Street magazine; and he gets an agent, Connie Clausen (played wonderfully by Swoosie Kurtz) after one of his speaking engagements. Things go well for Crisp as his agent gets him booking after booking; but when Quentin says that AIDS is "a fad" he turns a lot of people off especially in the gay community. His book tour is cancelled and it becomes much harder for him to find work in public speaking dispensing his views on practically all aspects of life.

Quentin also befriends the young painter Patrick Angus (Jonathan Tucker) who dies tragically of AIDS; but before Angus dies Quentin makes sure to get his work displayed in art galleries for the first time and even David Hockney buys two of Angus' paintings.

I could tell you so much more about the fascinating story of Quentin Crisp's later years which is explored in this film; but I don't want to spoil it for you. Suffice it to say that Cynthia Nixon does a great job as Penny Arcade, a young woman with whom Quentin performs during his last years.

I recommend this film for anyone interested in Quentin Crisp and/or the history of gay rights in general; and of course if you're interested in seeing the harsh and bitterly cruel impact of AIDS upon the gay community this would be a good addition to your library. Even people who enjoy dramas would do well to get this film.

If, like me, you saw The Naked Civil Servant movie or read the book it was based on and wondered what happened afterward...this is the answer. Covering over thirty years in less than an hour and a half requires it to be sketchy at times. Quentin Crisp created his own unique life in the first movie, but the world and life catches up with him in this one. Having John Hurt reprise the same role holds it all together. Crisp never changes, even when Gay sensitivities might have preferred that he mellow out on somethings. At times offensive, always eccentric, he somehow manages to hang on to the respect earned in the earlier work. Good conclusion to a 94 year story line.

Run time: 1:25
Director: Richard Laxton

Dennis Pratt, a/k/a the incredible Quentin Crisp, is a Great Memory to me and nothing more...that is, until I saw this riveting film starring John Hurt in the title role.

This amazing role reprisal (35 years apart!) is a nice rounding-out of Hurt's life/career: he starred in 1975's NAKED CIVIL SERVANT, the British television film based on Crisp's autobiography. That film changed lives and moved many people to tears. It's something I'm definitely going to see. I have never seen it. However, seeing AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK makes up for that.

Had you asked me about Quentin Crisp, I'd have said yes, I know him a bit; I thought he was a writer or some such thing; he was very gay; a sort of hero and role model for the gay community. That's it. I always thought he was a Midwesterner who moved to New York City, and I always thought he had been a scientist in his younger years. Goes to show you!

This fantastic movie, shot almost documentary style (I will not call it a "mockumentary") tells of Crisp's arrival and settling in when he was around 70 years old, his love of Manhattan and we even see a few haunts which even I recognized. One is a bar scene I saw in TORCH SONG TRILOGY and I can only say that, whether real or a set, it is still there and I literally cried upon seeing it.

I wish I had known and seen more of Crisp--I was saddened by his death, not that many years ago, and I recall him falling out of grace and making a comeback. That is all explained in this excellent film. What he did for those around him, for England, for America, for the world, I hugely admire...but will leave for you to decide on your own.

Co-starring with Hurt are the wonderful Denis O'Hare as Philip Steele, Crisp's magazine editor "employer"; the beautiful and tragic Jonathan Tucker as artist Patrick Angus (IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH; I LOVE Tucker: watch out for this major talent). The cast is rounded out by Cynthia Nixon as the notorious Penny Arcade and Swoozie Kurtz as Crisp's manager Connie Clausen. These are Crisp's inner circle, though he had a vast inner circle including Hurt himself, Sting (who sings beautifully at the end), Andy Warhol and so many others.

Crisp inspired many, many artists. Among the films alone are SERVANT (among a few others), and two major documentaries: RESIDENT ALIEN (2005) and AN EVENING WITH QUENTIN CRISP (1999). This film and Hurt have inspired me to buy them all, and thankfully I can report they are all available right here at Amazon.

Do not neglect to see this beautiful, calming and often hilarious film. Hurt's at his best, though for some reason a bit stiff-and-starched. The camera work is so ingenious for the purpose, complete with what I'd call standard stock for documentary shooting. Some of it even weaves in and out, hand-held at its best. All in moderation, as Hurt commands the camera and almost every scene.