Product Details

• Actors: Erin Fisher, Cris Lankenau, Joe Swanberg, Anna Kavan, Cole Pennsinger
• Directors: Aaron Katz
• Format: NTSC, Anamorphic, Widescreen, Color, Digital Sound
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Benten Films / Ryko Distribution
• DVD Release Date: January 29, 2008
• Run Time: 78 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000XSKDLK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,315 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Quiet City & Dance Party, USA" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Widely praised for his contemplative lyricism, character-driven style, and his "gift for naturalistic dialogue" (The Village Voice), writer-director Aaron Katz now stands at the vanguard of American cinema's new wave of forward-thinking independents.

In QUIET CITY, Katz's deceptively simple drama that has been called "a Terrence Malick film for the new lost generation" (The Austin Chronicle), we meet twentysomething Jamie (Erin Fisher) as she arrives in New York to visit a friend who never shows. On an empty subway platform, she crosses paths with a kindly stranger named Charlie (Cris Lankenau), and an unlikely connection is formed over the next 24 hours through city parks, abandoned apartments, and art galleries in the heart of industrial Brooklyn. Achingly sincere and shot with a painterly eye, Katz's approach is refreshingly devoid of romantic clichés.

Then in his impressionistic and tenderly heartbreaking debut, DANCE PARTY, USA -- hailed as "one of the best films of the year" (The New York Sun) and one of Amy Taubin's Top 10 Films of 2007 (ArtForum) -- apathetic teens Jessica (Anna Kavan) and Gus (Cole Pennsinger) share a fleeting moment at a Fourth of July party in Portland, but their relationship grows closer and more complex after Gus confronts her with a troubling secret.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget what you know about "Mumblecore", December 5, 2007

By 

M. Hulot (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quiet City & Dance Party, USA (DVD)

Aaron Katz and all the other filmmakers who have been lumped together as "mumblecore" don't even like that word, especially since their films couldn't be more different from one another. Katz's QUIET CITY and DANCE PARTY, USA are lyrical, smart, beautifully shot, expressionistic, naturalistic dramas about believably real people. These two films are NOT the superficial, 20-something hipster-fests like they're misrepresented to be. (Maybe some are, but not either of these two films!) Just check out some of the DVD reviews I've read from critics who say it far better than me:

"Through the course of this two-disc set, Aaron Katz can be seen to mature as a writer/director right before the eyes. The talent suggested by Dance Party, USA is confirmed by Quiet City. Katz is most assuredly one of the best emerging voices in American independent cinema. This splendidly produced and reasonably priced 2-disc set is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."
- Chris Neilson, DVD TALK

"Katz's aesthetic is, on one hand, Ozu by way of high-def (lots of lovely haiku cutaways to New York City skylines and textures), and on the other, decelerated realism (twentysomethings chatting aimlessly and guardedly). It's easy to mock in the overview, but Katz has an eye for the in-between moments, and a satisfyingly subtle agenda for his films' overall arcs."
- Michael Atkinson, IFC NEWS

"Like other movies in the mumblecore sub-genre, Quiet City concerns itself with characters in their early 20s whose longing for intimate connection and self-definition far surpasses their ability to articulate it. But Katz distinguishes himself by embodying their anxieties rather than merely observing them. Shots of traffic lights changing in perfect harmony or an airplane cutting through a burnt orange sky resonate with a depth of feeling the movie's protagonists can only express in the furtive spaces between words. The second release from New York-based Benten Films, the Quiet City DVD boasts a surfeit of extras: multiple commentaries, short films, and, on a second disc, Katz's embryonic first feature, Dance Party USA."
- Sam Adams, LA TIMES

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dance Party USA, February 24, 2008

By 

Tanya K. Madix (Melbourne, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quiet City & Dance Party, USA (DVD)

Better watched the second time through. An amazing performance by Cole Pensinger carried the film. I'm sure we'll see more of him. I liked it so much, I bought a second copy for a friend.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful film, January 5, 2009

By 

S. DeStefano "time traveller" (Brooklyn, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quiet City & Dance Party, USA (DVD)

Caught this at the IFC theater in NYC last year after seeing a preview for it at another 'mumblecore' film and absolutely fell in love with it. Pre-ordered it the first chance I got. Mumblecore is a genre that can go terribly wrong and seem super-contrived, even corny, much like hearing your own voice on a recording and cringing a little bit. This is not the case here; 'Quiet City' is a total triumph. It is subtle, poetic, dream-like and beautiful. You walk away from it feeling as though you've personally experienced this whole thing. That is the perfect way to describe it. You will watch it again and again, it leaves a very lasting impression. Cris is adorable and there's no way you won't have at least a little crush on him after you see this once...

xoxo