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If These Knishes Could Talk: The Story of the New York Accent

Format: DVD

176 ratings

IMDb7.2/10.0

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October 21, 2013

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Editorial Reviews

If These Knishes Could Talk tells the story of the New York accent: what it is, how it's evolved, and the love/hate relationship New Yorkers have with it. It features writer Pete Hamill, director Penny Marshall, attorney Alan Dershowitz and screenwriter James McBride, along with a cast of characters from Canarsie to Tottenville. In between, it explores why New Yorkers eat chawclate and drink cawfee, and how the accent became the vibrant soundtrack of a charming, unforgiving and enduring city.

Product details

Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.5 Ounces
Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC
Run time ‏ : ‎ 53 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ October 21, 2013
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00G2O43B0
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #184,052 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #10,461 in Documentary (Movies & TV)
- #11,053 in Romance (Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews:
176 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		56%
4 star		14%
3 star		13%
2 star		8%
1 star		9%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Jack Ryan

Fuggedaboudit

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2016

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After about 10 minutes you've seen and heard everything this show has to tell you about New York accents -- i.e., very little. It's mostly just a bunch of New Yorkers talking. Hey, I live in New York, I hear that every day. Not for nuttin, but I thought there was going to be some better explaining of where the accents come from, how they developed, why they persist -- you know, a bit more of an informative approach. Nope.

27 people found this helpful

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J. Johnson

Funny and heartwarming, but NOT rated for all

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2019

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I lived in Brooklyn for 3 years (the last year 2001 and my PTSD move back to CA), and the accent makes its inroads. This documentary is light and funny, and makes a great point about gentrification killing the very things that make New York worth moving to.

One big thing to be aware of is the unedited cursing. This shows as 'All' for rating but there is an abundance of cursing when they talk to the man who grew up with Scorsese. I understand it's a documentary but honestly--how edgy and insightful is the f word? I watch documentaries to learn new things and get new perspectives.

I was flabbergasted that they didn't have Rosie Perez OR Luis Guzman, who both have great acting careers because of and in spite of their accents. Maybe they weren't available for filming? Yeah, let's go with that.

Overall, this documentary had good intentions. It didn't need the plethora of f bombs, because the subject is HOW people talk. It would have been nice if the documentary had been a little more technical in tracing enunciation from non-English to learned English to fluent English with tinges of the home country.

7 people found this helpful

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Cliff

Somewhat informative but terrible technical quality

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2019

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As others have noted, this show is a stream of interviews that are informative at first, but quickly feel random and redundant. There is no clear direction. But the thing that really jarred me is how amateurish the cinematography and editing are. In many of the interviews, images are stretched and the tops of heads are cut off. Peoples' heads are enlarged to fill the entire screen. It looks like a lot of the material was shot in the old 4:3 standard definition format, and then someone had the bright idea to convert it to the 16:9 widescreen high def format by doing all this zooming in and stretching. Interspersed with scenes that look conventional, this looked like the work of a high school film student.

6 people found this helpful

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Mark J. Aronstein

Yo! Sit on Ya Tookus and Watch Dis Film!

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2020

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"If These Knishes Could Talk" is a great primer that breaks down the history, diversity, and everyday use of what's commonly referred to as "the New York accent." (Spoiler Alert: There isn't just "one" New York accent... but if you live in or around New York, you already knew that.)

This documentary takes you on a meandering journey through the five boroughs of New York as we hear voices from Yiddish people, Italians, Irish Americans, African Americans, Nuyoricans and other Latinos, a Bengali woman, and even a Korean "Guido" from Staten Island.

You'll hear how the New York accent got its start, some of its recognizable sounds, and how it's changed over the years with influxes of new immigrants to the various neighborhoods in the city. AND how it reflects some of the characteristics that are seen as quintessentially New York.

This film is not a comprehensive analysis of New York speech patterns as you might learn about them in a graduate class. But it's not fluff, either... It's a primer, a conversation starter, something to get you to pay more attention to the subtleties of speech and culture. It's a fascinating in parts, funny in others, but consistently entertaining.

There are interviews with famous New York personalities like Congressman Charles Rangel, actress Penny Marshall, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, radio host Joe Franklin, director Amy Heckerling, writers James McBride and Pete Hamill, and even a few wise guys from the neighborhood who grew up with "Marty" Scorcese. We also hear from lesser-known college professors, linguists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, as well as from waitresses, a dialect coach and even a garbage man.

One of my favorite segments is an interview with a deaf man who speaks in American Sign Language, and says that even in signing, New Yorkers are *very* different from folks in other parts of the country. (This is one of only two or three segments that use language that's NSFW.)

In response to some of the more critical reviews:
Some shots in the streaming version of this film are cropped more closely than in the DVD version, and perhaps that makes some scenes look a little rough... but I chalk that up to Amazon or their contractor who seems to have done an amateurish job on the digital transfer.

It jumps around a bit, but that's part of what makes it interesting. And the film is pulled together by plenty of clips of historical music and archival footage of the city from its golden age in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. It's a different kind of love letter to the city and its citizens.

Also, the closed-captioning (at least in the streaming version) is full of "inaudibles" and misunderstood words, because so many of them are either New York-isms or non-English words... such is the melting pot of the city.

But if You ❤️ NY, then you'll love "If These Knishes Could Talk"!!!

3 people found this helpful

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Writestuff

unfocused and not well-conceived

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

Nothing to see here, folks. There's no there here--it's not really about the New York accent, and it's not really about anything. It's a hodgepodge that has no point of view, isn't seeking to inform, doesn't capture anything culturally, and provides no insights and leaves one utterly empty. The editing is meaningless, without any flow. It seems like a let's-get-our-friends-and-contacts-together-and-mommy-and-daddy's-connections-and-film-them. Hint to the director: if you're doing a piece about how people talk, have the respect for your audience to let them listen to the voices! don't keep drowning speakers out with a nearly constant music sound track playing loudly underneath nearly every shot.

6 people found this helpful

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Ess

So-So

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

It was ok, but I was expecting a more academic expose on the origins/etymology of the accents. Mostly it was people whining about the 'good ol' days of yore' blah blah blah. I got maybe 3/4 of the way through and called it quits.

13 people found this helpful

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Portlandia Citizen

A Fun Documentary

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2013

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I'm from New York (Brooklyn, Queens and Lawgylind) and now live in Portland OR. I haven't lived in NY for at least two decades and yet I speak like I just left there last week but I have managed to slow my speech down when I talk to people as they may not understand me. I laughed throughout this documentary and my favorite people in the interviews were the Korean guy from Staten Island and the man who spoke in sign language. I also was very happy to see the great scenic photography of the city which brought back so many memories. I have maintained throughout my life since I left NY that I don't have an accent and that people who listen to me have hearing problems!...lol This documentary is fun and well worth seeing and most especially, listening. btw there is a neighborhood in Portland OR called Brooklyn. Now that's even funnier.

22 people found this helpful

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