Not exactly a ‘grindhouse’ flick but it could be considered a ‘lost classic’ just the same. The leap year of 1980, a new decade, and it was already off and running. We had the debut of Pacman who chomped his way into gamers’ hearts. Israel and Egypt tried to establish diplomatic relations. John Lennon was assassinated. There was the cinematic release of The Empire Strikes Back. Empire was the top grossing film of that year, but the Punk ethic was starting to steep into film’s consciousness.
This flick, titled “Times Square” not only captured a bit of the early New Wave allure, but it also had shots of the actual NYC area before pre-‘disneyfication.’ One of the film’s highlights is a concert by The Sleez Sisters on top of a 42nd Street theater. The soundtrack consisted of songs from The Ramones, Gary Numan, Patti Smith, and others. Ironically, this film was either a commercial nor a critical success during its initial release. As in the case of all “cult” films, the Times Square movie defiantly lives on. The DVD of this underrated piece is now out of print, so grab if you ever have the chance. The stars of this production were Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show), Trini Alvarado and Robin Johnson.
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