A Hole in a Fence . color. 46+ min. D.W. Young, Skeptical Prods., dist. by First Run Features, 800-229-8575; www.firstrunfeatures.com . 2008. DVD UPC 7-20229-91353-9. $19.95.
A View from the Stoop: A Bronx Retrospective 1940-1970 . 2 discs. color & b/w. 3 hrs. Stephen Samtur, Back in the Bronx, dist. by Victory Multimedia, 460 Hindry Ave., Unit D, Inglewood, CA 90301; 310-590-1388; sales@victorymultimedia.com . 2009. DVD UPC 7-64942-14774-1. $39.95. SOC SCI
Embracing the spongy terrain of nostalgic New York memory, A View from the Stoop is a pair of videos-the title piece and Memories from the Stoop -both drawing on interviews with Bronx-born or -bred celebrities, archival photos, footage, home movies, and expertly performed rock'n'roll and doo wop. Neighborhoods, public schools, apartment living, tough guys, and TV shows-all this and more ramble lightly over a 30-year period. Included are vintage DVD extras on the reopening of the palatial Loew's Paradise movie theater, the short-lived (1960-64) precursor to Disney World, Freedomland, and even "transport tapes" of the Third Avenue El train. The brainchild of producer and Bronx native Samtur, this package is of good technical quality and will be cherished by New York boomers and their parents. The reminiscences here, from a time of mass culture and social norms, have relevance to urban experience everywhere. For more, go to www.backinthebronx.com .
A Hole in a Fence , however, is shorn of rosy reverie, documenting a microworld up till just an eye-blink from this moment. Filmmaker Young's digital video lens uncovers a place that doesn't exist on the maps; beyond a fence in the Red Hook, Brooklyn, waterfront neighborhood lies a neglected concrete field, a veritable "urban gallery" (as architectural student and activist Benjamin Uyeda terms it) populated by abandoned materials, graffiti, the homeless, and community passersby who make occasional use of it. Meanwhile, the advent of a new Ikea megastore nearby is about to disturb the ecology of this little tidepool. Focusing on what's to pass into history for the most part, Brooklyn resident Young sketches the spirit of place, local activity, and people-a waterfront museum, urban farming, spokespeople, and graffiti artists, as well as an ingenious but impermanent project for the homeless to use the field. Extras include a photo gallery, a short on the Red Hook Grain Terminal, and an extended interview with Uyeda. Technical credits are more than acceptable given the semipro recording equipment. For all urbanites trying to hold back change, or attempting to make peace with it.-Jeff Clark, James Madison Univ. Libs., Harrisonburg, VA
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