By Richard Harland Smith
Alphabet City
Brief Synopsis
A New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Amos Poe
Director
Vincent Spano
Johnny
Kate Vernon
Angela
Michael Winslow
Lippy
Zohra Lampert
Mama
Jami Gertz
Sophia
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Crime
Drama
Thriller
Release Date
1984
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 25m
Synopsis
A New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters.
Director
Amos Poe
Director
Cast
Vincent Spano
Johnny
Kate Vernon
Angela
Michael Winslow
Lippy
Zohra Lampert
Mama
Jami Gertz
Sophia
Ray Serra
Gino
Daniel Jordano
Juani
Kenny Marino
Tony
Tom Mardirosian
Benny
Christina Marie Denihan
Baby Renee
Amy Gootenberg
Suicide Squeeze Customer
Miguel Pinero
Dealer
Barry Mitchell
Water Pistol Man
Bob Fuchs
Bouncer
Martine Malle
Karen
Lauren Hamilton
Linda
James Cox Chambers
Ronie
Cintia Cruz
1st Tropicana Girl
Nandrea Lin
2nd Tropicana Girl
Tom Wright
Chauffeur
Bruno Damon
Mama'S Friend
Clifton Powell
Ramon
Richard Bassett
Preppie
John Mccurry
1st Guard/Junkie
George Kyle
2nd Guard/Junkie
Gary Tacon
3rd Guard/Junkie
Luther Rucker
4th Guard/Junkie
Harry Madsen
1st Hitman
Alex Stevens
2nd Hitman
Raymond Serra
Crew
Bill Anagnos
Stunts
Aaron Barsky
1st Assistant Director
Andrew Braunsberg
Producer
Richard Brause
Sound
Thomas Coleman
Executive Producer
Lori Eastside
Choreography
Lois Freeman-fox
Editor
Edward French
Special Makeup Effects
Roberta Friedman
Associate Producer
Maria Greco
Casting
Ben Gruberg
Production Manager
Ben Gruberg
Production Supervisor
Nord Haggerty
Production Designer
Jeremiah Hawkins
Other
Gregory K Heller
From Story
Gregory K Heller
Screenwriter
Melinda Hess
Assistant Editor
Jery Hewitt
Stunts
Neil L Kaufman
Sound Editor Supervisor
Jennifer Lax
Props
Skip Lievsay
Sound Editor
Stephen J Lineweaver
Art Direction
Stephen J Lineweaver
Special Effects Supervisor
Steve Love
2nd Assistant Director
Lisa Loving
Stunts
Harry Madsen
Stunt Coordinator
Gary Marcus
2nd Assistant Director
Terence Mccorry
Art Direction
Nancy Musser
Script Supervisor
Denise Pinckley
Production Office Coordinator
Amos Poe
Screenwriter
Nile Rodgers
Music
Michael Rosenblatt
Executive Producer
William S. Scharf
Sound Editor
Robert Seidman
Additional Dialogue
Robert Seidman
Screenplay
Anna Taylor
Costumes
Charlotte Taylor
Makeup
Charlotte Taylor
Hairstyles
Paul Ventura
Casting (California)
Grahame Weinbren
Editor
Webster Whinery
Stunts
Tony Whitman
Key Grip
Lloyd Williamson
Director'S Special Consultant
Lloyd Williamson
Coach
Oliver Wood
Director Of Photography
Tom Wright
Stunts
Tom Wright
Stunts
Mel Zelniker
Sound Rerecording
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Crime
Drama
Thriller
Release Date
1984
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 25m
Articles
Alphabet City
New York independent filmmaker Amos Poe concretized the tacit alliance between the French nouvelle vague and the American punk rock movement, his earliest narrative films tipping their hats to Godard with the dovetailing of pulp specifics and verité execution. Though set against the backdrop of the same mean streets as Unmade Beds (1976) and The Foreigner (1978), Poe's Alphabet City (1984) is a different animal entirely. Shot in full color by British cinematographer Oliver Wood (whose career trajectory took him from the 1970 crime docu-drama The Honeymoon Killers to the long-running TV policier Miami Vice) with an almost fetishistic appreciation for neon, Alphabet City is a descent into the maelstrom at its most electric and candied, as well as being an all-in-one-night thriller in tune with George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973), Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985), and Steve De Jarnatt's Miracle Mile (1988). On closer inspection, Alphabet City's closer kin may be Jules Dassin's Night and the City (1950), putting as it does an alpha male (drug dealer Vincent Spano) on the defensive and on the run. Poe's ensemble cast includes Kate Vernon (daughter of veteran character actor John Vernon), Jami Gertz (on the cusp of transitioning to star status with The Lost Boys [1987] and Less Than Zero [1987]), and Zohra Lampert, whose bid as Spano's mother is the emotive flipside of her edgy performance in the cult chiller Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971).
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Alphabet City
New York independent filmmaker Amos Poe concretized the tacit alliance between the French nouvelle vague and the American punk rock movement, his earliest narrative films tipping their hats to Godard with the dovetailing of pulp specifics and verité execution. Though set against the backdrop of the same mean streets as Unmade Beds (1976) and The Foreigner (1978), Poe's Alphabet City (1984) is a different animal entirely. Shot in full color by British cinematographer Oliver Wood (whose career trajectory took him from the 1970 crime docu-drama The Honeymoon Killers to the long-running TV policier Miami Vice) with an almost fetishistic appreciation for neon, Alphabet City is a descent into the maelstrom at its most electric and candied, as well as being an all-in-one-night thriller in tune with George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973), Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985), and Steve De Jarnatt's Miracle Mile (1988). On closer inspection, Alphabet City's closer kin may be Jules Dassin's Night and the City (1950), putting as it does an alpha male (drug dealer Vincent Spano) on the defensive and on the run. Poe's ensemble cast includes Kate Vernon (daughter of veteran character actor John Vernon), Jami Gertz (on the cusp of transitioning to star status with The Lost Boys [1987] and Less Than Zero [1987]), and Zohra Lampert, whose bid as Spano's mother is the emotive flipside of her edgy performance in the cult chiller Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971).
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States May 1984
Released in United States Spring May 1, 1984
Released in United States May 1984
Released in United States Spring May 1, 1984
