Rooftops

As production manager on Robert Wise's Rooftop, and with the news I received today that Bob had passed away, I want to tell everyone about this great film director. I worked on his last feature on the roofs of the lower eastside of NYC. No elevators to get to the roofs and Bob with a bad knee climbed with the best of us. He was a man who loved his crew, who thanked people and who could be a father to all. I was standing next to him as we just filmed a very complex scene with noticed flaws. He said move on, I said, only one take on such a long difficult scene, Bob replied, I am not going to use that part of the scene. A true editor who knew what he was doing, A man for all seasons, and who had more stories, but only when you asked. A true American and I am so glad and honored to have worked for him, God Bless Bob, thank you.

I saw this in the theater when it opened in the spring of '89 because it received a fair deal of publicity at the time. The dance show CLUB MTV even did an hour special featuring the cast and dancers/capoierists with accompanying film clips and videos. I was intrigued, especially when I heard the great Robert Wise was at the helm. It was touted as an aware, updated version of West Side Story against the back-drop of the crack-ravaged streets of Lower Manhattan. In spite of an engageing cast, slick production (co-produced by Taylor Hackford and Howard Koch, photographed by Theo van de Sande, designed by Jeannine Oppewall, and scored by Michael Kamen and Dave Stewart) it turned out to be a poorly-scripted update of the rock and roll B-fliks of the 1950s featuring Alan Freed. Needless to say, it died a quick death at the box office. Well, time heals old (cinematic) wounds. Just like the old Freed films Rooftops can be seen as a something of a curio rooted in its time. Its got everythin a nostalgia freak wants: period music, fashions and slang. It is also a glimpse into the world of pre-gentrification Manhattan, a place/time as exhilirating as it was dangerous. Check out the exciting title sequence/foot chase set to Etta James'"Avenue D." Worth a viewing.

A love struck roof-dwelling combat air dancer battles criminals in a Manhattan ghetto.

From a decade of dance and pop, pre CGI, when the safety of actors doing stunts wasn't priority comes Robert Wise's Rooftops...

With plenty of F' bombs, a few chases, fights and some moves from Breakin' and The Electric Boogaloo, the tone is inconsistent, it unrealistically sugar-coats the grim realities facing homeless teenagers. Wise echoes the atmosphere of New York reminiscent of like of The Equalizer TV series, Death Wish 2 and Wild Thing to name a few. Writers Allan A. Goldstein, Tony Mark and Terrence Brennan touch on abuse, gang crime and other serious problems of the day, many of which are still issues.

The pacing is slow pace and plot thin but the cast are more than competent, leads Troy Byer Jason Gedrick are solid. Alexis Cruz is notable. However, the real star of the show is the location. With a fitting score and soundtrack, Wise offers the New York streets, abandoned buildings and 80s skyline. Showing the contrasting rich to the ghetto poor.

Worth a watch if only from a nostalgia or time capsule perspective.

First of all, why are most of the reviews on here from the early 2000's? Just sayin'. Anyhoo, I just watched this on Tubi 'cause I'm a sucka for '80s cheese and this movie is EPIC! It's got a b-movie script and mostly nobodies in the cast, but the direction and overall look and feel are first-rate. I guess it was directed by the guy who did West Side Story; it's kinda the same storyline, with a star-crossed love story between a dude who lives in an abandoned watertank and a girl who reluctantly works as a lookout for her crack-dealing cousin. There's a fair amount of that weird Brazilian dance-fighting as well as some parkour and the requisite terrible soundtrack. But the sense of time and place is great, and the acting is pretty good. Would make an excellent double feature with the amazing "Delivery Boys".

Maybe this film was actually directed by Sheldon Lettitch or Dwight Little - directors from the eighties who worked with JCVD and Steven Seagal. When I watched this film, I had the very same feeling as when I saw Henry Hathaway's last flick: HANG UP; I said to myself: Oh, My God, I can't believe it !!! Was that really from the great director of LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER? So, here, in this supposed WEST SIDE STORY - same director for those who would not know - rip-off, with Lower Side New York City street gangs tale, with dances and hoodlum rivalries, I had also the same reaction in my brain, a chemical and brutal shock, to realize that it was made by the great Robert Wise. His last theatrical feature.... But he will give is eleven years later, and for TV, a sweet and stunning drama starring Peter Falk: STORM IN THE SUMMER.