Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists

As bombastic & fascinating as its subjects; not afraid to expose the darker sides of these heroes who are merely human; a reminder of how important it is to be one who seeks - and fights for - the truth.

I didn't grow up or ever live in NYC. I only really knew Hamill for his memoir A Drinking Life and Breslin was just a name to me. But this documentary really moved me due to the two journalists' craft and humanity and the sweep of history that they covered. As the documentary covers towards the end, it's a type of journalism that no longer exists anymore because the business model has been permanently altered. It's beyond a shame - - communities deserve to have writers like them covering the stories of their time and place.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Inspired me to read their books, which I found just as funny, articulate and thought-provoking.

Love how the film had them recite their own passages like spoken word poetry. Brilliant way to convey the music and magic domiciled in their writing.

That they covered (and were often present for) so many seismic events is remarkable. From the assassinations of Malcolm X, JFK and RFK, to the Vietnam war and the Son of Sam (who corresponded directly with Jimmy), to the subway vigilante, AIDS epidemic, Central Park 5, 9/11... the list goes on and on. Forget about being journalists or reporters; these two were bona fide historians.

I just thought the film captured their essence very well. As if that weren't enough, there are a plethora of celeb insights on their work to hold your attention, including from Jackie O, Shirley MacLaine, Colin Quinn, Spike Lee, Bob Costas, Robert De Niro, etc. You really can't overstate Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin's impact on life on New York, and on the craft of journalism more broadly. I'm glad this doc was made and I think you'll enjoy it too.

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"Hamill would give you the poetry of New York. He had sweep and majesty. It was like walking into a French novel."

"He knew about worlds I didn't know about, and made me feel like I understood them." Hamill on Breslin

(What was it like to be on Nixon's enemies list?) "Oh it was an honor! There were a lot of good people on that list." - Hamill

"I realized early that bad news was great, even if it involved me. I protected myself by writing about it." - Breslin.

Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill; 2 of the most influential reporters of the 20th Century were similar to each other in many different ways, couldn't be more different from each other. They were celebrities, usually in the right way, but sometimes, the distraction as much as the messenger. This documentary is historical evidence of where journalism was, and where it naturally headed, and how we might rue the day we handed the reigns of the press to cyberspace.

I worked in New York television, just outside the professional circle loosely defined by Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill and the City's great newspapers and journalists of the 1980s. I did move through the worlds they each covered and read their columns. Like most New Yorkers, I appreciated their service to humankind. "Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists" is a top shelf production that weaves archival images, TV appearances and recent interviews and some of Jimmy's and Pete's best copy. The film's pulse and temperature matches its two different journalists, their respective sets of colleagues, and the poetry of their reporting and living style. We hear from Breslin's living sons; his surviving second wife and from Hamill's wife, co-workers and media pundits. Much of this is emotionally moving and fact-based and worth a watch - two or three times.