Rooftops

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.

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.

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.

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.

There is something uncomfortable about 'Rooftops.' Perhpas it's the dreadfully slow pace and very thin plot. Characters threaten to foist revenge on one another, and each expects it, but none really seem to appreciate the danger. It comes off as young children bickering with each other about being on one another's property. It is meaningless and stupid.

Rooftops, however, does have some merit. The story is about a bunch of homeless kids living in the slums of New York. They've made their homes and their territory on the rooftops of the abandoned buildings. They carry about with their own sort of culture, particularly noted by a variety of combat (which looks more like dancing) which I think is one of the more uncomfortable moments since there seems to be no point to it.

"T" is the center of the story. Jason Gedrick's character is interesting at least in that he's not an annoying teenager (or older, I presume), but is actually a pretty smart, protective guy. Unfortunately, other than watching him go about his rather easy-going existence on the rooftops, there's not much to his character.

His unrelenting antagonist is Lobo, a pimp and drug dealer who plans to move T out of his territory. Like 'Deuces Wild,' T and his friends vow not to let Lobo move in and mess things up for these kids. I suppose they've been pushed out of one too many families (T was homeless after his parent's died and so was his friend Amber; Squeak left home to avoid his mother's abusive boyfriend; and so forth), so they're determined to just to finally find a place of their own.

Of course, getting rid of Lobo is no easy job. Especially when he patrols the rooftops with his gun toting goons,,going a little too far to get rid of a couple of homeless teenagers. Luckily, T's weird combat training and the rooftop kid's smarts make a pretty good match for Lobo. A little too unbelieveable, since Lobo was always threatening these kids with a gun. I bet a real drug dealer/pimp, intent on pushing his business no matter what, wouldn't think twice about killing these kids. Likewise, I doubt anyone would think twice about killing Lobo and his goons, since they never seemed to have connections to anyone else.

There are just some strange qualities to the movie, mostly marked by the pace. It takes a long time for characters to be introduced and understood, for the plot to actually have something interesting going on, and so forth. A lot of the movie just seems to follow the kids and their rooftop lifestyles which is unfortunate, considering that this probably could've been a much better movie, considering the story.

It sure does have a lot of weird junk going on, but I don't think it was too bad. There is just something entertaining about the whole mess. I may just be forgiving since I've seen one too many bad movies this week (at least when compared with this one). I think this one is just best recommended for die-hard 80s fans.