Many visual artists portray New York City in the same way: a hustling, bustling metropolis, usually established by the senses overload that is Times Square before going into images of tens of thousands of pedestrians all on their way to somewhere in a big hurry, surrounded by taxi cabs, bodegas and lots of tall buildings. For the most part, NYC looks like a loud, brash, frantic mess of a place, a city on the verge of giving itself a heart attack. Anyone who lives there — and, indeed, anyone who’s ever even just visited — will tell you that there’s a lot more to the Big Apple than that; in fact, one of the city’s most unique traits is that it still manages to have many secret, hidden sides. Bill Cunningham, an 80-year-old photographer who gets around mostly by bicycle, is an expert at capturing these widely “unseen” sides of New York — his main concentration is what people are wearing, whether they be a rich businessman with a Central Park penthouse or a nearly-homeless musician who hangs out at Tompkins Square Park all day. Cunningham takes “fashion photography” to completely unexpected and often startling new levels; his is a one-of-a-kind vision of a one-of-a-kind town, and this documentary expertly captures his fantastic work and infectious spirit. See New York in a completely different way with Bill Cunningham New York, whether you’ve lived there for years or are just passing through.
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