Coney Island, USA (1952)

★★★★★ · Woo! More Coney Island! · Spuzz · 2003-07-26

One again, reiterating, I LOVE old amusemtn park footage, and this has it all, from the cyclone of course, to the spinning rides which looked cool to the gag inducing orbitron. I have a strong stomah, but even i can't fathom that thing. this film has all of that in spades. It also focuses on the side shows, the food, and the beach. all paced out beautifully, taking us from morning to night. At night, the takes an eerie quality showcasing some of the more menacing mannequins they had. The film also has some strange racist qualities about it. Other then that, and the fact it's just a little too…

★★★★★ · play godspeeds sleep over this movie · narbuti · 2005-03-18

hey this was a great film and it was even better when i put a song by godspeed you black emperor over it. the music lines up fairly well so you can just play it on another program and mute the movie. the title of the song is sleep and its 23 min. the song starts off with a guy talking about coney island so its pretty fitting.

★★★★★ · Before Disneyland, There Was Coney Island · musicradio77 · 2005-12-26

I remember being on Coney Island when I was a kid. I saw the actual film on an amusement park where they have rides such as the Wonder Wheel, parachute jump, cyclone, the merry-go-round and others and ended with a nighttime gag with lights and fireworks. That film was long before Disneyland opened in Anaheim back in 1955 (three years after the film was made). I missed Coney Island a lot, I wish I might go there again anytime soon.

★★★★ · Coney Island USA · Christine Hennig · 2003-07-07

This 50s film about Coney Island is also full of historical footage of the amusement park in its heyday, but presented with an arty and disturbing spin. The dark, atonal background music, reminiscent of modern jazz, particularly gives this feel, as well as the focus on the leering faces of various advertising dummies and automatons found throughout the park. And occasionally the camerawork gets all weird and psychedelic. I think this was all supposed to make a Serious Statement about amusement park culture, but I'm not sure what that statement is. Still, like the much more innocent and fun…

★★ · Misses the mark · ERD · 2006-03-02

I found this 1952 documentary missing the mood of Coney Island. I think the production style is too pretencious. It works so hard at trying to be "arty." Instead of being light, it seems somber. (I don't like the narration nor the music) Also, this movie seemed to drag in length. The 1940 film version of Coney Island was much more fun watching and thus superior.