Sidewalk Stories (1989)
78%RT Audience Score: 70%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Sidewalk Stories’ sweetness is somewhat undermined by the movie’s broad approach, but it remains a comedy with heart — and something to say
Sidewalk Stories is like a modern-day Charlie Chaplin movie, but with a heart-wrenching twist. Shot in black and white, it takes us on a journey through the cold streets of New York City, where we meet a street artist who befriends a little girl. The lack of dialogue may take some getting used to, but it’s worth it for the imaginative physical comedy and the poignant social commentary. It’s a rough diamond of a film that will make you laugh and cry, and leave you thinking about it long after it’s over.
Production Company(ies)
Das Films, David Sonenberg Production Polygram Filmed Entertainment,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1990
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Oct 31, 2014
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
Sidewalk Stories, Charles Lane, Howard M Brickner, comedy, R rating, Charles Lane, starring Charles Lane, Nicole Alysia, Sandye Wilson, Darnell Williams, Trula Hoosier, Tanya Cunningham, directed by Charles Lane, written by Charles Lane, box office gross $13.5K, reviewed by Christine Arnold Dolan, Sheila Benson, Eleanor Ringel Cater, Harper Barnes, Carrie Rickey, Janet Maslin, Sean Axmaker, Bob Ross, Marshall Fine, Elvis Mitchell, Barbara Vancheri, produced by Charles Lane, Howard M Brickner, MPAA rating R, silent film, New York City, homeless artist, surrogate parent, slums, intimate friendship, physical comedy, Marc Marder, black and white, social commentary, heartwarming, poignant, touching, emotional, heart, unflinching, hard facts, modern life, poetic pantomime, Charlie Chaplin style, Little Tramp comedy, high-tech movie market, social importance, homeless statement, innocent, abandoned little girl, purest sense, understanding of the medium
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Nicole Alysia – Child
Sandye Wilson – Young Woman
Darnell Williams – Father
Trula Hoosier – Mother
Tanya Cunningham – Girlfriend
Director(s)
Charles Lane
Writer(s)
Charles Lane
Producer(s)
Charles Lane, Howard M. Brickner
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (9)
Shot in black and white in a bitter-cold New York City, Sidewalk Stories is buoyed by Chaplinesque physical comedy even as it takes an unflinching look at what it means to be without a home in a violent, uncaring society.
January 24, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Christine Arnold Dolan
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
[Lane] has had the audacity to make a black-and-white silent movie and make it in the face of today’s shamelessly callous values, with a brimming heart and an activist’s outraged passion.
January 24, 2022
Sheila Benson
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Sidewalk Stories is ultimately more successful as an openhearted novelty by a worth-watching new talent than it is as a work of art… Yet this silent film speaks to us with a distinctive voice.
January 24, 2022
Eleanor Ringel Cater
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TOP CRITIC
It takes awhile for the contemporary moviegoer to adapt to the deliberate pace and the lack of dialogue, but Sidewalk Stories becomes harder and harder to resist as it goes along.
January 24, 2022
Harper Barnes
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
There are several sprightly comic-nightmare passages, all animated by Marc Marder’s imaginative musical score.
January 24, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Although Sidewalk Stories has a sentimental streak a mile wide, it is saved from seeming saccharine by the hard facts of modern life.
January 24, 2022
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
[Charles] Lane doesn’t try for silent movie conventions or style and he doesn’t attempt any of Chaplin’s elaborate gags. Instead, he offers a wordless story in poetic pantomime with a backdrop of social commentary…
July 9, 2022
Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand
Is there an audience for the Charlie Chaplin style in 1990? Is an updated Little Tramp comedy viable in today’s high-tech movie market? Lane’s film answers with a gentle affirmative.
January 24, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Bob Ross
Tampa Tribune
Sidewalk Stories is the find of the season — a small, rough diamond of great heart and humor in a season usually reserved for large projects of too-calculated social importance.
January 24, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Marshall Fine
Gannett News Service
Charles Lane’s efforts make you wish that Sidewalk Stories, an ambitious attempt to do a Chaplinesque scenario in modern-day New York, were a better movie.
January 24, 2022
Elvis Mitchell
L.A. Weekly
[Sidewalk Stories] begins as an innocent, Chaplinesque tale about a New York street artist who befriends an abandoned little girl. It ends with a powerful statement about the homeless.
January 24, 2022 | Rating: B
Barbara Vancheri
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Few other first-time filmmakers would launch their careers with a feature devoid of dialogue for 95 of its 97 minutes. That Lane succeeds is a tribute to his understanding of the medium in its purest sense.
January 24, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
Candice Russell
South Florida Sun-Sentinel…
Plot
In Sidewalk Stories, a homeless artist becomes a surrogate parent to a young girl after her father is murdered, and together they navigate the streets of New York City while searching for her living relatives.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film in the Fresh Kernels review.
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