The Gods of Times Square

Not too long ago, New York's Times Square was a vibrant public arena populated by corner preachers, independent shop owners, and a Cracker Jack assortment of colorful and outspoken street people—most of whom are gone today, swept up in Rudy Giuliani's gentrification of a neighborhood that's now home to chain stores and tourists. Shot over a six-year-period from 1993-1998, filmmaker Richard Sandler's The Gods of Times Square records the ending of that era in a literal collection of man-and-woman-on-the-street interviews with the eclectic personalities—the religious fanatics, junkies, and other marginalized people—who have sadly disappeared. Winner of Best Documentary awards at both the Chicago Underground Film Festival and the Rotterdam Film Festival in 1999, The Gods of Times Square is both an amiable tribute and historical portrait, though it drags on for longer than is necessary to make its point: namely, that something strange and special was lost in the effort to “clean up” a distinctive neighborhood that is now blandly homogeneous. DVD extras include 90 minutes of additional material. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Johanson)