The Cruise is a 76-minute documentary released in 1998. It was the debut film of Bennett Miller, who became prominent after directing Capote (2005). The film records the worldview and personality of Timothy "Speed" Levitch, who was then a guide for bus tours of New York City. Levitch had become popular for his unconventional narrative about the city that he delivered at a frenetic pace.
The Cruise
Cover art for the 2006 DVD release, which identifies Miller as the director of Capote.
The production of the film has also drawn critical commentary. James Berardinelli wrote, "'The Cruise' is a typical example of low-budget documentary film making. It's in grainy black-and-white (a blowup from the video it was shot on) with a flat audio. Oddly, however, this approach gives Levitch's New York City a timeless quality. The Gershwin song "But Not for Me" plays as the camera captures the modern skyline, creating a sense of the past and present blurring together.
The film was in production for 3.5 years and Miller worked as a one-man camera crew, solely operating a handheld video camera, a wireless microphone on Levitch, and a Sennheiser shotgun microphone that was collapsible and thus easily transportable. Miller discarded the first 80 hours of footage he captured of Levitch only to start from scratch. Levitch reportedly chose not to sit in on the majority of the editing process, choosing instead to stick to his core principles: to succumb to the chaos of the universe. The production team, including editor Michael Levine, spent 8 months editing the film.[1]
Releaseedit
The Cruise was initially rejected by many film festivals.[citation needed] It premiered at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1998 and was later screened at New York's Docfest. On October 14, 1998, The Cruise was released in New York City at the Angelika Film Center. After being picked up by distributor Artisan Entertainment, it was released nationwide on November 6, 1998.
At the time of the film's release, Stephen Holden wrote, "Filmed in high-contrast black and white that makes the city look harshly magnificent, at once irresistible and forbidding, The Cruise could be described as a whirlwind tour both of New York and of Levitch's feverish mind."[3] Following the film's release to DVD in 2006, Brett Cullum wrote, "Although we do get to see some familiar sites, including winsome glimpses of the World Trade Center towers, the camera hardly ever leaves the face of our tour guide. This is all one extended character study, and is not concerned with narrative or sight seeing. No, this is a dadaist manifesto delivered off the pavement leading to the Brooklyn bridge. It runs like an hour of poetic jazz—verbal scats and flourishes aplenty."[4]
"The Cruise" was also nominated for the Daring Digital Award at the Jeonju Film Festival. It won the Wolfgang Statuote Award and the Don Quixote Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, demonstrating the film's international diffusion, and the Best Documentary Audience Award and the Feature Competition Special Jury Award at the Newport International Film Festival.
Referencesedit
^Berardinelli, James (1998). "The Cruise". ReelViews.
^The Cruise (DVD). Lions Gate Home Entertainment. 2006. OCLC 64552509.
^Holden, Stephen (October 23, 1998). "'The Cruise': Strong Opinions of a Dizzy Tour Guide". The New York Times.
^Cullum, Brett (March 13, 2006). "The Cruise". DVD Verdict.
^"'The Cruise' (1998) - Awards". Internet Movie Database.
Further readingedit
Levitch, Speed (November 27, 1998). "Speed Levitch Explains It All". Quotes of Levitch from the film.
Savlov, Mark (November 27, 1998). "Cruise Central". The Austin Chronicle. Interview with Bennett Miller and Timothy "Speed" Levitch.
www.speedlevitchonline.com: The official website of Timothy Speed Levitch
December 12, 2023
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The Cruise is a 76 minute documentary released in 1998 It was the debut film of Bennett Miller who became prominent after directing Capote 2005 The film records the worldview and personality of Timothy Speed Levitch who was then a guide for bus tours of New York City Levitch had become popular for his unconventional narrative about the city that he delivered at a frenetic pace The CruiseCover art for the 2006 DVD release which identifies Miller as the director of Capote Directed byBennett MillerProduced byBennett Miller Executive Producer J B Miller Ted Miller David YamnerStarringTimothy Speed LevitchCinematographyBennett MillerEdited byMichael LevineMusic byMarty BellerDistributed byArtisan EntertainmentRelease datesSeptember 12 1998 1998 09 12 Toronto International Film Festival October 14 1998 1998 10 14 United States Running time76 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Production 2 Release 3 Reception 3 1 Awards 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksProduction editThe production of the film has also drawn critical commentary James Berardinelli wrote The Cruise is a typical example of low budget documentary film making It s in grainy black and white a blowup from the video it was shot on with a flat audio Oddly however this approach gives Levitch s New York City a timeless quality The Gershwin song But Not for Me plays as the camera captures the modern skyline creating a sense of the past and present blurring together The film was in production for 3 5 years and Miller worked as a one man camera crew solely operating a handheld video camera a wireless microphone on Levitch and a Sennheiser shotgun microphone that was collapsible and thus easily transportable Miller discarded the first 80 hours of footage he captured of Levitch only to start from scratch Levitch reportedly chose not to sit in on the majority of the editing process choosing instead to stick to his core principles to succumb to the chaos of the universe The production team including editor Michael Levine spent 8 months editing the film 1 Release editThe Cruise was initially rejected by many film festivals citation needed It premiered at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1998 and was later screened at New York s Docfest On October 14 1998 The Cruise was released in New York City at the Angelika Film Center After being picked up by distributor Artisan Entertainment it was released nationwide on November 6 1998 The Cruise was released to DVD in 2006 2 Reception editAt the time of the film s release Stephen Holden wrote Filmed in high contrast black and white that makes the city look harshly magnificent at once irresistible and forbidding The Cruise could be described as a whirlwind tour both of New York and of Levitch s feverish mind 3 Following the film s release to DVD in 2006 Brett Cullum wrote Although we do get to see some familiar sites including winsome glimpses of the World Trade Center towers the camera hardly ever leaves the face of our tour guide This is all one extended character study and is not concerned with narrative or sight seeing No this is a dadaist manifesto delivered off the pavement leading to the Brooklyn bridge It runs like an hour of poetic jazz verbal scats and flourishes aplenty 4 Awards edit The Cruise was nominated for several awards including Best Documentary from the Online Film Critics Society and the Satellite Awards Michael Levine the film s editor was nominated for the Best Edited Documentary Film award Eddie by the American Cinema Editors 5 The Cruise was also nominated for the Daring Digital Award at the Jeonju Film Festival It won the Wolfgang Statuote Award and the Don Quixote Award at the Berlin International Film Festival demonstrating the film s international diffusion and the Best Documentary Audience Award and the Feature Competition Special Jury Award at the Newport International Film Festival References edit Berardinelli James 1998 The Cruise ReelViews The Cruise DVD Lions Gate Home Entertainment 2006 OCLC 64552509 Holden Stephen October 23 1998 The Cruise Strong Opinions of a Dizzy Tour Guide The New York Times Cullum Brett March 13 2006 The Cruise DVD Verdict The Cruise 1998 Awards Internet Movie Database Further reading editLevitch Speed November 27 1998 Speed Levitch Explains It All Quotes of Levitch from the film Savlov Mark November 27 1998 Cruise Central The Austin Chronicle Interview with Bennett Miller and Timothy Speed Levitch External links editThe Cruise at IMDb The Cruise at Rotten Tomatoes nbsp www speedlevitchonline com The official website of Timothy Speed Levitch Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Cruise 1998 film amp oldid 1186315149, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
