Abel Ferrara combines archival footage and reenacted scenes from Sid
and Nancy’s last days spent at the Chelsea Hotel, with interviews of
some of the famous hotel’s more colorful residents to elucidate the
passing of one of Manhattan’s last landmark havens for artists. Stanley
Bard, the hotel’s well-loved manager and caretaker for 45 years, was
pushed out by a new management company intent on raising profits with a
Chateau Marmont-styled renovation. The fascinating documentary is just
one more reminder of the war on culture taking place on a vast scale
all over the world. "Chelsea on the Rocks" is a precious cinematic
document of a unique global community that gravitated around the
Chelsea hotel. Director Milos Forman puts in a welcome guest appearance
to tell his story about coming to New York for the first time and
taking up residence at the Chelsea without enough money to pay for it
thanks to Stanley Bard's generosity. There'll never be days like that
again.
Not Rated. 89 mins. (B+) (Four Stars)
