51 Birch Street: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox |
{{Infobox film |
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|name = 51 Birch Street |
|name = 51 Birch Street |
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|image = |
|image = 51BirchStreet.jpg |
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|caption = |
|caption = |
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|director = [[Doug Block]] |
|director = [[Doug Block]] |
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|producer = Doug Block<br/>[[Lori Cheatle]] |
|producer = Doug Block<br/>[[Lori Cheatle]] |
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|starring = Mike Block<br/>Mina Block<br/>Carol Block<br/>Doug Block |
|starring = Mike Block<br/>Mina Block<br/>Carol Block<br/>Doug Block |
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|music = [[Machine Head (band)|Machine Head]]<br/>[[H. Scott Salinas]] |
|music = [[Machine Head (band)|Machine Head]]<br/>[[H. Scott Salinas]] |
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|cinematography = |
|cinematography = |
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|editing = |
|editing = |
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|distributor = [[Truly Indie]] |
|distributor = [[Truly Indie]] |
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|released = |
|released = {{Film date|2005|09|14|[[Toronto International Film Festival]]|2006|10|22|U.S.}} |
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|runtime = 88 |
|runtime = 88 minutes |
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|country = |
|country = United States |
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|language = |
|language = English |
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|budget = |
|budget = |
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}} |
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'''''51 Birch Street''''' is a 2005 [[documentary film]] about the universal themes of love, marriage, fidelity, and the mystery of a suburban family |
'''''51 Birch Street''''' is a 2005 [[documentary film]] about the universal themes of love, marriage, fidelity, and the mystery of a suburban family. It was directed by [[Doug Block]]. |
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==Synopsis== |
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''51 Birch Street'' is the first-person account of a family's life-changing events. A few months after his mother's sudden death from pneumonia, Doug Block's 83-year |
''51 Birch Street'' is the first-person account of a family's life-changing events. A few months after his mother's sudden death from pneumonia, Doug Block's 83-year-old father, Mike, calls him to announce that he's moving to Florida to live with "Kitty", his secretary from 40 years before. Always close to his mother and equally distant from his father, Doug and his two older sisters were shocked and suspicious. |
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When Mike and Kitty marry and sell the Block family home, Doug returns to suburban Long Island for one last visit. Among the mementos being packed away, Doug discovers three large boxes filled with his mother's daily diaries going back 35 years in which she recorded her unhappiness, her rage against her husband, her sexual fantasies about her therapist, a brief affair with an unnamed friend of her husband—and her suspicions about Kitty. The marriage, Mike told Doug on film, "was not loving, it was a functioning association". With only a few weeks before the movers come and his father leaves, Doug is determined to explore his parents' marriage. |
When Mike and Kitty marry and sell the Block family home, Doug returns to suburban Long Island for one last visit. Among the mementos being packed away, Doug discovers three large boxes filled with his mother's daily diaries going back 35 years in which she recorded her unhappiness, her rage against her husband, her sexual fantasies about her therapist, a brief affair with an unnamed friend of her husband—and her suspicions about Kitty. The marriage, Mike told Doug on film, "was not loving, it was a functioning association". With only a few weeks before the movers come and his father leaves, Doug is determined to explore his parents' marriage. |
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Through conversations with family members and friends and surprising diary revelations, Doug finally comes to peace with his parents who are more complex and troubled than he ever imagined. The documentary explores more subtle forms of repression, secrecy and denial within a family, and confirms the complexity of marriage. |
Through conversations with family members and friends and surprising diary revelations, Doug finally comes to peace with his parents who are more complex and troubled than he ever imagined. The documentary explores more subtle forms of repression, secrecy and denial within a family, and confirms the complexity of marriage. |
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"It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and screened at top international film festivals". http://www.thekidsgrowup.com/the-filmmakers/ |
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==Other Related Films== |
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Doug Block has published another documentary entitled '''''The Kids Grow Up''''' in 2010, a sequel of '''''51 Birch Street'''''. This documentary is mainly about his one and only daughter, Lucy, whom he loves so much, and who's now all grown up and ready to leave for Pomona College in Claremont, California . However, he doesn't seem to want to let her go. There is a moment where Lucy gets tired of being recorded all the time and asks her father to stop recording her. This documentary also focuses on the effects of his daughter going away, such as his wife Marjorie, suffering depression again after how many years. |
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Unlike '''''51 Birch Street''''', where Doug never thought he would make a film out of, he said, “With ‘The Kids Grow Up’ I’d long thought that there was the potential for a film,”, he just couldn't figure out what story to make out of it until she's finally all grown up and about to face the new chapter of her life. |
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==Response == |
==Response == |
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''[[The New York Times]]'' film critic A.O. Scott said the film was "one of the most moving and fascinating documentaries I’ve seen this year" |
''[[The New York Times]]'' film critic A.O. Scott said the film was "one of the most moving and fascinating documentaries I’ve seen this year",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/18/movies/18birc.html?_r=0 |title=Scenes From a Marriage, Revealed by a Son|first=A.O.|last= Scott|newspaper=The New York Times|location=New York|date=October 18, 2006|page=E5}}</ref> and listed it as one of his ten favorite films of the year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/movies/24scot.html|title=Here's to the Ambitious and the Altmans|newspaper=The New York Times|first=A.O.|last=Scott|location=New York|date=December 24, 2006}}</ref> Jim Emerson of [[RogerEbert.com]] named ''51 Birch Street'' one of the top ten films of 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/scanners/the-double-best-of-the-year|first=Jim|last=Emerson|title=The Double-Best Of The Year|work=Scanners.com|date=December 21, 2006|publisher=RogerEbert.com}}</ref> By December 10, 2006, the film had grossed $84,689. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* {{IMDb title|0468442|51 Birch Street}} |
* {{IMDb title|0468442|51 Birch Street}} |
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http://www.thekidsgrowup.com/the-filmmakers/ |
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403015548/http://www.thekidsgrowup.com/the-filmmakers/ |date=April 3, 2016 |title=The Filmmakers: The Kids Grow Up }} |
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{{AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Documentary}} |
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[[Category:American documentary films]] |
[[Category:American documentary films]] |
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[[Category:2005 films]] |
[[Category:2005 films]] |
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[[Category:Films directed by Doug Block]] |
[[Category:Films directed by Doug Block]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:2005 documentary films]] |
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[[Category:Documentary films about families]] |
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| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:2000s American films]] |
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[[Category:English-language documentary films]] |
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Latest revision as of 01:51, 21 November 2023
| 51 Birch Street | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Doug Block |
| Written by | Doug Block Amy Seplin |
| Produced by | Doug Block Lori Cheatle |
| Starring | Mike Block Mina Block Carol Block Doug Block |
| Music by | Machine Head H. Scott Salinas |
| Distributed by | Truly Indie |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
51 Birch Street is a 2005 documentary film about the universal themes of love, marriage, fidelity, and the mystery of a suburban family. It was directed by Doug Block.
Synopsis
[edit]51 Birch Street is the first-person account of a family's life-changing events. A few months after his mother's sudden death from pneumonia, Doug Block's 83-year-old father, Mike, calls him to announce that he's moving to Florida to live with "Kitty", his secretary from 40 years before. Always close to his mother and equally distant from his father, Doug and his two older sisters were shocked and suspicious.
When Mike and Kitty marry and sell the Block family home, Doug returns to suburban Long Island for one last visit. Among the mementos being packed away, Doug discovers three large boxes filled with his mother's daily diaries going back 35 years in which she recorded her unhappiness, her rage against her husband, her sexual fantasies about her therapist, a brief affair with an unnamed friend of her husband—and her suspicions about Kitty. The marriage, Mike told Doug on film, "was not loving, it was a functioning association". With only a few weeks before the movers come and his father leaves, Doug is determined to explore his parents' marriage.
Through conversations with family members and friends and surprising diary revelations, Doug finally comes to peace with his parents who are more complex and troubled than he ever imagined. The documentary explores more subtle forms of repression, secrecy and denial within a family, and confirms the complexity of marriage.
Response
[edit]The New York Times film critic A.O. Scott said the film was "one of the most moving and fascinating documentaries I’ve seen this year",[1] and listed it as one of his ten favorite films of the year.[2] Jim Emerson of RogerEbert.com named 51 Birch Street one of the top ten films of 2006.[3] By December 10, 2006, the film had grossed $84,689.
References
[edit]- ^ Scott, A.O. (October 18, 2006). "Scenes From a Marriage, Revealed by a Son". The New York Times. New York. p. E5.
- ^ Scott, A.O. (December 24, 2006). "Here's to the Ambitious and the Altmans". The New York Times. New York.
- ^ Emerson, Jim (December 21, 2006). "The Double-Best Of The Year". Scanners.com. RogerEbert.com.
External links
[edit]- 51 Birch Street at IMDb
- The Filmmakers: The Kids Grow Up at the Wayback Machine (archived April 3, 2016)
- The Kids Grow Up: Documentary by Doug Block