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Sunday Matinee: The King of Merriment by Josh Kapusinski

Posted in film, video, tagged 1940s, Coney Island, Coney Island in winter, experimental film, Josh A. Kapusinski, Josh Kapusinski, mashup, Merriment Is King, The King of Merriment on March 9, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Spring is in the air and Coney Island’s Opening Day is a mere five weeks away, but this short film by Josh A. Kapusinski was shot when the beach and boardwalk were still blanketed with snow. “The King of Merriment is a film that explores the happiness and beauty of Coney Island and its regular visitors in full winter charm – mashed up and juxtaposed with archival footage from Coney in its heyday of the 1940s and 50s,” says the film-maker, an Emmy-winning motion graphics designer.

We’re not usually a fan of mashups, but this one is very adeptly done. If some of the restaurants and shops that are open year-round were shown, it could be a promo for Coney Island in winter. Vivid, dreamlike sequences of people playing frisbee, bicycling, and walking in a snowy and silent Coney contrast with audio and video from a 1940’s travelogue in which the narrator describes “the place where Merriment is King.” Perhaps the most striking detail is vintage footage of Nathan’s hot dogs being cooked on a griddle projected onto the shuttered gates of Nathan’s Boardwalk eatery in winter.

For info on what to see and do in Coney Island before the rides open for the season on April 13th, check out our post “Coney Island Always: Visiting the Big CI Year-Round,” (ATZ, Sept. 13, 2013).

Tribeca Film Fest to Premiere ‘Famous Nathan’ Doc by Grandson Lloyd Handwerker

Posted in film, tagged Coney Island, Famous Nathan, film festival, Lloyd Handwerker, Nathan Handwerker, Nathan's, Nathan's Famous, Sol Handwerker, Tribeca Film Festival on March 6, 2014| 1 Comment »

Famous Nathan directed and written by Lloyd Handwerker. Photo Mike Zwerling/courtesy Loquat Film

The long-awaited documentary about Nathan’s Famous by Lloyd Handwerker, grandson of the hot dog emporium’s founders Nathan and Ida Handwerker, is set to premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. Famous Nathan is among the films in the festival’s Viewpoints Section, which was announced yesterday. A screening date for the film has not yet been announced. The Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 16 through 27. (Update: The film will premiere on April 17, with additional screenings on April 21, 25 and 26. Tickets are available, beginning with Amex presale, starting April 8. Read ATZ’s review of the film here.)

“I’ve been working on it for almost 30 years, off and on,” the 57-year-old Brooklyn film-maker said in an interview this morning with ATZ. “My grandfather died when I was 17. I knew him quite well.” According to Lloyd’s research into his family’s history, “In 1912, Nathan, age 19, one of 13 brothers and sisters from a poor Jewish family, left Jaroslaw, Poland and arrived in New York City. He was unable to read, write or speak a word of English. By the 1930’s, he’d created one of the most loved places to eat anywhere in the world, in Coney Island, Brooklyn.”

Though Lloyd has never worked at Nathan’s, as a cinematographer he felt compelled to piece together his family’s history. His father Sol, who will be 89 in October, was first taken in to work in the kitchen as a young child, piling up rolls on a roll board and cutting frankfurters, according to one of our favorite interviews in the Coney Island History Project’s Oral History Archive. The former Vice President of Nathan’s Famous, who is the only surviving child of Nathan and Ida, will attend the premiere with his wife Minnie.

People who worked at Nathan’s for decades, some for more than 40 years, also shared their memories with the film-maker. “There are elderly workers who are still alive and hopefully they’ll be able to get to the premiere,” said Lloyd. “I offer this personal, long-in-the-making film to my parents, grandparents, the Nathan’s workers and to lovers of our great city everywhere.”

Lloyd Handwerker with Steeplechase Horse at the Coney Island History Project. Photo © Coney Island History Project

Famous Nathan
Directed and written by Lloyd Handwerker
(USA) – World Premiere, Documentary

Nathan’s Famous Frankfurters, a New York City icon, has left a lasting imprint on the collective memory and palate of Coney Island. Director and grandson of ‘Famous’ Nathan himself, Lloyd Handwerker, takes a look back at the immigrant experience and almost 100 years of family and New York history in this personal documentary gem. Featuring a strong score, colorful and endearing characters, rare archival material, and a nuanced editing style, Famous Nathan will not disappoint New York history enthusiasts.

Photo Album: Wonder Wheel Park Preps for Coney Island’s Opening Day

Posted in Photo Album, Photo of the Day, Photography, tagged April 13, Coney Island, Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, Deno's Wonder Wheel, Openng Day, Palm Sunday, Wonder Wheel on February 28, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The cars of the Wonder Wheel and other rides are removed and refurbished during the winter at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. February 22, 2014. Photo © Tricia Vita

It’s 20° and more snow (insert groans) is predicted for the weekend, but Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park is busy preparing for Coney Island’s Opening Day. Palm Sunday is a mere 7 weeks away, on April 13th! ATZ got a behind-the-scenes look at the park’s annual maintenance rituals. If these photos make you yearn for spring and summer, you’re not the only one.

Getting ready for opening day at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. February 22, 2014. Photo © Tricia Vita

At this time of year, the Vourderis family and their crew are at work daily getting the rides ready for the first spin of the 2014 season. Every year, the landmark 1920 Wheel is overhauled and painted, along with the park’s 20 other rides. The red, white and blue cars of Deno’s Wonder Wheel are always taken down at the end of the season and their return to the Wheel is the first sign of spring in Coney Island.

Mangels Ponycart and Freshly Painted Wonder Wheel Cars in Winter Storage at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. February 22, 2014. Photo © Tricia Vita

The date the Wonder Wheel cars go up is subject to the vagaries of wind, weather and work schedules, but it’s usually about a week before Opening Day. As we wrote last year: Being there to see the 24 cars go up, the Swinging ones first and then the Stationary, is like seeing crocuses bloom before your eyes.

Among the other rides currently taken apart for refurbishment and painting are the Kiddie Park’s Rio Grande Train and Big Trucks. The tops of the Tilt-A-Whirl buckets are also getting a fresh coat of red.

Steve Vourderis and crew with car from Rio Grande Train, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. February 22, 2014. Photo © Tricia Vita

The traditional Palm Sunday opener for Coney Island’s amusement parks is a bit later this year since the April 13th holiday is a moveable feast. Last year, Opening Day was March 24th and in 2012 it was April 1st. Opening Day festivities include the Blessing of the Rides at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and the ceremonial Egg Cream Christening of the first car on the Cyclone Roller Coaster. Until then, this ticket booth tantalizes walkers on the snow-dappled Boardwalk.