Bill Cunningham New York
What a relief from the films of today with so much violence and dysfunctional families. This documentary was a delight and fascinating from beginning to end. The audience applauded at the end and the theatre was mostly filled.
Bill Cunningham is a fashion and society photographer for the New York Times. He is much larger than life.
He lives in a cramped little apartment. He is always seen wearing a blue jacket (same as the street cleaners) and he rides a bike. The man is in his 80’s. It is beyond belief to watch him show up at some late evening fund raiser at a museum or private home. He is welcomed as if he is royalty.
What an irony. The man lives very simply. He is not interested in food, clothes or fancy living quarters. Yet he is welcomed into the height of the fashion world and to high society. He is invited to the fanciest parties in town. He loves fashion and has a keen eye.
I love the shots of him taking pictures in Paris during Fashion Week. He was even given an honor by the Paris Fashion Council. The man is a hero. He also is an interesting personality. His warm smile is infectious.
He loves to walk on the New York streets and take random pictures of people in fashion. When asked about going to church as a young lad he commented that he was looking at the ladies’ hats.
He really is documenting New York life and illustrating the new trends. I have no doubt that he will go down in history for his fashion chronicles of this century. This is social history in action.
He so obviously enjoys his work.
Several people from New York are interviewed. One lady calls him a maverick and another an artist.
It is almost absurd to see him ride his bicycle up to the Metropolitan Museum for a large fund raiser. He claims most of his bicycles have been stolen. He has had to purchase over 70 bicycles.
He has such a keen eye for what is innovative in fashion. Several times he was able to point out that a new fashion idea was really a copy of something that had been shown years ago. He is so respected for his great work in showing the fashion trends of the day.
He was invited to Lady Astor’s 100th birthday. People made as much of a fuss over Bill as Lady Astor.
The newspaper had a birthday party for Bill. All the staff were wearing blue jackets and holding a mask with the face of Bill Cunningham. It was so much fun.
He loves life in his own way and certainly gets his pleasure from what he does. At the same time I found it sad to hear that he has never had a relationship with a person. His relationships are with fashion.
This is a superb documentary filled with fascinating facts about an extraordinary person.
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