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Listen to Looch: 'Bill Cunningham New York'

Bill Cunningham shooting on the street in New York City from the feature-length documentary, 'Bill Cunningham New York,' ( 2010),  directed by Richard Press and produced by Philip Gefter.
Bill Cunningham shooting on the street in New York City from the feature-length documentary, 'Bill Cunningham New York,' ( 2010), directed by Richard Press and produced by Philip Gefter.First Thought Films/Zeitgeist

by Mary Lucia

April 15, 2020

I've got a documentary to recommend to you that I've watched a couple of times about a photographer named Bill Cunningham. The documentary is called Bill Cunningham New York, it came out in 2010 and it was directed by Richard Press.

Cunningham was a lot of things, but he was a street photographer in New York, who lived an existence unlike just about anyone I can imagine. He was just enamored with beauty and style, and while he himself was a designer — a hat designer for many, many, many years — he picked up a camera later in life and just started shooting street style. And he worked for both Women's Wear Daily and The New York Times.

His approach was simple: he would tool around New York on his bicycle and photograph stylish people. Cunningham was a loner and he lived a very simple lifestyle, but he was so admired by the fashion cognoscenti in New York. He worked all the way to the end; he died in 2016 following a stroke at age 87.

Even if you're not into fashion, you'll like this documentary. You'll like it just as a character sketch of an unforgettable person of New York.

Bill Cunningham New York is available on Tubi, Vudu, iTunes and Amazon Prime.

Official Trailer

Bill Cunningham New York, a film by Richard Press - official site

Bill Cunningham New York film poster
Poster for 'Bill Cunningham New York,' (2010), directed by Richard Press.
Zeitgeist Films