Slaves of New York
| Slaves of New York | |
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Poster for Slaves of New York
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| Directed by | James Ivory |
| Produced by |
Ismail Merchant Gary Hendler Fred Hughes (associate) Vincent Fremont (associate) |
| Written by | Tama Janowitz based on her stories |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
Richard Robbins (score) Boy George (theme song: Girlfriend) Michael Butler & Johann Carlo Neneh Cherry Les Rita Mitsouko Joe Leeway Ambitious Lovers Inner City Iggy Pop Maxi Priest |
| Cinematography | Tony Pierce-Roberts |
| Edited by | Katherine Wenning |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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124 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $463,972 |
Slaves of New York is a 1989 comedy-drama Merchant Ivory Productions film. It was directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant, and starred Bernadette Peters, Adam Coleman Howard, Chris Sarandon, Mary Beth Hurt, Mercedes Ruehl, Madeleine Potter, and Steve Buscemi.
Based on the stories Slaves of New York by Tama Janowitz, the film follows the lives of struggling artists in New York City during the mid-1980s.
The story follows Eleanor, an aspiring hat designer, and a group of artists and models in the "downtown" New York City art world. Eleanor lives with her younger boyfriend Stash, an unknown artist, who is unfaithful and treats Eleanor with careless indifference. Eleanor expresses her feelings for Stash when she tells him that she was once attracted to him because he was dangerous. She stays with him despite the crumbling relationship because she has nowhere else to live—she is, in effect, a "slave."
When a clothing designer, Wilfredo (Steve Buscemi), discovers her hat designs and offers to use them in a fashion show, Eleanor gains the self-respect—and money—to leave Stash. There is an elaborate fashion show sequence.
While buying food for a celebratory party, she meets Jan and invites him to the party. After the party, Eleanor and her new friend talk, and then ride off into the morning sunrise.
Tama Janowitz had written a script for Andy Warhol, based on the Eleanor and Stash stories in her 1986 collection of short stories, Slaves of New York. When Warhol died, Merchant-Ivory bought that script. The real graffiti artist from New York City named STASH, who is a friend of Janowitz, was the influence for the name of her lead character and can be seen as an extra in many of the party scenes.
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