Co-directors Peter Yost & Michael Rohatyn’s DROP DEAD CITY is the first-ever feature documentary devoted to the NYC Fiscal Crisis of 1975, an extraordinary, overlooked episode in urban American history that saw an already crumbling city of eight million people brought to the edge of bankruptcy and social
chaos by a perfect storm of debt, greed, ambitious social policy and poor governance. Named after the famous New York Daily News headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” Drop Dead City overturns present day assumptions about politics and compromise, showing what bitter rivals
achieved through shared sacrifice. It stands as a cautionary tale to every city facing post-Covid challenges of plunging revenue and ever-greater public service obligations. Built entirely of 16mm archival footage, it features present day interviews with people who
were “in the room,” in an immersive, ticking-clock drama, by following a year in the life and near-death of this iconic city. It examines the origins of the crisis and documents the increasingly desperate clashes of stakeholders – unions, banks, local, state and federal governments, and average citizens – as, together, they slide
ever nearer to the unthinkable – bankruptcy. Co-directors Peter Yost & Michael Rohatyn join us to talk about their personal connection to the financial crisis and finding many of the key people who worked to get New York City back on solid financial footing, gathering together an amazing array of archival material and the satisfaction of telling a very complex story in a way that illuminates the recent past while putting forward a noteworthy perspective on our own future.
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About the filmmaker – produced/directed dozens of high-end documentary projects for leading broadcasters and streamers through his company, Pangloss Films. Peter recently produced and directed the acclaimed, nationally broadcast 4-part series for WGBH / PBS Mysteries of Mental Illness about the history of psychiatry. Past projects include Inside North Korea and The Color Of Oil (both Emmy nominated); and Solitary Confinement, which led to prison reforms in Colorado and elsewhere. He has also produced seven films for PBS/NOVA, including Infinite Universe Revealed and Rise of the Drones, and more than a dozen films for National Geographic’s “Specials” unit.
About the filmmaker – Producer/Director Michael Rohatyn is a screenwriter and musician who has worked in features and documentaries such as Forty Shades of Blue (dir. Ira Sachs) and Maggie’s Plan (dir. Rebecca Miller). He scored the Emmy-nominated doc Arthur Miller: Writer for HBO. As a boy in 1975, Michael had a front row seat to many of the dramas that are featured in DROP DEAD CITY, and knew many of the players personally. Felix Rohatyn, chairman of MAC, was his father.
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100% on RottenTomatoes
“An extraordinary historical documentary. The delight of “Drop Dead City” is that it’s a symphony of voices, past and present. Tells an enormously complex story… with a deft touch and a brisk sense of wonder.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker
“An evenhanded account of how things got so bad, who was to blame, and what New York inevitably lost in the process.” – Alissa Wilkerson, The New York Times
“The footage from the period paints a vivid depiction of the era; how people dressed, talked and interacted (the music choices on the soundtrack enhance this portraiture) as the filmmakers effectively show how the complexity of NYC led to financial chaos.” – Joseph Neff, Spectrum Culture
“The archival footage is splendid…The filmmakers also convey, crisply and succinctly, what exactly made the city so expensive to maintain.” – Jason Bailey, RogerEbert
“Drop Dead City succeeds superbly… Entertaining and unexpectedly poignant.” – Chris Barsanti, Pop Matters
“Gripping. “Drop Dead City” charts how those pivotal months of 1975 unfolded like a thriller. A fascinating glimpse into how New York City’s financial crisis revealed a crack in the liberal dream.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“Despite its focus on events 50 years ago, the film raises striking parallels with the present. The 103-minute film is a visual delight for anyone who enjoys footage of vintage New York City…Set to a funk and soul soundtrack that would make Quentin Tarantino’s music supervisor bow in respect.” – WNYC / Gothamist