Central Park

Duration: 176

Year Published: 1989

Creator: Zipporah Films

Format: 16mm

Color: Color & B&W

Sound: sound

Description: Frederick Wiseman turns his camera on Central Park, 840 acres of land in the center of Manhattan. This area of verdant real estate is an organic entity which must be maintained, under the auspices of the New York City Parks Department, by a battalion of workers who prune, weed, mow and plant. The park is also a forum for myriad varieties of cultural expression (opera, dance, parades) and social interaction (weddings, classes, picnics). It is a lab for bird-watchers, gardeners and dinosaur lovers. It is a public commons for ideas ... and exiles ... and artists. It is a huge repository for every imaginable sport--remote-control boat racing, lawn bowling, tai chi, marathon races, cross-country skiing and tennis. Central Park is also political territory evidenced by meetings of the Young Communist League, the Conservancy, the Perimeter Club and the heated debates of a community board. For many, the park is an evolving haven of history and memory evoked by the nostalgia-tinged revolutions of the carousel.