Direction
Barsky lets Koch hang himself with his own words.
Editing
Brutal juxtaposition of archival glory and present decline.
Director
Neil Barsky
Ed Koch
Self
Michael Bloomberg
Self
Bella Abzug
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
George W. Bush
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Barack Obama
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ronald Reagan
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Al Sharpton
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rudolph Giuliani
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bess Myerson
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Koch died on the morning the film premiered—Barsky had to add a title card hours before screening. Koch never saw the final cut but threatened lawsuits over its AIDS coverage.
The film captures pre-gentrification NYC nostalgia that Bloomberg would complete—making Koch's 'I saved the city' claim the founding myth of modern inequality.
US
