Koch (film)

2012 American film

Koch

Directed by| Neil Barsky
Produced by| Jenny Carchman, Lindsey Megrue
Edited by| Juliet Weber, Laura Madden
Distributed by| Zeitgeist Films

Release dates

* October 8, 2012 (2012-10-08) (The Hamptons Film Festival)
* February 1, 2013 (2013-02-01)

Running time

| 95 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $342,941[1]

Koch is a 2012 documentary film directed by Neil Barsky about former New York City Mayor Ed Koch. Koch premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 8, 2012[2] and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.[3] It opened theatrically in the United States on February 1, 2013 the day Koch's death was publicized.[4][5]

## Plot

[edit]

First-time filmmaker and former Wall Street Journal reporter Neil Barsky's 2012 documentary film Koch explores the origins, career, and legacy of Edward Irving “Ed” Koch, who served as Mayor of New York City for three consecutive terms from 1978 to 1989. With candid interviews and rare archival footage, the film offers a close look at a man known for being intensely private in spite of his dynamic public persona, and chronicles the tumultuous events which marked his time in office – a fiercely competitive 1977 election, the 1980 transit strike, the burgeoning AIDS epidemic, landmark housing renewal initiatives, and an irreparable municipal corruption scandal. Poignant and often humorous, Koch is a portrait not only of one of New York's most iconic political figures, but of New York City itself at a time of radical upheaval and transformation.

## Cast

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* Ed Koch as himself

## Awards

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* 2012: Hamptons International Film Festival Official Selection[2]
* 2012: Palm Springs Film Festival Official Selection[6]
* 2013: Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Official Selection[7]

## Reception

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"Both as a portrait of a changing New York City and the man who was at the epicentre of that evolution for over a decade, "Koch" is a delight. It's a compelling, never dull time capsule that isn't so much a celebration of Ed Koch, as an honorable and entertaining study of exactly the kind of flawed and principled man that New Yorkers love to get behind. And they did." -Kevin Jagernauth, Indiewire[8]

"Though it spends time with Mr. Koch in the present and summarizes his premayoral life (some of it spent in Newark), “Koch” is above all a chronicle of New York civic life from 1977 to 1989... It is hardly an uncritical account of Mr. Koch's dozen years as mayor, but time has a way of turning the furious political battles of the past into amusing war stories, and of softening old enmities." -A.O. Scott, The New York Times[9]

## References

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1. ^ "Koch".
2. ^ a b "Koch on Hamptons International Film Festival Website". Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
3. ^ Zeitgeist Films. "Koch on Zeitgeist Films Website". Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
4. ^ Angelika Film Center New York. "Angelika Film Center New York". Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
5. ^ Lincoln Plaza Cinemas. "Lincoln Plaza Cinemas". Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
6. ^ Palm Springs Film Festival. "Koch at the Palm Springs Film Festival". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
7. ^ Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. "Koch - Atlanta Jewish Film Festival". Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
8. ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (28 August 2013). "DVD Review: Neil Barsky's Documentary On New York City Mayor Ed 'Koch'".
9. ^ Scott, A.O. (31 January 2013). "Hizzoner on Screen: Regrets? That's Not His Style". The New York Times.

## External links

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* Official website
* Koch at IMDb
* Koch (2012) at Rotten Tomatoes