Brooklyn, as seen in a theater near you

By Joshua Encinias

It’s the dead of night but the stallion can’t sleep. There’s a man stalking outside his stall, carrying handfuls of straw… and a match. Suddenly, there’s smoke and a small fire in the stable. He whinnies for help. The owner sees the stable on fire and calls the farmhands to help. Black Beauty and the other horses are trapped. Most of the horses make it out, Black Beauty included, but the stable is a total loss. It’s one of the striking scenes from 1921’s “Black Beauty,” — filmed at the Vitagraph Studios in Midwood.

Brooklyn’s contribution to the development of American cinema is painstakingly detailed in author Margo Donohue’s new book “Filmed in Brooklyn,” released this week by The History Press. Early on, Donohue explains people from all over the world have captured (nearly) every square inch of Brooklyn on film since the 1800s. That’s thanks in part to pioneering English immigrants J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith, who built Vitagraph Studios in 1905 at East 15th Street and Avenue M. Vitagraph was the first studio to make Anna Sewell’s “Black Beauty” into movie and they actually set a stable on fire in the studio — with live horses inside — for the pivotal scene.

After the film industry coalesced in Hollywood around the advent of talkies, Brooklyn remained one of the most scouted locations for not only the borough itself, but as a stand-in for cities like Boston in Steven Speilberg’s “War of the Worlds.” As vibrant as its past has been, the entertainment industry in Brooklyn appears to have a long, promising future: Netflix opened a 170,000-square foot studio in Bushwick last year; Steiner Studios opened at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 2004 and it remains the country’s largest film and television studio outside of Hollywood.

It’s the melting pot of Brooklyn’s immigrant communities who would work at Vitagraph from sun up to just before sun down. They would bring belongings from home to use for movie props, developing the craft of moviemaking around the turn of 20th century in the process.

“In Brooklyn, you have Jewish, Italian, Irish, Puerto Rican, and so many different cultures all working together,” says Donohue. “There’s so much individuality, and yet at the same time, people from every culture of the world live here together.” She also credits the borough’s melting pot for developing a steady output of the country’s most notable filmmakers. Including one of Brooklyn’s most successful, yet troublesome, sons.

Woody Allen is arguably the most famous filmmaker born in the borough (for better or worse). You can’t talk about movies shot along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade or, say, at the Cyclone and not mention “Annie Hall.” You can’t talk about film history or New York in the 1970s and ‘80s without mentioning him. But Donohue doesn’t shy away from how problematic he has become.

“He’s been alleged to have done some pretty terrible things. I put what he’s been accused of in the book, but we don’t dive too much into it. I mostly focus on his work,” says Donohue. “Plus, most of the stuff he’s worked on for the last 15 years or so has been outside of New York, except ‘Wonder Wheel,’ which is based in Coney Island.”

To mark the release of “Filmed in Brooklyn,” Donohue shared her 10 favorite Brooklyn locations with us. The first seven are inspired by chapters of her book and Donohue selected another three Brooklyn-based classics. Donohue’s book is available now for purchase online and signed copies of the book are available at Books Are Magic in Cobble Hill.

Brooklyn Bridge
“Enchanted” and “Sex and the City”

Donohue: Many, many movies have filmed here, but my favorite is “Enchanted.” Amy Adams and James Marsden’s character walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, and it’s a example of someone trying to show off New York. It’’s a quick visual and Marsden is wearing a foam Statue of Liberty crown. It’s a quick joke, but it’s so funny the way that it lands. There’s also the “Sex in the City” movie, where Miranda and Steve meet at the Brooklyn Bridge. That’s a really big moment and another spectacular example of the area.

Coney Island
“The Warriors”

Donohue: “The Warriors” in Coney Island! A few weeks ago, a friend of mine said they didn’t know the movie. They have teenage sons and they didn’t even know what the movie was! I said, “I’m very close to calling CPS on you, unless you show your sons this movie!” What I love specifically about Coney Island is you can be completely relaxed there and yet also on edge, because anything can happen there at any moment. That’s what’s amazing about the place. It’s just a little bit sketchy no matter how great the day is. David Patrick Kelly, the actor who says “Warriors, come out to play,” while clinking three beer bottles together, just made that up on the spot! He was bored while they were waiting for the sun to rise, and director Walter Hill said, “That’s perfect. Let’s just leave that in there,” and it became an iconic scene.

Bay Ridge
“Saturday Night Fever”

Donohue: “Saturday Night Fever” is a good example of Brooklyn’s grime. We have John Travolta on the subways that are painted head to toe, inside and out. In the movie, and in that period of time, Brooklyn was a place people were trying to get away from. The scene where the disco takes place (7305 5th avenue in Bay Ridge), which was very Italian American at the time, is now a Chinese neighborhood. You don’t see English signs around at all now because Brooklyn’s neighborhoods are always changing and moving around.

Brooklyn Heights
“Moonstruck”

Donohue: “Moonstruck,” it’s just so beautiful, I absolutely adore it. When Loretta (Cher) is walking down Cranberry Street in Brooklyn Heights after she’s had her date with Ronny (Nicolas Cage), she’s kicking her foot along and waving her arms as she’s going home. Cher’s never been more beautiful and more elegant. It’s like she’s lighter than air. Her character of Loretta has completely changed as a person and she’s feeling herself for the first time in a really long time. The movie shifts in that moment and we see Brooklyn change from being this blue collar, small space and it becomes elegant and big. There’s so many possibilities for Loretta. It’s just spectacular.

Park Slope
“War of the Worlds”
Donohue: Steven Spielberg’s 2005 “War of the Worlds” remake filmed a scene in Park Slope’s Carroll Street between Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park West. The setting is supposed to be the grandparent’s Brownstone in Boston. What’s interesting is that the actors from the 1953 version of “The War of the Worlds” (1953), Ann Robinson and Gene Barry, play the grandparents in the movie with Tom Cruise.

Gowanus
“Goodfellas”

Donohue: I love Smith and 9th, which is a subway stop. When I first moved to Brooklyn, it was totally sketchy, and that’s the place in “Goodfellas” where Robert De Niro’s character Jimmy Conway tells Karen Hill (Lorraine Bracco) to pick up some dresses. It’s totally nice now! I love that location. It doesn’t look like anything but that’s a special spot.

The Brooklyn Museum
“The Hot Rock”

Donohue: There’s a Robert Redford movie called “The Hot Rock” where he and a bunch of buddies are going to steal a diamond from the Brooklyn Museum. The Museum didn’t have the steps that it has now, and they parked the car right in front and just blew it up! “Hot Rock” was one of my favorite discoveries for the book because it’s a great snapshot of Brooklyn in the early 70s.

Windsor Terrace
“Dog Day Afternoon”

Donohue: “Dog Day Afternoon” was filmed on Windsor Terrace and now it has nice apartments, condos, and co-ops. Then across the street, someone very smart, started a hotdog stand and they call it Dog Day Afternoon and they sell Chicago style dogs.

Indie and auteur Brooklyn
Spike Lee, Noah Baumbach, Darren Aronosky, Radha Blank

Donohue: There’s lot of examples of indie directors from Brooklyn, but I have to go with Spike Lee. He’s used Bed-Stuy and Fort Greene for a lot of his locations. Also, Noah Baumbach’s from Park Slope and he’s used many locations there [notably for “The Squid and the Whale”]. Darren Aronofsky’s used Coney Island [for “Requiem for a Dream”].Radha Blank’s from Williamsburg and she’s filmed in Brooklyn for her movie “The Forty-Year-Old Version.”

Farrell’s Bar and Grill
Actress Shirley MacLaine becomes the first woman to buy a beer here

Donohue: Farrell’s Bar and Grill, also in Windsor Terrace, is a bar that’s famous because they didn’t allow women to order beer at the bar. Shirley MacLaine went there with her boyfriend Pete Hamill in the 70s, and she became the first woman who was allowed to order, and then they started allowing all women to order. I love the idea of Shirley MacLaine and Pete Hamill having beers and she’s like, “That’s bullshit. I’m getting a beer.” You can see Farrell’s in loads of background shots of Wayne Wang’s lovely 1995 film “Smoke,” which was filmed in a storefront across the street (and written by Park Slope resident Paul Auster).