Liberty Heights
| Liberty Heights | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Barry Levinson |
| Produced by |
Barry Levinson Paula Weinstein |
| Written by | Barry Levinson |
| Starring |
Adrien Brody Ben Foster Orlando Jones Joe Mantegna Justin Chambers Anthony Anderson |
| Music by | Andrea Morricone |
| Cinematography | Christopher Doyle |
| Edited by | Stu Linder |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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127 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11 million |
| Box office | $3,736,868 |
Liberty Heights is a 1999 comedy-drama by writer-director Barry Levinson. The film is a semi-autobiographical account of his childhood growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s. It is the fourth of Levinson's four "Baltimore Films" set in his hometown during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: Diner (1982), Tin Men (1987), Avalon (1990), and Liberty Heights (1999).
In the fall of 1954, the Kurtzmans, a Jewish family, live in Forest Park, a suburban neighborhood in the northwest section of Baltimore. At the beginning of the film, Nate, the father, runs a burlesque theatre, and engages in a community numbers racket. His wife Ada stays home and takes care of the household. Van, the older son, attends the University of Baltimore, while Ben is finishing his final year in high school.
Ben meets Sylvia, an African-American girl, who begins attending his school after the district has been integrated. Ben immediately starts to develop feelings towards Sylvia, and introduces himself. The two become close based on a mutual love for Little Richard, James Brown, jazz musicians, and black comedians. Sylvia's father, an affluent doctor, disapproves of their relationship and forbids them to see one another.
On Halloween, Ben dresses up as Adolf Hitler, which offends his parents greatly. Van and his friends head over to a party in a predominantly bourgeois, gentile section of Baltimore. Van is attracted to a mysterious blonde woman. A fight between one of Van's buddies and a gentile erupts and Trey, one of the party-goers, drunkenly crashes his car into the house. Van must leave the mystery woman.
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