Rec. #223: Bill Cunningham New York

What: Bill Cunningham, the subject of this documentary, is many things. He's a noted fashion photographer in New York City. He's a grown-up boy on a bike. He's the eye behind the New York Times "On the Street" columns. He's an eccentric who lived in the same studio apartment for fifty years and wears the same outfit every day. He's an idealist who won't accept free drinks. He's a man who should have been played by Jimmy Stewart.

Comparable to: Fashion documentaries are very big these days! (The September Issue, Valentino: The Last Emperor, L'Amour Fou, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior: The Man Behind the Myth, Lagerfeld Confidential, etc.)

This doc, however, has much more in common with Public Speaking, a portrait of another stubborn New York eccentric, Fran Lebowitz. 

Representative quote: "If you don't take money, they can't tell you what to do. That's the key to the whole thing."

You might not like it if: You get so anxious about this frail-looking octogenarian riding his bike around the streets of New York City without a helmet.

How to get it: It's available to watch instantly on Netflix.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Fran Lebowitz's essay collection Metropolitan Life was Rec. #188.