Liberty Heights
Liberty Heights is a 1999 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson. The film is a semi-autobiographical account of his childhood growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s. The film portrays the racial injustices experienced both by the Jewish and African-American populations. Both of Nate Kurtzman's sons find women "prohibited" to them: for Van because he is Jewish, and for Ben because he is white. Their father goes to prison for running a burlesque show with Little Melvin, an African-American and known local drug dealer.
Plot
In the fall of 1954, the Kurtzmans, a Jewish family, live in Forest Park, a suburban neighborhood in northwest Baltimore. Nate, the father, runs a burlesque theater and engages in a numbers racket. His wife Ada is a homemaker. Van, the older son, attends the University of Baltimore, and Ben is in his senior year in high school.
More details
| author | Barry Levinson |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Maryland |
| director | Barry Levinson |
| editor | Stu Linder |
| genre | comedy-drama |
| keywords | adolf hitler african-american neighborhood african americans american jews atlanta burlesque car accident car crash date disturb drug dealer emotionally disturbed end force gentile halloween hear high school graduation integrate james brown jazz jewish jewish family little richard mystery woman nothing numbers game numbers racket prostitution racial integration racket racketeer search shock spelman college the famous flames their way university of baltimore win |
| musicBy | Andrea Morricone |
| producer | Barry Levinson Paula Weinstein |
| publisher | Warner Bros. |
| recordedAt | Baltimore |
| theme | biographical |