Buffalo ’66 is a 1998 film, and is writer/director Vincent Gallo's semi-autobiographical full-length motion picture debut. Gallo and Christina Ricci star in the lead roles and the supporting cast includes Mickey Rourke, Rosanna Arquette, Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston. Gallo also composed and performed much of the music for the film. Empire listed it as 36th greatest independent film ever made [1]. It was filmed in and around Gallo's native Buffalo, New York.
Plot
Having just served five years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Billy Brown (Gallo)'s first desperate post-incarceration action is to search for somewhere to relieve himself. Then, to impress his dunceish, thoroughly neglectful parents, Billy kidnaps a dance class student named Layla (Ricci) and forces her to pretend to be his wife. Layla allows herself to be kidnapped and it is clear she is romantically attracted to Billy from the start, but Billy all the while is compelled to deal with his own demons, his loneliness and his depression, and it is only at the end that he allows Layla to give him the love and comfort he has been needing all his life.
The subplot of Billy seeking revenge on the man indirectly responsible for his imprisonment, Scott Wood, is a reference to a former Buffalo Bills kicker, Scott Norwood, who missed the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXV against the New York Giants in 1991.[1]
Production
Gallo and Ricci reportedly did not get along on the set. He called her a "puppet" who did what she was told.[2] Ricci vowed to never work with Gallo again, due to the perceived abuse she suffered on set.[3] She also resented the comments he made about her weight three or four years after filming.[4]
Locations
The prison Billy is let out of is the former Gowanda State Psychiatric Hospital in Gowanda, New York. It is currently used as a corrections facility.
The bus terminal is the NFTA Greyhound bus station in downtown Buffalo, NY.
The dance school and Cafe LoCoCo are in the former AM&A's warehouse in downtown Buffalo, NY. For a time the sign for Cafe LoCoCo still remained but the restaurant is closed. As of 2009 the property is in the works to be redeveloped as an office/loft apartment building.
Billy urinates on a tree behind St. Joseph Collegiate Institute in Kenmore, NY. The tree was destroyed in the October 13th, 2006 storm that caused millions of dollars in damage in Buffalo.
Billy's parents' home is 174 Delta Rd. in Eggertsville, New York. It is believed to be Vincent Gallo's parents' home but this is not confirmed. It is private property.
The bowling alley is Reckkio's Lanes on South Park Ave. on the South Buffalo/Lackawanna, New York line.
The Denny's is the former Denny's on Niagara Falls Blvd. at Sheridan Drive in Amherst, New York. It is now a Mexican restaurant.
Scott Woods strip joint is 24KT Gold on Route 5 (Lakeshore Rd.) and the hotel across the street is Tadora's restaurant is in Blasdell, New York. In the movie, Woods states that the address is Niagara and Hertel Ave. which is actually in North Buffalo. This is nowhere near the club in Blasdell which is a southern suburb.
The donut shop interior is a former Dickie's Donuts local franchise.
And the "shifter car" is an early 80s Toyota Corolla AE86.
References
- ^ It's Super Bowl loser Norwood's unlucky number. Here's why... Gary Imlach, The Guardian, January 7, 2007.
- ^ Tiffany Lee-Youngren (2005-01-18). "Truth or consequences". San Diego Union Tribune. http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050118/news_lz1c18pubeye.html. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
- ^ "Ricci's traumatic gallo memories". San Francisco Chronicle. 2004-07-13. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fgate%2Farchive%2F2004%2F07%2F13%2Fddish.DTL&type=printable. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
- ^ Dave Calhoun. "Christina Ricci interview". Time Out. http://www.timeout.com/film/features/show-feature/2921/. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
External links
