Dark Days (2000)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Marc Singer

Release Date:

9 March 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Near Penn Station, next to the Amtrak tracks, squatters have been living for years. Marc Singer goes underground to live with them...

Plot Keywords:

Amtrak | Rehabilitation | Community | Drug Addiction | New York

Awards:

6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Marc Singer

...

Himself

Runtime:

94 min | Germany:84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:M | Australia:M | UK:15

Company:

Picture Farm

Trivia:

The soundtrack for the film was provided by DJ Shadow (aka Josh Davis), who is a critically-acclaimed producer and DJ. He is notorious, however, for being very protective of licensing his music for other venues or projects, having declined many other scoring offers in the past. When a friend of Singer's saw the footage assembled to a rough cut, he suggested Shadow for the soundtrack. Singer got hold of a couple of Shadow's albums, and loved the music so much, he began to cut the music into his film without any contact with the DJ. When fellow producer Ben Freedman told him he would need the rights to the music, the duo concocted a scheme whereby they would write a note to him and give it to an attractive female friend who would go backstage after a show and personally hand-deliver it. It worked. Weeks later, the two scheduled a flight to LA to coincide with a last-minute meeting with Shadow and his agent. According to Shadow, he was prepared to turn down the men's offer to use his music. But when they showed him a rough edit of the film with his music that Singer had already cut-in, Shadow was taken aback and completely impressed. He not only let them use existing titles, but even remixed some older tracks intercut with new audio samples recorded by Singer in the tunnels as a special score done for the film.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2001 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2001) (TV)

Gritty, heart-felt and all-too real

DARK DAYS (2000) *** First time filmmaker Marc Singer won independent festival accolades for his debut in documentary storytelling with this gritty, heart-felt and all-too real depiction of New York City's homeless community living in the dank, hellish train tunnels of Grand Central Station and their plight of trying to survive day to day with no hope in sight for redemption among the throw-away society the nation has been partaken to. Singer, who actually lived with his subjects for two years, gave up much of his life savings and his own personal lifestyle, employed many of the film's profiled as crew and in the end run split profit sharing as well. Although by the end of the film those depicted are shown with a positive ending throughout the sense of desperation, anger and pain is on full display.