In September, a special 30th-anniversary screening of “Crossing Delancey” was held at Film Forum on W. Houston St.
The beloved classic 1980s romantic comedy tells the story of how Isabelle Grossman (Amy Irving), an Upper West Sider whose bubbie, or grandmother, Ida (Reizl Bozyk), lives on Grand St., is courted by Sam Posner (Peter Riegert), a Lower East Side pickle merchant, after local marriage broker Hannah Mandelbaum (Sylvia Miles), introduces the pair at Ida’s anxious behest.
A discussion and audience Q&A at Film Forum after the screening included Irving and Riegert and the movie’s director, Joan Micklin Silver, and was moderated by Bruce Goldstein, the Film Forum’s director of repertory programming.
Irving, who was formerly married to Steven Spielberg, said “Crossing Delancey” was her favorite moment in her film career. Riegert said the role “jumped off the page” when he first read it.
There was some disagreement on whether the film couple would have another date. Irving said, no.
Riegert said he just sticks with the script, which ended on the high note of the pending date and the unanswered question left hanging in the air.
“I didn’t know how it was going to end,” he said.
One woman in the audience stood up and enthusiastically asked for a vote by all present to decide it. But Silver said it’s up to the two movie characters, so we’ll never know for sure.
The audience was made up of people mainly in middle age and above.
One devotee admitted to having seen the flick nearly two-dozen times. She added that shadchanits, Yiddish for “matchmakers,” are still alive and well on the Lower East Side — and that she had been approached by them frequently.
Riegert recalled that, after the movie came out, he was propositioned constantly by women — and also sent a lot of pickles.
It was the first and only film role for Bozyk after decades on stage as a Yiddish theater star. Silver said that as soon as she met her, she knew Bozyk was perfect for the role of Bubbie.
Silver noted that one Hollywood executive initially wanted her to change the movie so that it was about Italians, feeling it would play better at the box office.
“You mean, ‘Crossing Mulberry’?” Silver remembered saying, before declining.
As for the film’s enduring appeal, the director reflected, “People are still looking for someone to love and someone who can love them.”
“All good stories transcend the subject,” added Riegert.
Among those seated in the audience was Stanley Leff, an extra who is the first person to appear in the film: He opens a taxi door for his then-real-life partner, Judith Rossner, author of “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” and they head into the book party at the start of the movie. That scene was filled with other actual writers and their partners and others who were friends of the director.
“It was a thrill to see myself on the big screen,” Leff recalled. “It’s a wonderful film.”
Meanwhile, in related news, Film Forum will close in May and June of 2018 to add a fourth screen.
— Lincoln Anderson
