Just stumbled upon a news release about a new book about the making of "Union City," Debbie Harry's leading-role film debut. In "Behind Union City: The Making of an Independent Film," writer/director Marcus Reicher has compiled more than 200 glorious images from his 1980 film noir -- which co-starred Dennis Lipscomb ("Wiseguy"), Everett McGill ("Twin Peaks") and a cameo by Pat Benatar -- as well as personal accounts by Debbie, himself and Amos Chan, the film's still photographer. It took me (what felt like) forever to see "Union City" back in the day -- it never showed in Phoenix, and while I used to see (and salivate over) the VHS tape at Tower Video in Tempe each time we'd go, my family didn't get a VCR until a relatively late 1984. When we finally got the video, I watched in horror as Debbie masturbated on camera as my entire family joined the party to watch "the Blondie movie" with me! (It wasn't the last time I'd go through this -- need I remind you what happened in "Videodrome" with the cigarette?) The film wasn't as good as it might have been -- after revisiting it on DVD, I finally got around to reviewing it in 2011, which you can read HERE. -- but the styling and visual elements were flawless, which makes this book a must-have for me. P.S. I included Debbie's spellbinding screen test in my film review post, but I've also embedded below these beautiful photos from the book. For more information, click HERE. (Direct link to purchase book HERE.)
Above: Watch the original theatrical trailer for "Union City," which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 1980, before opening in New York City on Sept. 26, 1980, and in Los Angeles on Aug. 5, 1981.
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