SYNOPSICS
Men at Lunch (2012) is a English,Irish movie. Seán Ó Cualáin has directed this movie. Fionnula Flanagan,Peter Quinn,Ric Burns,Christine Roussel are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2012. Men at Lunch (2012) is considered one of the best Documentary,Mystery movie in India and around the world.
New York City, 1932. The country is in the throes of the Great Depression, the previous decade's boom of Italian, Irish, and Jewish immigrants has led to unprecedented urban expansion, and in the midst of an unseasonably warm autumn, steelworkers risk life and limb building skyscrapers high above the streets of Manhattan. In Men at Lunch, director Seán Ó Cualáin tells the story of "Lunch atop a Skyscraper," the iconic photograph taken during the construction of 30 Rockefeller Plaza that depicts eleven workmen taking their lunch break while casually perched along a steel girder - boots dangling 850 feet above the sidewalk, Central Park and the misty Manhattan skyline stretching out behind them. For 80 years, the identity of the eleven men - and the photographer that Immortalized them - remained a mystery: their stories, lost in time, subsumed by the fame of the image itself. But then, at the start of the 21st century, the photograph finally began to give up some of its secrets. Part ...
Men at Lunch (2012) Trailers
Men at Lunch (2012) Reviews
Interesting look at iconic image for first half
This is a documentary about an iconic photograph picture taken on Sept 20, 1963 of 11 ironworkers sitting on a beam high above at 30 Rock having lunch. The movie examines the aesthetics which was interesting but gets repetitive. Then we find the negatives in Pennsylvania's Iron Mountain underground vaults which proves it's authenticity but also cool to see the collection. Finally we get to the heart of the documentary. We go find the identities of the workers on the beam and the photographer. In that, it was rather disappointing. Other than 2 workers, we aren't given much and there isn't a definitive ID on the photographer either. But it drags on and on after that. It's a interesting look at an iconic image. But the film doesn't have the material to fill 75 minutes. It's probably good for 40 minutes.
A Picture is Worth...
In Men at Lunch, director Seán Ó Cualáin tells the story of "Lunch atop a Skyscraper," the iconic photograph taken during the construction of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. As shown in the film, people today still connected to the image, despite no one knowing who is in the photo and no one knowing who took the shot (it has been credited to Charles Clyde Ebbets since 2003). Many see their ancestors in it, though there is very little to corroborate this -- the men could be Irish, Scandinavian or anything else. Ultimately, the film is interesting but never really gets to the heart of the matter and because of that drags a bit at times. While seeing the archives at Corbis is quite interesting, a few more answers might have been nice.
Humbling perspective in this film
It's well worth taking the time to recognize the salt of the earth that was within the men in this photograph, and the many others who were not photographed. What a crucible this time period and this profession was! It was sink or swim or spend all day walking on a four-inch wide steel girder. Their courage and perseverance represented more than just American culture, but the modern era itself. This documentary film doesn't allow the viewer to miss the "every man" aspect of not just the men who did the construction work, but the photographers who put themselves in harms way in order to give record to those feats of construction. How many of those men on the girder were hired off the back of a truck that same week? None of them including the photographer who took the photo were ever kept in any company record.
Too much background, not enough research on the photo
I was disappointed in the film. I like the picture and I was hoping for a lot of research into the identities of the people in it, but a major portion of the movie was devoted to saying how good the photo is, something I already know and agree with. Meanwhile, the research is light. They know two of the names based on captions on a related picture, but let things drop. They don't try to track down the people at all. Genealogists can do this kind of research but apparently they weren't brought in. They did come up with possible identities for two of the others, and that was good, but then the movie went back to talking about how wonderful the photo was and adding some general historical background. I didn't expect a 65-minute film to be too long but this one was.
The Iconic Photo of Men at Lunch Gets The Documentary It Deserves
11/20/17. There is, perhaps, no other photo of men at work, sitting and eating lunch on an iron girder, hanging mid-air, high up in front of the New York City skyline, that captures how immigrants to the U.S. built the America we know today. Interesting look at researching who these men were and the photographers who took the photos, mostly for newspapers, makes for an interesting watch.