At 19, they gave him the streets. Tonight, they're going to take them back.

This stylishly photographed drama is set in the Lower East Side area known as "Alphabet City." There 19-year-oldJohnny has become a drug lord in charge of the neighborhood gangs and pushers. Unfortunately, he too has a boss and when he asks Johnny to burn down the tenement building that houses his mother and sister, the boy refuses and decides to go straight for the sake of his wife and child. This doesn't set well with his boss who sends gangsters out to kill him. Of course, the gangsters have to catch Johnny first.

Alphabet City is a 1984 crime drama film directed by Amos Poe. The story follows a young gangster of Italian descent named Johnny, who has been given control over his own neighborhood by the Mob. Then unknown actors Vincent Spano (as Johnny), Jami Gertz, and Michael Winslow give compelling performances in this low-budget crime/drama/thriller. Acclaimed film and stage actress Zohra Lampert plays Johnny's mother. The film is set in Alphabet City, a part of the East Village in New York City. [1] [2] [3]

The film takes place entirely in one evening, with the time being indicated chronologically on the clock in Johnny's Trans Am. Early in the evening Johnny meets with his friend Lippy, an eccentric cocaine dealer played by Michael Winslow. They discuss the planned burning of an apartment building, called for by the mob. As their discussion progresses, it becomes clear that it is Johnny who must carry out the burning of the building before the night is over, and moreover, his mother and sister live in the targeted building. This request from the Mob pushes Johnny to plan a split from the Mob, which proves difficult. By the end of the night Johnny must save his sister and mother from the burning of their building, and also rescue his girlfriend and their newborn child from the clutches of the Mob.

Release Date: May 4, 1984


Distrib: Atlantic Releasing

Release Date: May 4, 1984