SummaryTimothy "Speed" Levitch, a tour guide for Manhattan's Gray Line double-decker buses, talks fast, is in love with the city, and dispenses historical facts, architectural analysis, and philosophical musings in equal measures. He's reflective and funny about cruising: he loves it, got in it to meet women, and he'd quit work if he could. His personal... Read More
Directed By:Bennett Miller
The Cruise
Metascore
Generally Favorable
69
User score
Generally Favorable
7.0
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
69
69% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
23% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
100
The Cruise validates beautifully a life that is its own validation.
89
Miller has somehow, inadvertently by his own admission, managed to capture the essence of the human throng, in all its maddening, scintillating permutations. It's a tour unlike any you have ever taken.
80
As much as Mr. Levitch's voice grates, you can't help but admire the zest for life of this heroically independent but impossibly self-centered crank.
75
Most of the credit for this successful effort goes to Miller, who simply pointed a camera at Levitch for hours and stayed out of the way. This laid-back direction helps Miller avoid that self-conscious "documentary" seriousness, edgy shots and editing that tells the audience that this is all so very important. [18 Dec 1998, p.E3]
75
I get letters from people who would like to make a movie. My advice could be, find a subject like Speed Levitch and follow him around with a video camera. That's what Bennett Miller did--directing, producing and photographing The Cruise.
50
Perhaps a little more back story would have given Levitch some dimension and given us a bit more incentive to commiserate with him. As it is, a little Levitch goes a long way. [20 Nov 1998, p.C4]
30
The Cruise is being hailed as a harbinger of a future in which indie film will be liberated by low-cost technology. If this is where we're going, I want off the bus.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.0
50% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
50% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Oct 3, 2017
6
This unusual documentary, which kicked off the career of director Bennett Miller, is well worth a look even if sitting thru the whole thing will present a challenge. Meet Timothy "Speed" Levitch, who is the sole character in this piece. He is a motor-mouthed commentator/thinker who works as a tour guide in New York City. From his perch on the upper deck of a tour bus, Levitch regales and challenges us with a fast and steady stream of observations, many of which come from out in left field but which all show a sharp mind at work. Unfortunately sharp minds are not always sound minds, and Levitch eventually tests our patience with his nasal New York voice and kooky ideas.
Production Company:
- Charter Films Inc.
Release Date:Oct 23, 1998
Duration:1 h 16 m
Rating:PG-13
Tagline:Fasten your seat belts
Awards
Berlin International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Newport International Film Festival, Rhode Island
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
News & Documentary Emmy Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
