Liberty Heights

1999 Comedy Drama

Writer/director Barry Levinson returns to his home town of Baltimore, where he previously set three nostalgic features (Diner, Tin Men, and Avalon) for this story of two brothers growing up in the tumultuous days of 1954, as rock 'n' roll, the atom bomb, and the civil rights movement changed the way teenagers looked at the world. One of the brothers has fallen in love with a beautiful girl who, to the chagrin of his family, is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Protestant, while the other has an even bigger shock for his folks: his new girlfriend is black. Joe Mantegna and Bebe Neuwirth play the parents, with Adrien Brody, Vincent Guastaferro, Orlando Jones, David Krumholz, and Kiersten Warren also topping the cast. Tom Waits wrote several original songs for the film, while Andrea Morricone (daughter of Ennio Morricone) wrote the score.

Director: Barry Levinson

Starring: Adrien Brody, Ben Foster, Orlando Jones, Bebe Neuwirth,Joe Mantegna

Reviews

  • Emerges as an accurate memory of that time when the American melting pot, splendid as a theory, became a reality.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    26 April 2013

  • Easily one of the year's best movies.

    Lou Lumenick - New York Post

    26 April 2013

  • Has integrity, but the way he bends his tale to make a statement is overly deliberate.

    Edward Guthmann - The San Francisco Chronicle

    26 April 2013

  • Just a good time at the movies, but it's still a smarter two hours than most "good times" are.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    26 April 2013

  • Both a lovingly crafted remembrance of things past and a deliberate broadening and darkening of the canvas Levinson previously filled in "Diner," "Tin Men," and "Avalon."

    Jay Carr - The Boston Globe

    26 April 2013

Awards

  • Feature Film

    American Cinema Foundation (2000)

     
  • Theatrical - Best Supporting Actress

    Black Reel Awards (2000)