Five Points Newark NJ

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2005)

In 1953 I was 9 and lived on Ferry Street in Newark, NJ a few doors down from Five Points. I went to the Rivoli Theater, across the street from that church to see "War of the Worlds." The Rivoli Theater is no longer there, but has been transformed into some other business. Actually most of the other buildings on Ferry Street have also been transformed, but that church still remains. This was the church that breaks apart as the machine emerges from the center of the street.
It was such a treat for me to see Five Points again in the new remake of "War of the Worlds." I assume the Five Points in the movie was a Hollywood set, or maybe even enhanced by computer graphics. But the street signs and the buildings were so remarkable in reproducing the Five Points of my memory of those early 50's buildings. I was so taken by this scene of my childhood, that I want to revisit the place to see the changes and to compare the movie set with the current Five Points.
After that moment down memory lane, the rest of the movie was anti-climatic for me. I still enjoyed the movie, but was just so impressed at how many details were preserved of Five Points. Great job for the set designers!