AN EXTRAORDINARY AND RARE INDEPENDENT FILM
Featuring Original Music by TOM WAITS
View the trailer:
"I think one of the things that excites me most about the human condition is how we can find beauty and truth in unlikely places."
"ON THE NICKEL" has been newly restored for DVD! It is available exclusively on Amazon.com. Click HERE to find it on Amazon.
REVIEWS:
It is an earnest and affected work of evident love, a tale told with such compassion that it is not so much angry as sad. Ralph Waite elects to see a certain ruined dignity and a generosity and qualities of kindness that may indeed deepen the feelings of tragedy. A brave and highly watchable film suffused with a tenderness that puts into even sharper relief, somehow, the gritty reality and the hard shadows of "the Nickel." Lyrically romantic in its al-fresco-with-graffiti way... "On the Nickel" is a testiment to the possibility of ultimate triumph. - Charles Champlin, The Los Angeles Times
Ralph Waite's film looks like a documentary about winos on skid row but feels like a morality play about Everyman. It is the kind of release that appears on the cultural scene to show us how beautiful and profound personal filmmaking can be when it is done by an individual who cares equally about the craft and conscience. In this sensitive and touching story, we are brought face-to-face with questions regarding the nature of friendship, change, love, freedom, and human dignity. - Frederic Brusat
This movie moved me so much. I thought it was very well done and I would like to buy a copy of it if it is available on VHS or DVD, please advise where I can purchase a copy. Ralph Waite was so good and I particularly loved the dance scene where they sang Waltzing Matilda. The whole movie gave a new perspective on the life of a derelict and reminded me that any one of us could end up in similar situations and that we really should remember to treat all we meet the same way that we would like to be treated.
On The Nickel is a forgotten film which I was lucky enough to tape from the "Z Channel" (now defunct) in Los Angeles many years ago. The brainchild of actor Ralph Waite (of Waltons), it was independently made on a very low budget. In it, Waite manages to balance the tragedy of skid-row life with humor and irony, and in spite of an easy, fellini-esque ending, tells a moving story of a man (Donald Moffat) a former alcoholic and skid row dweller, struggling to "put his demons to rest" as he searches the "Nickel" (Fifth Street) for his old pal, C.G., played by Ralph Waite. The movie is bookended by the Tom Waits song, "On The Nickel," written for the movie, and has a score that quotes the song frequently. Maybe the Independent Film Channel will consider running it.
On The Nickel pays homage to the cameraderie and last-ditch decency among the dying – in this case, late-stage alcoholics. Eking out a life of sorts on Los Angeles' Skid Row, the characters, for the most part, are not only chemically dependent but also homeless and, often, mentally ill. They also constitute one of the many sub-groups of society which the dominant culture prefers to keep invisible; the movie shows them as human beings with personalities and passions, and their own codes of honor.
I saw the film many years ago,and thought it was wonderful! I recently talked with someone who had been involved with the picture and as a result, my interest was rekindled. I rented it (not easy to do) and watched it twice. It's as fresh as it was twenty years ago, the performances are outstanding,and worth seeing.A simple story of skid row which seems totally real.
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on the nickel, movies about recovery, Alcoholism, alcoholics anonymous, drug addiction, skid row, ralph waite, early sobriety, staying sober
IN THE TRADITION OF JOSEPH WAMBAUGH...