Opening

86% Captain Phillips Oct 11
29% Machete Kills Oct 11
—— Haunt Oct 11
41% All the Boys Love Mandy Lane Oct 11
—— Romeo and Juliet Oct 11
67% Escape From Tomorrow Oct 11
—— CBGB Oct 11
—— The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister And Pete Oct 11
—— Zero Charisma Oct 11
—— Where the Devil Hides Oct 11

Top Box Office

97% Gravity $55.8M
59% Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 $21.0M
8% Runner Runner $7.7M
81% Prisoners $5.7M
88% Rush $4.5M
82% Don Jon $4.2M
18% Baggage Claim $4.1M
35% Insidious: Chapter 2 $3.9M
63% Pulling Strings $2.5M
95% Enough Said $2.2M
56% Instructions Not Included $1.8M
47% We're The Millers $1.6M
33% The Family $1.5M
73% Lee Daniels' The Butler $1.2M
—— Grace Unplugged $1.0M
78% Metallica Through the Never $0.7M
60% Riddick $0.5M
5% Battle of the Year $0.5M
75% Despicable Me 2 $0.5M
38% Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters $0.4M

Coming Soon

78% Kill Your Darlings Oct 16
—— Carrie Oct 18
—— Escape Plan Oct 18
38% The Fifth Estate Oct 18
97% 12 Years a Slave Oct 18
100% All Is Lost Oct 18
75% Haunter Oct 18
—— Paradise Oct 18

Koch (2013)

tomatometer

81

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Critic Reviews: 16
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

audience

76

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 341

My Rating

Movie Info

Former Mayor Ed Koch is the quintessential New Yorker. Still ferocious, charismatic, and hilariously blunt, the now 87-year-old Koch ruled New York from 1978 to 1989-a down-and-dirty decade of grit, graffiti, near-bankruptcy and rampant crime. First-time filmmaker (and former Wall Street Journal reporter) Neil Barsky has crafted an intimate and revealing portrait of this intensely private man, his legacy as a political titan, and the town he helped transform. The tumult of his three terms

Unrated,

Documentary

Aug 26, 2013

$0.3M

Zeitgeist Films - Official Site External Icon

Watch It Now

ADVERTISEMENT

All Critics (39) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (4)

He was certainly combative, and confident, and full of love for the city he governed with such gusto. Koch is a New York story for the whole world to appreciate.

April 26, 2013 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

What he really was was one of a kind. Whether intentionally or not, "Koch" shows that that's not necessarily a bad thing.

April 11, 2013 Full Review Source: Boston Globe
Boston Globe
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An emphasis on Koch the character obscures his administration.

March 14, 2013 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Though the film, more than two years in the making, was never intended as such, it plays like the kind of eulogy Koch would have approved - neither fawning nor eviscerating but always compelling.

March 1, 2013 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film advances no theories to explain his contradictions, only a thrilling, sometimes affecting account of what he did.

February 28, 2013 Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"How'm I doin'?" Koch famously asked anyone and everyone he passed by, rarely hanging around for the answer. In "Koch," for the most part, he does all right.

February 28, 2013 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic
Arizona Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Both as a portrait of a changing New York City and the man who was at the epicentre of that evolution for over a decade, Koch is a delight.

August 28, 2013 Full Review Source: The Playlist
The Playlist

An engaging if incomplete portrait of an unconventional politician.

May 17, 2013 Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion
One Guy's Opinion

Forget "A Tale of Two Cities:" - the documentary "Koch" is a tale of two mayors. At LEAST two.

May 9, 2013 Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

The film neither glorifies nor vilifies. Instead, it treats triumphs and controversies with equal balance.

May 8, 2013 Full Review Source: Oregonian
Oregonian

A fascinating, multi-faceted look at a very complicated man, a quintessential New Yorker who was both an uncommonly skilled politician and, at times, a tremendous jerk.

May 2, 2013 Full Review Source: EntertainmentTell
EntertainmentTell

The gift of Koch is that it embraces the clutter and volume of opinion about the man.

April 18, 2013 Full Review Source: Shared Darkness
Shared Darkness

Captures the man, burnishes the myth and remembers the "mouth."

March 16, 2013 Full Review Source: Movie Nation
Movie Nation

First-time filmmaker Neil Barsky does a generally remarkable job shuttling back and forth between clips from archival footage...and an intimate 2010 interview he conducted of Koch.

March 5, 2013 Full Review Source: Movie Dearest
Movie Dearest

Neil Barsky's contentious documentary turns into a celebratory eulogy for the outspoken, opportunistic octogenarian.

March 2, 2013 Full Review Source: SSG Syndicate
SSG Syndicate

Barsky gained Koch's cooperation on the film -- the filmmaker interviewed his subject extensively -- yet his portrait of the man shows both his good and bad sides.

March 1, 2013 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine
Paste Magazine

The former mayor is an alert onscreen presence, but the film surrounding him is not always so lively.

February 28, 2013 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle

The rise and fall from grace of a good Jewish boy gone bad who ostensibly sold out the Big Apple but never summoned up the courage to come out of the closet.

February 10, 2013 Full Review Source: AALBC.com
AALBC.com

Audience Reviews for Koch

Barsky may have been a little too nice to Ed Koch with this film, but I appreciate the desire to openly examine his administration in all of it's little and big contradictions.
September 22, 2013
Alec Barniskis

Super Reviewer

Really good documentary. Seeing NYC the way I remember it growing up in the 70's and 80's was nostalgic. Just wished that they expanded a bit more on some of the issues Koch had faced during his 3-term tenure as Mayor and more of what he had done after his tenure as Mayor. Not much was shown or discussed of the latter. Enjoyed the movie nonetheless.
September 29, 2013

There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.

Discussion Forum

There are no discussion threads yet for this movie.

What's Hot On RT

The Hobbit
The Hobbit

New Desolation of Smaug trailer!

Diana Trailer
Diana Trailer

Naomi Watts is Princess Di

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

The Hangover 3, The Purge, and More

<em>The Nut Job</em>
The Nut Job

Trailer for a squirrely heist flick

Primetime Preview
Primetime Preview

See what's on TV tonight

Help | About | Jobs | Critics Submission | Press | API | Licensing | Mobile