Dark, narrow, confining, covered with graffiti, dangerous, and the sort of place one runs into unsavory characters?it's not surprising that filmmakers over the years have used alleys as a shortcut to visually impart everything they are trying to say about life in the big city. As urban life, particularly in NYC, has become safer, real estate and economic pressures have endangered the existence of the dark passages that filmmakers use as cinematic shorthand. [WSJ]
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