A mixture of hit and miss tales, comedic, tragic and sometimes more of a fantasy than "Harry Potter", this outrageous stew of New York goulash is worth seeing for a few segments, a few memorable character bits and most of all, memory of a time where technology didn't ruin your morning commute. Set in 1996 (based upon stories submitted in 1995), this features advertisements of Broadway shows which were playing that year ("Big" prominently featured; "Phantom" nowhere in sight), and a collection of characters whom only New Yorkers and a few select others can understand.We can all relate to Bill Irwin's plight of ending up on an empty car (reeking of a bag featuring an undisclosed stench) or the con-games of a small percentage of pan-handlers. There's also a sexually aggressive woman who won't talk but basically gets a cheap thrill every morning for months from a well-dressed (and newly married) businessman that wreaks of being totally gratuitous. More touching is the beat-up young man who finds compassion from an older woman (the unforgettable Mercedes Ruehl) who refers to him as an angel in a scene that only hints of a sexual encounter but other than their kissing never goes there. A disrespected nightrider (the outlandish Rosie Perez) gets vengeance on a drunken masher in the middle of the night, while some rowdy passengers realize that a young woman singing on the telephone isn't your standard New York whack-a-doodle. A morning rider (Gregory Hines) looks concerned over at an obviously pregnant woman he believes is about to jump onto the tracks as a train approaches. A young couple have two different conversations at once and she storms off, convinced he doesn't give two crap-loads about her political feelings, or even her feelings at all, and the follow-up with her brief conversation with a passenger in another car on the same subway. Extremely interesting is a segment between a young stock broker and an older man (the always scene-stealing Jerry Stiller) which, in the wake of 9/11 and the 2008 market crash seems a bit prophetic and is certainly more than just a bit Capra-esque. Whether or not you relate to any of these experiences (such as a paranoid white woman taking a late night train for the first time whose fear results in her being locked up overnight in a closed off exit) or of the various scary looking "creatures" whom New Yorkers know that deep inside are totally harmless, is based upon chance, but there are enough subway stories in the naked city to keep this theme going on at infinitude. While each segment has a different director, unlike other similarly multi-storied films, it never feels like its going from one place to another, but suffers from lack of believability in certain circumstances while others will win you over totally.

The New York Subway is not just a transit network: it's also a place where all sides of that city's racial divide come together, albeit not necessarily in harmony. Even I have a collection of several Subway stories, and I was only in New York for 4 days. So the idea of making a film based on the true experiences of Subway users might not appear bad. But a collection of separate short films (each by a different director) always runs the risk of going nowhere, of offering underdeveloped plots and scenes that are meaningless without context: most of these stories end undramatically when someone simply gets off the train, and feel no more exciting or complete than the tales that I sometimes bore my friends with. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, my favourite segment is 'The 5:24', which develops a proper narrative despite fitting the overall pattern of chance encounters on brief journeys. Overall, however, 'SUBWAY stories' mainly reflects its subject matter: diverse, functional, but not exactly a place you'd choose to be without a very good reason.

This was an excellent movie. I personally think it should have been put in the movie theater Well I shouldn't take it that far but it was a good movie. My Favorite actor in Subway Stories actually was Danny Hoch. I'm not even sure why, I think it was because he was cool and laid back. Where as his friend was very hype kind of rowdy and a little drunk. But even then I still liked both characters, and I think their roles fit them well. I also think it was the best story out of all ten stories, which is called "HONEY GETTER". The overall movie was put together very well, and it actually made me visit New York mind you this was my first time visiting. I checked out all the scenes where the stories were shot, and it kind of Felt as if I was in the movie it self, feeling weird like I was in my own little world. Another thing I did was went to the spot where the movie first comes on from the blimp look. It took me a while to find it bit I finally did, and the spot that they show or I should say the view is just right above Union Square. Because if you look real carefully at your tv, you'll notice the foot locker and the dirt on the side which I believe now is a movie theatre called United Artists. Well that pretty much concludes my little story and I enjoyed sharing, I hope maybe you'll notice something in the movie I didn't. And just one last thing I hope that this movie comes out on DVD I can't seem to find it anywhere.

I had the good fortune of catching Subway Stories, by accident, trying to get away from the Astronauts Wife. What a wonderful grouping of shorts. I have to say, I couldn't leave the room. Some were better than others, but they all kept my interest. Don't let this Subway pass you by.