The Terminal Bar is a short documentary film made up of black and white photographs. The photographs were all taken by a man named Sheldon Nadelman and was then produced by Stefan Nadelman, Sheldon’s son.

Sheldon Nadelman was a bartender at the Terminal Bar. He documented the customers who came into the bar, and the surrounding area all between the years 1972 to 1982. Sheldon Nadelman narrates parts of the film telling us about the customers and their lives, allowing the audience to go back in time and get an understanding of what the Terminal Bar was really like.

The music used in the film is upbeat which keeps the viewer engaged. The photos all move and change in rhythm to the beat creating an effortless flow in the short film. The use of newspaper cut outs also supports what the narrator is saying and adds a more realistic view to Nadelman’s film.

Towards the end of the short film Sheldon Nadelman revisits the location of where the Terminal Bar used to be as it had changed into a video store. This links back to why Sheldon Nadelman was taking photos to begin with; “If you don’t put it down on paper, no one knows.” he says. He was showing us how the bar was constantly changing. From being a bar that was notorious for having rough customers, to how it became known as a gay bar and then shutting down, turning into a video store.

Overall, I enjoyed the film however it wasn’t to my taste, but what I take away from the film is to continuously document my own work.