50 Years Of New York Film Festival Photos

On Sunday night, Martin Scorsese's new documentary, "The 50-Year Argument," premiered at the New York Film Festival.

A retrospective on The New York Review of Books, the film seems to come with an obvious challenge: How do you make highfalutin literary and political criticism cinematically interesting? Led by the indelible editor Robert Silvers, the documentary does not tether itself to a linear origin story; through vintage video of Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer duking it out on "The Dick Cavett Show," excerpted passages from Robert Lowell, James Baldwin and Joan Didion, the impact of The Review takes on a new and palpable form on the big screen.

In a Q&A after the film, Scorsese and Silvers spoke of New York and the intellectual restlessness of 1963, the founding year of both The Review and The New York Film Festival.

Fifty some-odd years later, the kismet is shared by more than these two auteurs. To celebrate both institutions, HuffPost Entertainment compiled some of our favorite photos from the last half century of the New York Film Festival.

Film critics Daniel Rosenblatt, Pauline Kael, John Simon and Dwight Macdonald discussing New York Film Festival movies. Sept. 1, 1963 (Photo by Bob Henriques/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)

Actress Natalie Wood attends the opening of the New York Film Festival on Sept. 16, 1969 in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

1963: Gloria Vanderbilt during New York Film Festival Opening at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Lauren Hutton during Opening Night of "A Wedding" At The New York Film Festival at Avery Fisher Hall, Sept. 1978, in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

John Travolta during the 1980 New York Film Festival, Featuring "The Last Metro" at Lincoln Center in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

The actors Gerard DEPARDIEU and Catherine DENEUVE and the film-maker Francois TRUFFAUT attend the premiere of their film LE DERNIER METRO (The Last Metro) at the Festival of New York in October 1980 in the United States. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Actor Nicolas Cage and guest attend the 24th Annual NY Film Festival Closing Night - 'Peggy Sue Got Married' Screening on Oct. 5, 1986 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Actresses Jodie Foster and Jennifer Beals attend the 24th Annual New York Film Festival Opening Night 'Down by Law' screening on Sept. 19, 1986 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Bill Murray during 25th Annual New York Film Festival - Sept. 25, 1987 at Lincoln Center in New Yrok City, New York, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Robin Williams during New York Film Festival - Sept. 23, 1988 at Lincoln Center in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Steve Martin during 27th New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Singer Lyle Lovett, actress Julia Roberts and actress Susan Sarandon attend the 31st Annual New York Film Festival Opening Night - 'Short Cuts' Screening on Oct. 1, 1993 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Andie MacDowell during Opening Night of The 31st Annual New York Film Festival at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker and actor Matthew Broderick attend 31st Annual New York Film Festival - 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' Screening on Oct. 9, 1993 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Director Quentin Tarantino and date Grace Lovelace attend the 32nd Annual New York Film Festival Opening Night - 'Pulp Fiction' Screening on Sept. 23, 1994 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Actress Demi Moore and actor Bruce Willis attend the 32nd Annual New York Film Festival Opening Night - 'Pulp Fiction' Screening - After Party on Sept. 23, 1994 at Tavern on the Green in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Conan O'Brien and Lynn Kaplan during Opening Night of The 33rd Annual New York Film Festival - Opening Night at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Oct. 13, 1996: Laura Louie, Woody Harrelson and baby at the NY Film Festival Premiere of 'The People vs. Larry Flynt', Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Actress Katie Holmes and actor Adam Hann-Byrd attend the 35th Annual New York Film Festival Opening Night - 'The Ice Storm' Screening on Sept. 26, 1997 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Actress Sigourney Weaver attends the 35th Annual New York Film Festival Opening Night - 'The Ice Storm' Screening on Sept. 26, 1997 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Sept. 25, 1998: Actress Uma Thurman and husband Ethan Hawke arrive for the opening of the 36th New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center, where the movie 'Celebrity' was premiered. (Photo by The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Actress Winona Ryder attends the 36th Annual New York Film Festival Opening Night - 'Celebrity' Screening on Sept. 25, 1998 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

1999: Actors Salma Hayek, Ben Affleck and Chris Rock promote the film 'Dogma' at the New York Film Festival. (Photo by The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Director Wes Anderson at the North American Premire of Jacques Rivette's 'Va Savoir' at a post opening night of the New York Film Festival dinner at Tavern on The Green in New York City on Sept. 28, 2001. photo by Gabe Palacio/ImageDirect

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Justin Theroux during NY Film Festival Sponsored by Grand Marnier - Mulholland Drive Premiere at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by J. Vespa/WireImage)

Oct. 2001: Martin Scorsese during NY Film Festival - Night of the Hunter Screening & 1st FIAF Award for preservation to Martin Scorsese at Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by J. Vespa/WireImage)

Director Martin Scorsese attends the 'The 50 Year Argument' premiere during the 52nd New York Film Festival at Walter Reade Theater on Sept. 28, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)

Helen Scorsese, Martin Scorsese, Robert B. Silvers, David Tedeschi, Rea Hederman, and Margaret Bodde attend the 'The 50 Year Argument' premiere during the 52nd New York Film Festival at Walter Reade Theater on Sept. 28, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)

"The 50-Year Argument" airs Sept. 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO.

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