In the back room at the Club 4100, at Edison and 4th streets in Brooklyn, movie director Barry Levinson moves among some old football fans, a bunch of dog-eared photographs and the lingering remnants of an era that’s starting to seem as distant as some starry galaxy, and asks a simple question: What is it about this town?

He’s asking the question for a documentary he’s shooting here for ESPN. Executives at the television sports network approached him several months back and said: Do something for us. Whatever you like.