Composer:
Carmine CoppolaCast:
Woody Allen, Mae Questel, Mia Farrow, Larry David, Mike Starr, Julie Kavner, Heather McComb, Talia Shire, Giancarlo Giannini, Adrien Brody, Kirsten Dunst (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
NEW YORK STORIES is a feature-length film consisting of three shorts directed by Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Woody Allen. The stories are linked only by their New York City setting and show three very different facets of New York life. Scorsese's "Life Lessons" is the bittersweet tale of an aging Abstract Expressionist painter whose young live-in girlfriend and artistic protégée decides to leave him just as he's preparing for an important gallery opening. Tired of living in the shadow of her famous lover and disappointed in her own lack of artistic talent, the girl torments him with tantrums and brazen acts of infidelity as the painter furiously attempts to fill his canvases in time for his show. Coppola's "Life Without Zoe" is a candy-coated look at the life of a poor little rich girl who resides alone at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel under the care of a butler while her neglectful parents flit around the world. Zoe attends fanciful parties with other fabulously wealthy children and becomes involved in the search for a pair of missing diamond earrings that eventually reunites her with her parents. "Oedipus Wrecks" is Woody Allen's comic nightmare about a 50-year-old man still suffocated by his overbearing Jewish mother. When she disappears mysteriously one day, he thinks his troubles are over--until she reappears as a giant apparition looming in the sky above Manhattan. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (5)
In this short story showdown, in my eyes, Woody Allen is the clear winner, closely followed by Martin Scorsese, with Francis Ford Coppola trailing behind. This might have been slightly influenced by the fact that he's the only one of the three who wasn't born in New York City. Since Woody Allen really amused me with his excellent satire about his ever-supervising mother, I reflected this in the final rating by adding one extra star.
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A loose sequence of unconnected short stories, some of which are quite good, some of which are terrible. Francis Ford Coppola’s in particular is among the latter. Overall, it’s weak.
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Three short stories directed by three masters. Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Francis Ford Coppola. Martin Scorsese shows what a talent he has for strong characters and how well he manages their destinies. The painter played by Nick Nolte is excellent. Woody Allen once again plays his neurotic self, but in this case, he is unbelievably charming, primarily thanks to his film mom. And finally, Francis Ford Coppola, who also does not disappoint, but it's as if he doesn't quite fit with the other two. After all, Scorsese and Allen have New York much more ingrained in them, both through life experiences (Coppola is from Detroit) and cinematically.
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Given the population of New York, it is possible to compare the creation of a film to a situation when a producer challenges three directors who shoot in different styles and for a different audience to create something. The individual stories would stand on their own at least among fans of the respective director, but together it doesn't work and moreover, I have a feeling that in neither case is it a piece that stands high amongst the works of the directors. All three stories have a certain detachment and elements of humor of varying intensity. Although I am a fan of Woody Allen, I was most intrigued by Scorsese's story. Overall impression: 60%.
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Weak to extremely weak. Scorsese follows the romance between an artist and his muse in the form of Nick and Rosanna. Coppola gives a chance to his daughter Sofia, who's been toiling away as a screenwriter... and finally, Allen makes another variation on whatever Mia was in (and as a bonus, destroys the comedic talents of Mae Questel). We also get to see a tiny Kirsten Dunst as an extra in the role of Mia’s daughter. Oh, dear. Well, everyone has to start somewhere.
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