Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writer:

Robert Getchell (written by)

Release Date:

30 May 1975 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A picture for anyone who has ever dreamed of a second chance!

Plot:

A recently widowed woman on the road with her precocious young son, determined to make a new life for herself as a singer.

Plot Keywords:

Phoenix Arizona | Singer | Spouse | Waitress | Piano

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Mia Bendixsen	...	Alice, Age 8
Ellen Burstyn	...	Alice Hyatt
Alfred Lutter III	...	Tommy (as Alfred Lutter)
Billy Green Bush	...	Donald
Lelia Goldoni	...	Bea
Ola Moore	...	Old Woman
Harry Northup	...	Joe & Jim's Bartender
Martin Brinton	...	Lenny
Dean Casper	...	Chicken
Murray Moston	...	Jacobs
Harvey Keitel	...	Ben
Lane Bradbury	...	Rita
Diane Ladd	...	Flo
Vic Tayback	...	Mel
Valerie Curtin	...	Vera

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:AA (cinema rating) | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Amado, Arizona, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Diane Ladd's daughter Laura Dern can be seen in the final diner scene - she is the little blonde girl with glasses sitting at the end of the counter eating an ice cream cone.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the alarm clock goes off, Alice knocks it to the floor. Alice goes back to sleep and some short time later, without either her or Tommy having moved in the bed, the alarm clock has returned to the nightstand.

Quotes:

Tommy Hyatt: Shoot the dog. Shoot the dog. Shoot the dog.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Erin Brockovich (2000)

Soundtrack:

All the Way from Memphis

Flo, Vera and Mel

When I was younger, my sister and I would spend countless hours each day watching television. One of the programs we found ourselves glued to was Alice. For those who may not remember the show too clearly, one phrase may help jog your memory... "Kiss my grits!" If that didn't help, you probably have never seen the show (or as some folks may say... "it was before my time.")

Anyway... last night I saw a film titled Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Upon starting the movie, all I knew about it was that it was directed by the great Martin Scorsese, and that it was about a widowed wife and her son who drive across the country. To my great surprise, the character Alice is the same character from the TV sitcom. I didn't put two and two together until halfway through the film when it showed the diner with Mel and the other two waitresses. It was fun to see the other characters like Flo, Vera and Mel (the movie's Mel was the same actor as the TV show's Mel). Many of the elements were similar between television and movie; the only noticeable difference was the tone. On television, the show was a sitcom comedy made to get a good laugh every few minutes.

The film, however, was a bit more serious because of various real life situations (relationships, child upbringing, death).

This coincidence made things much more interesting as the film continued. Don't get me wrong, the movie was pretty damn good already; I just seemed to enjoy it a bit more when I started putting the pieces together. Scorsese, once again, showed his incredible directing skills. He was able to bring the viewer into the extreme pain and desperation of the main character, while at the same time, show the positive things in Alice's life through his use of color and cinematography.

Overall, the film was enjoyable because it was quite heart warming (in contrast to the more famous gangster type films by Scorsese). It made me wish that either the television show were still on syndication, or that I get to chance to see this film sometime again.