New York, New York (1977)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Earl Mac Rauch (screenplay) and
Mardik Martin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

The war was over and the world was falling in love again.

Plot:

An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.

Plot Keywords:

Musician | City Name In Title | Race Relations | Hospital Scene | Black White Relations

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Liza Minnelli	...	Francine Evans
Robert De Niro	...	Jimmy Doyle
Lionel Stander	...	Tony Harwell
Barry Primus	...	Paul Wilson
Mary Kay Place	...	Bernice Bennett
Georgie Auld	...	Frankie Harte
George Memmoli	...	Nicky
Dick Miller	...	Palm Club owner
Murray Moston	...	Horace Morris
Lenny Gaines	...	Artie Kirks
Clarence Clemons	...	Cecil Powell
Kathi McGinnis	...	Ellen Flannery
Norman Palmer	...	Hotel Desk Clerk
Adam David Winkler	...	Jimmy Doyle Jr
Dimitri Logothetis	...	Hotel Desk Clerk

Runtime:

155 min | USA:163 min (1981 re-issue)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Netherlands:AL | Brazil:10 | USA:PG (certificate #24960) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | West Germany:6 (w) | UK:PG | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Ballroom, Park Plaza Hotel - 607 S. Park View Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions

Trivia:

Originally four and a half hours long. Director Martin Scorsese cut it to 153 minutes, then to 136 minutes. In 1981 some material (mainly the 'Happy Endings' sequence) was restored and the film became 163 minutes long.

Quotes:

Francine: That was it! That was you proposal, get your coat on, put your shoes on, lets go, lets go, lets go, that was it!
Jimmy: Whats wrong with that?

Movie Connections:

References On the Town (1949)

Soundtrack:

You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me

Does Marty love 'em or hate 'em?

There *are* things to love in NYNY. But over and over again I kept coming back to this thought: does director Martin Scorsese (a genius storyteller) really love musicals, or is he, in fact, satirizing them here? I can't find any other explanation for the creation of a leading character (DeNiro) so self-absorbed, rude, brutish, and jealous of his future wife's (Minnelli) growing fame, while at the same time trying so hard to establish his own fortune with a tenor sax. It's like there's a highly pitched voice of reason trying to remind the audience that in real life, people aren't so happy as they always seem to be in musicals. I know everyone doesn't love (some of you proudly hate) musicals, but usually one can find something redeeming in the characters who populate the stories. For 2 1/2 hours of film, we are presented with a love story which borders on spousal abuse, and somehow be expected to care about the husband. It doesn't work. And yet, Scorsese bends over backward to recreate the 1940's musical/big band atmosphere, from Hawaiian shirts and two-tone spectator shoes to sumptuous big band pieces, not to mention a charming pair of dancers (channeling Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen?) spotted on a subway ledge or a sultry torch singer in a Harlem nightclub (a cameoed Diahnne Abbott, whose 11th-hour performance of 'Honeysuckle Rose' tips a well-fitted hat to Billie Holiday). One critic seemed to personally resent the channeling of mother Garland through daughter Minnelli (particularly in the supper club where the title song is stunningly performed with all guns blazing), but I think that was very much on purpose. Even though she got much bigger acclaim for "Cabaret," I think Minnelli reached the peak of her musical talents in this film. I loved her. I just didn't love them, and unfortunately, that kept me from loving the whole project. Watch it on DVD, and skip to your favorite parts.