Review #158: 'New York, New York' (1977)

V-J Day in 1945, saxophonist Jimmy Doyle (Robert De Niro) is mercilessly pestering girls for phone numbers. He eventually spots Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) sat on her own and so he begins working on getting her number, but she refuses. After an eventful night, the two end up sharing a cab, and Francine ends up joining Jimmy at his saxophone audition. She also begins to sing, and the two and snapped up as a double act. And so begins a journey through the glitzy heights of 1940's and 50's showbiz, as the two fall in and out of love and experience the highs and lows of the business.

Martin Scorsese's epic homage to the musicals of the 1950's was originally cut down from four and a half hours to just over two hours for its cinematic release, only to be panned by critics. It was then re-released years later with 20 minutes of footage restored, to critical acclaim. The section that was restored was the musical number that showed a film-within-the-film called 'Happy Endings', that Minnelli's character stars in. Much like the long ballet sequence in 1948's The Red Shoes (clearly an influence here - one of De Niro's alias' is M. Powell), it's a dazzling twenty minutes that looks less like a homage and more like a scene taken directly from an MGM musical. Mr. Scorsese clearly knows his cinema.

Yet when the film is not pleasing the eyes with the musical numbers and sweeping cinematography, we are forced to sit through the breakdown of a poisonous marriage between two generally unlikeable characters. Jimmy and Francine are both fiercely career-driven, and the film shows how damaging this can be, but De Niro's egotistical musician is virtually the same character that was developed better in the likes of Mean Streets (1973) and Raging Bull (1980). Minnelli, an actress/singer I've always failed to see the appeal in, is just not good enough to breath life into her already thinly-realised character.

However there is much to admire. Nobody can capture the spirit of the old films like Scorsese can, and he goes some way homaging the likes of Singin' In The Rain (1952) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). The sets, cinematography, camera movements and every else in the technical sense are excellent. It's only the story that is lacking. It seems to be determined to be labelled an 'epic', but the 160+ minute running time does not have enough going for it to hold the attention that long.


Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli, Lionel Stander, Barry Primus
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie