Part of Music City Mondays
Jimmy Doyle (Robert De Niro), an aspiring saxophone player, meets established USO band singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) during V-J Day celebrations at the end of World War II. The two become a musical double act and — more importantly — fall in love, and fall apart. Inspired by the musicals of his parents’ generation, director Martin Scorsese eschewed the on-location New York of his own TAXI DRIVER in favor of the same MGM backlots where Liza’s father Vincente Minnelli directed some of his best-known musicals to great effect — and recruited Minnelli’s go-to songwriters to pen new songs, the title theme of which would go on to become Frank Sinatra’s signature tune. Though now reevaluated in the context of Scorsese’s lengthy and varied filmography, reception at the time of release was mixed and the end result was, as the director quipped to Rolling Stone, “more personal than I thought it would be” — and likely boggled by the director’s cocaine use at the time (both while making NEW YORK, NEW YORK and his other film from the same year, THE LAST WALTZ). Presented subsequent to LIZA, the new documentary about Liza Minnelli, this opportunity to behold this grand spectacle in 35mm is certainly one way to kick off the spring.
See also: LIZA, (Mon, Feb 24 at 8:00pm)
“This unwieldy, ultimately quite moving musical epic is essentially about the creation of one song, and the pain that was required to forge it. In other words, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, like most Scorsese films, is about the trials and glories of making art.” —Chuck Brown, Slant Magazine “Scorsese's tribute/parody/critique of the MGM musical is a razor-sharp dissection of the conventions of both meeting-cute romances and rags-to-riches biopics…. Superbly scored, beautifully designed by Boris Leven to highlight the genre's artificiality, and performed to perfection.” —Time Out “It was the director’s first critical and commercial flop. But as per usual, Scorsese was ahead of his time, incorporating freeform East Coast film acting with the opulent fakery of the classic studio production, complete with giant sets, musical numbers and a cast of thousands…. More than a fascinating misfire, it’s a rare and telling glimpse into a legendary filmmaker’s fiercely guarded soul.” —Damon Wise, Empire Magazine
