I never knew that the classic Frank Sinatra, New York, New York song was sung for the very first time in this film by Liza Minnelli. The song was written specially for this movie. It just shows how something recent can become considered as an old standard so quickly!
New York, New York is a gritty studio bound musical drama directed by Martin Scorsese. He was coked up at the time and having an affair with Liza Minnelli. This might explain why the film is such a mess with a narrative that is all over the place.
The film opens on the night of V-J Day in New York. Jimmy Doyle (De Niro) wearing an Hawaiian shirt goes to a nightclub to hit on a woman, any woman whether she is married, got a boyfriend sitting next to her. It did not matter to him. He relentlessly ask girls he does not know for their telephone numbers.
Doyle then sees USO singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) seated at a table alone and pesters her relentlessly. The film has already made its initial mistake. Doyle is a sex pest, a creep, a louse.
It gets worse, Doyle goes from hotel to hotel running up debts. He pretends to be an injured soldier. Doyle also is a saxophonist who gets into arguments with promoters and club owners. Yet somehow Francine falls for him and they become an act performing in nightclubs.
The film never addresses that Doyle could be bi-polar or is some kind of manic depressive who acts on impulse. Doyle and Francine suddenly get married and they have a volatile, even an abusive relationship. The marriage destructs when Francine becomes pregnant.
The film becomes something different in the latter stages, as Francine becomes a hit musical star. In this long segment we see Liza Minnelli perform (or should I say, shout) show tunes that would be at home in those 1940s and 1950s MGM musicals. This includes New York, New York.
Well Scorsese certainly gave his own original tribute to the Hollywood musicals of yesteryear. The film is never coherent in narrative and style. In places the film is dull. Most of the supporting characters are never fleshed out or look uneasy in acting roles such as Clarence Clemons. It is a misfire but it's not without interest. There were instances of Scorsese trying to emulate Powell & Pressburger.
The biggest problem was making de Niro to be such a psycho jerk. I never bought him once as a saxophone player or someone who could even lead a band.
New York, New York is a gritty studio bound musical drama directed by Martin Scorsese. He was coked up at the time and having an affair with Liza Minnelli. This might explain why the film is such a mess with a narrative that is all over the place.
The film opens on the night of V-J Day in New York. Jimmy Doyle (De Niro) wearing an Hawaiian shirt goes to a nightclub to hit on a woman, any woman whether she is married, got a boyfriend sitting next to her. It did not matter to him. He relentlessly ask girls he does not know for their telephone numbers.
Doyle then sees USO singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) seated at a table alone and pesters her relentlessly. The film has already made its initial mistake. Doyle is a sex pest, a creep, a louse.
It gets worse, Doyle goes from hotel to hotel running up debts. He pretends to be an injured soldier. Doyle also is a saxophonist who gets into arguments with promoters and club owners. Yet somehow Francine falls for him and they become an act performing in nightclubs.
The film never addresses that Doyle could be bi-polar or is some kind of manic depressive who acts on impulse. Doyle and Francine suddenly get married and they have a volatile, even an abusive relationship. The marriage destructs when Francine becomes pregnant.
The film becomes something different in the latter stages, as Francine becomes a hit musical star. In this long segment we see Liza Minnelli perform (or should I say, shout) show tunes that would be at home in those 1940s and 1950s MGM musicals. This includes New York, New York.
Well Scorsese certainly gave his own original tribute to the Hollywood musicals of yesteryear. The film is never coherent in narrative and style. In places the film is dull. Most of the supporting characters are never fleshed out or look uneasy in acting roles such as Clarence Clemons. It is a misfire but it's not without interest. There were instances of Scorsese trying to emulate Powell & Pressburger.
The biggest problem was making de Niro to be such a psycho jerk. I never bought him once as a saxophone player or someone who could even lead a band.