..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Michael
Wilmington
New York, New York
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese's outstanding musical, New York, New York, was a milestone when it first appeared in 1977 (in a version 8 minutes shorter than its true form, restored in 1981 to reach its real 163-minute running time), but it has since grown in stature and importance. At first, it was so new that a lot of viewers simply didn't understand it. Most now recognize its basic artistic brilliance, depicting a self-absorbed saxophonist, played quite brilliantly by Robert De Niro, and his doomed marriage to a popular singer, played with unrestrained verve by Liza Minnelli. Since the film didn't have an easy, happy ending (it even makes fun of such expectations in one of its numbers), its success stumbled a little at first, and what Scorsese was trying to do, evoking musicals from the Forties and Fifties, but combining them with his kitchen sink realism, while not unique (emotionally, the movie seems to echo Love Me or Leave Me, although Blue Skies was its most specific model), was nevertheless something so unusual and different in its day that you needed imagination to appreciate it, and that took time to coalesce. By now, however, those factors are a given. The film traces the history of post-war jazz through the experiences of De Niro's character, and it charts the rise and fall of the pair's relationship through the sea change in pop music, as it shifted from the big band sounds-where the musicians could be together-to the focus on individual talent, where the two could no longer collaborate. The drama, though it is laden with music, runs 2 hours. When it concludes, however, it is followed by more than a half hour of uninterrupted music, creating a bridge to its epilog coda, which is set about a decade later. That structure also takes some getting used to. From a story perspective, nothing happens in the film's 'last act,' but from an emotional perspective, everything happens, because it is here that Minnelli's performance leaves its peak and soars beyond all heights.
Neither De Niro nor Minnelli will ever be as young or as energetic again as they are captured in this movie. De Niro's career still has some twists and turns to it, but this is a superb opportunity to see his youthful ambition in full play, unclouded by violence. He handles the saxophone like he sleeps with it, and Scorsese's control and editing keeps the improvisational tone of the dialog in check. His character is at times hateful, and the motivations for that aren't entirely spelled out, but De Niro handles it all masterfully, bewitching you even in the drunk scenes. You certainly see the attraction Minnelli's character has for his boyishness, and understand her willingness to put up with so much before the split.
Minnelli has one musical under her belt that is hers alone, "Cabaret," and one playful (and delightful) semi-musical that nobody saw, "Stepping Out," where she emphasizes the pixie-like character that she had established in her non-musical features. It is only in New York, New York - and so much time has passed that one can now say with certainty that it will only be in New York, New York - and probably only because the authority and force of Scorsese was backing her up and pushing her along, that she legitimately lets loose a full-out evocation of her mother, Judy Garland. There are concert videos where you can see the echoes of Garland in Minnelli's manner, and you also get that when you see her on the stage, but this is the only movie where it happens. It's deliberate-Scorsese picks camera angles that duplicate famous shots of Garland, and the Aces High sequence is almost a direct quotation of a couple Garland numbers-but it doesn't diminish or detract from Minnelli's own display of talent, and that is why her performance-and that last half hour-is so utterly thrilling. The torch isn't just passed, it explodes in front of you with fireworks.
MGM Home Entertainment has released New York, New York as a Martin Scorsese Film Collection Special Edition (1007430, $15). As Scorsese explains in a new 5-minute introduction, he intended to shoot the film in 1.33:1, but because of technological changes, he was forced to use 1.66:1 instead. That is how the movie is letterboxed for the presentation, but disastrously, no 16:9 enhancement has been enabled. When other 1.66:1 films are given 16:9 enhancement, they are simply windowboxed a little bit, so you don't loose the top and bottom on a 1.78:1 screen. It wouldn't necessarily be such a great problem, except that Laszlo Kovacs' color cinematography is very fragile, subject to blurs and grain in the best of conditions and in need of every legitimate enhancement it can receive. The colors do look fresh and fleshtones are accurate, but there are sequences where the tentativeness of the presentation can be distracting-your eyes move away from the actors to look at the instabilities surrounding them (despite this, an artistic purpose to their presence is doubtful). It was less likely to happen on a large theatrical screen, but on a smaller video screen, there's no escaping it. Although the LD looks very decent in comparison, colors are slightly but discernibly brighter on the DVD.
Intended as the rest of the movie was to tribute the post-war era, the film was originally monophonic, and that mono track is available on the DVD, but there is also a 5.1-channel Dolby Digital track, and you gotta go with it, the music is just too glorious to keep chained to the center of the room. There is also a Spanish track in mono, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles ("Voilà le match de base-ball/Que j'ai perdu, et comment/Je suis allé à la batte au début/ Pensant que mon équipe gagnait/Maintenant je suis au tour de battle final/Score: Un gros zero…"), two trailers, and a still frame collection of ad materials, storyboards and production photos (substantially smaller than the LD's collection).
Scorsese recorded a commentary track intercut with critic Carrie Rickey for the LD, and that track has been retained for the DVD. It starts out terrifically. Scorsese bubbles with enthusiasm as he talks about the influences that led him to design and make the film, about his early experiences in Hollywood, and about his technical approaches to a number of different problems. Rickey weighs in with a strong analysis of the film's structure and the conflict between De Niro's character, whose life and art are improvisational and Minnelli's character. Her life and art, in return, are carefully structured (this dichotomy is reflected in the film's title, which of course identifies an uncontrollable city attempting to cohabitate with an otherwise lovely and almost regal state). After the first hour or so, unfortunately, the talks trail off, leading to longer and longer gaps between comments. Rickey's statements become less significant ("So many of the conflicts in New York, New York take place in a car or a taxi. It is as though Jimmy and Francine are one automobile and two drivers always battling for control.") and Scorsese only pipes up for the most important scenes, such as the rehearsal sequence and the "Happy Endings" number.
Finally, there are 19 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes (most of which appeared on the LD) that include some very funny sequences, some chilling dramatic moments, and a flat 'happy' ending. There is an amusing bit about a souvenir grenade in the opening sequence, a very funny look at a musician's union hall, and more material involving Mary Kay Place including one number that she sings so well the filmmakers probably left it out because it conflicted with the need to make her character look foolish.
And then there is the key scene, in the center of the film, where Minnelli's character tells De Niro's character that she is pregnant. That scene has a codicil that did not make the final cut but is included in the outtakes. Its absence from the movie is highly curious, because not only is it a stunning moment, but it also forecasts, in counterpoint, the ending of the film and seems to summarize the theme, put succinctly, that two individuals cannot sustain both romance and success. On perhaps the film's starkest set, the two argue about her return to New York because of her pregnancy and how it will affect their band, though neither character realizes that from a career standpoint the artistic exposure New York offers will be highly beneficial to the advancement of each. They hug, the heroine says that she wants the hero to be happy and he responds that he is, though his voice and expression contain reservations that will soon dominate the remainder of the movie. In the outtake, however, De Niro's character relaxes, rising to his responsibility and genuinely reassuring her that things will be okay. The tension relieved and their conflict solved for the moment, he walks away and Minnelli's character calls out after him, "Jimmy, if I never tell you again, I love you forever." It is then that you really become aware of how empty and lonely the set around her is.
April 5, 2005
DVD Roundup: This Week's DVD Releases
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