NEW YORK, NEW YORK (1977) C widescreen 163m dir: Martin Scorsese
w/Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli, Lionel Stander, Mary Kay Place, George Memmoli, Murray Moston, Barry Primus, Georgie Auld, Dick Miller, Leonard Gaines
From Variety's review of the film: "Taking Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro from their first meeting after VJ Day, film proceeds slowly and deliberately through their struggle to make it as a band singer and saxophonist and as a marriage in which her voice is early acclaimed while his music is ahead of its time. The two are making it pretty good until her pregnancy sidelines her. ...
"In a final outburst from Old Hollywood, Minnelli tears into the title song and it's a wowser. [In 1989, an uncut 163-min. version was released on home video, including the musical number Happy Endings]"
From The Movie Guide: "Martin Scorsese's attempt at making an old-fashioned musical, NEW YORK NEW YORK never found much of an audience, but remains a visually fascinating rumination on the genre. ...
"NEW YORK, NEW YORK cost almost $9 million, and it's uneven in spots --- the result of being drastically edited from its original four-hour length (among the slashes was the 12-minute, $300,000 'Happy Endings' production number, later reinserted for the film's 1981 rerelease). Nevertheless, the film is a treat for the ears as well as the eyes. De Niro gives an outstanding performance, masterfully conveying Jimmy's vanity, selfishness, and egotism. Minnelli is nothing less than brilliant, more than deserving of an Oscar nomination that never came her way. Place (THE BIG CHILL, television's 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman') got her first big break here, and longtime Roger Corman favorite Miller, comic Gaines, and rotund Memmoli all contribute fine work."