Stardust Memories

In my opinion, Stardust Memories is Allen's greatest achievement. The film perceptively explores the relationships between art and reality, between the artist and his work, between the work and its consumers. Beyond its philosophic concerns though, this is also an incredibly funny film. There are more genuinely funny moments within this serious film than in many of Allen's earlier pure comedies. It skewers the movie industry, the movie-going public, Allen's own earlier work, Allen's present insecurities (surprise!), and a number of other targets. Intelligent, thought provoking, and at times hilarious, this film is an overlooked gem in the Allen canon.

It seems that Stardust Memories does not get the credit that it truly deserves. Everyone has such distaste for this film because they thought that this was an autobiography and it was Woody's attack on his fans/critics. Woody himself has said many times that this is not the case, but even if it were, I believe that the fans/critics deserve to be lowered down a peg. After all, Woody's interpretation of his fans (via Fellini's style of awkward and hilarious faces) is valid. Fans and critics alike should never have verbally abused him so much after the release of Interiors (1978). Why should directors be type-casted? Let him have his freedom! After all, Interiors wasn't such a bad movie. It was different, but not bad. Stardust Memories has also been accused of Woody's most self-indulgent film, but this is an outrage. All of Woody's films have something to do with his personal life, but if he had casted someone like John Cusack as Sandy Bates, then everyone would have stopped complaining about it's self-indulgence and start understanding how much of a creative genius Woody Allen is. Overall, Stardust Memories will be one of his films that lasts; but only time will tell.

Reading some of the comments listed here, I'm dismayed by some of the narrowness of the criticisms ("It's shot in black & white for no reason!" "The flashbacks are indistinguishable from the present day!")... as if these were somehow to be construed as mistakes. Jeez.

I love this film. It rambles a little here and there, and sometimes it's so personal I feel voyeuristic watching it. The montage of Charlotte Rampling towards the end is stunning in how it summarizes Allen's feelings about memory, nostalgia, and the ever-present reality that never seems to allow the past to make sense.

One cannot deny that Allen has a very keen understanding of who he is, as a person, comedian, and lover. This is not to say that he is infallible or somehow more evolved than anyone else, but rather - through the retrospective of his "earlier funny films" - it's clear that he understands his strengths, and - outside the theatre - the weaknesses of his emotional life.

A perfect film for a quiet Sunday.

The problem with Woody has always been that everyone takes his movies more seriously than he does. Here, using the tactics of Felini, he makes fools of his detractors including the greatest detractor of all, Woody himself. For many reasons, I rank this among his best. He removes the restraint of plot, and just goes balls out nuts with his usual philosophical angst, and endless worship of beautiful dames. Oddly enough, without the fetters of convention, to me it was actually less pretentious or indulgent I think people like to call it, and a lot easier to understand and empathize with. One thing that I've always found absurd, and ironically what this film dwells on, is the complaints by fans and critics that he should go back to making comedies. Woody cannot not make a funny movie. If he's in it, and he's talking, I'm laughing. Especially back in this era, when his jokes were so fresh. So make no mistake, this film is loaded with comedy. Finally, I liked his choice of women in this. Charlotte Rampling is what I suppose the word breathtaking was originally meant to describe. If you arent touched by the final scenes with her, you got issues.

Only a filmmaking genius like Woody Allen could bring such viable characters to the screen with such life and perception. Allen (who also scripted) is Sandy Bates, an acclaimed, world-reknowned director who attends a weekend festival honoring his works. When he's not being bombarded by mobs of autograph hounds and PR people, he takes time to reflect on himself and the three diverse women in his life: drug-abusing actress Dorrie (Charlotte Rampling), wistful violinist Daisy (Jessica Harper, who also appeared in Allen's "Love and Death" (1975)) and French housewife Isobel (Academy Award-nominee Marie-Christine Barrault). Loaded with the crisp dialogue that we've come to expect from Allen (Best line: "I would trade that Oscar for one more second of life"), "Stardust Memories" is noticably one of Allen's most personal films. Also, what makes "SM" unlike his other works, where his characters do a lot of interacting, the film's focus is mainly on Allen (most beautifully) interacting with himself mentally. Sharon Stone has a bit part in the beginning as a train passenger. Gordon Willis' cinematography is gorgeous. ***1/2 of ****.