Rating: PG
Genre:
Comedy Drama
Theatrical Release: 03/01/1989(USA)
Release Date: 04/08/2003
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: French/English
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 124 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: Walt Disney Video
The omnibus film
New York Stories is the product of three powerhouse filmmakers. The film is divided into three stories, each exploring a different aspect of life in the Big Apple.
Life Lessons, directed by
Martin Scorcese, is a
Dostoevsky-like tale of the rarefied Art World, with
Nick Nolte as a self-indulgent abstractionist who loves
Rosanna Arquette, but can't bring himself to lie to her about her negligible artistic talents.
Life Without Zoe, directed by
Francis Ford Coppola, is more than a little reminiscent of
Kay Thompson's
Eloise stories, with 12-year-old Zoe (
Heather McComb) running amok at the Sherry-Netherland hotel while her parents are embarked upon a world-girdling vacation. The last and is
Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks, wherein a schnooky lawyer (guess who?) inadvertently "creates" the Jewish Mother From Hell: thanks to a misguided magic trick, Allen's mama (the incomparable
Mae Questel) becomes a huge spectral vision on the New York skyline, telling everyone within earshot about her son's inadequacies. The cinematographer lineup on
New York Stories includes
Nestor Almendros,
Vittorio Storaro and
Sven Nykvist.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
