New York, New York
Short description
Martin Scorsese's New York, New York centres on Jimmy Doyle, a saxophonist, and Francine Evans, a singer, who meet in New York in 1945 as the city celebrates the end of the war. Their romance begins amid the nightlife of the era, and the two eventually marry and perform together in the world of big bands. Tensions grow as their careers move at different speeds, with Francine's success pulling her toward Hollywood while Jimmy clings to the life of a musician playing small clubs.
The film stars Robert De Niro as Jimmy and Liza Minnelli as Francine, with supporting turns from Lionel Stander, Barry Primus, Mary Kay Place and George Memmoli. Scorsese directed from a screenplay by Mardik Martin, Earl Mac Rauch and Fred Ebb, with Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff producing. It followed Taxi Driver in Scorsese's filmography and came before The Last Waltz, the seventh of 38 features he has directed.
The production carried a budget of 14 million dollars and returned 16 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.6 out of 10 from around 24,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.5 from roughly 500 votes. A critics' rating of 6.8 from 50 reviews places it slightly above both audience scores. The film runs 163 minutes.
What's left behind the scenes
- To look more convincing on screen, Robert De Niro spent three months learning to play the saxophone. Unfortunately, an experienced saxophonist, Georgie Auld (1919-1990), who played the role of the bandleader in the film, actually performed the saxophone parts.
- Steven Prince, who played the role of the producer, himself became the director while filming one of the scenes, when Martin Scorsese argued with Robert De Niro and, in a rage, left the set.
- According to Liza Minnelli and Martin Scorsese, almost all of the dialogue in the film was improvised.
- The blonde who danced with the sailor in front of Robert De Niro was played by Liza Minnelli, but wearing a wig.
- Initially, the film was 4.5 hours long, but Martin Scorsese reduced it to 2 hours and 33 minutes, and then further cut it down to 2 hours and 16 minutes. In 1981, some of the cut scenes were restored, bringing the film's duration to 2 hours and 43 minutes.
- The fight in the taxi between the characters played by Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro got out of control, resulting in both of them – along with director Martin Scorsese – ending up in the hospital emergency room.
- The entire film was shot using a 32mm camera.
- Producer Julia Phillips (1944-2002) played a cameo role at the beginning of the film as a girl flirting with Robert De Niro's character. After filming wrapped, she asked permission to take the black evening dress for herself, which Martin Scorsese granted, but instructed her to pay for it.
- During filming, Vladimir Vysotsky (1938-1980) performed for the cast and crew, making his only trip to the United States.
- During the filming of this movie, Liza Minnelli used her mother Judy Garland's (1922-1969) old makeup room and the services of her makeup artist Sydney Guilarov (1907-1997), and worked in an old soundstage at MGM Studios.
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