My month long Martin Scorsese marathon: New York, New York

Watching this movie, I couldn't help but think of Steven Spielberg's 1941. Both Scorsese and Spielberg are about the same age. Both grew up movie geeks. Both got thier start at about the same time. Both had careers that kinda mirrored each other up to that point. There was thier warm-up period (Duel for Spielberg; Who's That Knocking for Scorsese), the comedy-dramas about blonde mothers trying to make the best of a bad situation (Sugarland Express for Spielberg; Alice Doesn't Live Here for Scorsese), both had thier big breaks (Jaws for Spielberg; Mean Streets for Scorsese) and both had thier proof that they weren't one-hit wonders (Close Encounters for Spielberg; Taxi Driver for Scorsese). And then, success seemed to get to both of thier heads, because they both went on to make big budget, old Hollywood throwbacks that took place during World War II. New York New York was the first time Scorsese was told he could do whatever he wanted for however much it would cost. And like 1941 for Spielberg, NYNY was a humbling experince for Scorsese. Spielberg got depressed, took a year off, and made Raiders of the Lost Ark, which led to E.T, which many refer to as his masterpiece. Scorsese on the other hand, got depressed, finished The Last Waltz, almost killed himself with cocaine and then made Raging Bull, which many consisder HIS masterpiece. See the similarities, or am I just crazy?

Anyways, New York New York isn't bad, but it's definately TOO LONG. There was a really great two hour film in there somewhere. But as is, it's a pretty good two hour and fourty minute film. Liza Minelli is great to watch as a performer, and this is coming from someone who couldn't care less about showtunes. Robert DeNiro sticks out like a sore thumb, but I mean that in a good way. It really is as if someone took an old-timey Hollywood musical like Singin' in the Rain, and suddenly injected Travis Bickle into it. It's kinda trippy if you think about it. The script manages to avoid all the typical "behind the scenes of a music act" cliches. All throughout the movie, I was expecting Jimmy to become an alcoholic or a drug addict or start hitting Francine, or for Francine to cheat on Jimmy or have a miscarriage or something. I was pleasantly surprised when this wasn't the case, but bored to tears when not much else happened. What we're left with is several great performances, great set design, great musical numbers and a whole lot of boring filler.