#22 - New York, New York

Oh boy, a little old school Marty Scorsese and Bobby D. He's the little one with the saxophone. Liza Minelli is the large one. Now follow me here, he is the sax player, and she is the one with the words, otherwise known as lyrics, because she is the singer. Turns out they are the two characters set for fame and fortune in the world of New York showbiz. Its an interesting story about two people with seperate dreams for the big time and what can result when a person sacrifices their dreams in order to fulfill anothers.

Okay, so that's not exactly what this movie is about. Sure, it's part of it, but I think it's just an element of the real point of the movie, which is the interaction and relationship of the two characters. I think it's as much of an element as Bobby D being the band leader and Liza just a singer but wanting some creative input. It's as much an element as who should get top billing, the singer or the band leader. All of these things help to build the tension between these two characters.

Now, I am not the biggest Liza Minelli fan, but I realize that I haven't seen too much of her work so its a preconceived bias without much of anything to back it up. It didnt really help that for the majority of this film she is pretty submissive to DeNiro's dominating character. I wanted her to stand up for herself so damn much that it was frustrating to watch at times. But it did make the scene in the car when she finally lets loose on him that much more powerful. It was a tremendous scene purely for the intensity and strength needed to go where she went. I was impressed. She was submissive no more and from then on was her own woman. Nice to see.

This is the first movie I received from a Martin Scorsese box set, so there are three more of his films to come. If you wanna do research to find out which ones because you are giddy with anticipation and can't wait to see whats coming(I'm talking to you Beth), then by all means, check it out. This wasn't a bad start for what's going to be a look into early Marty S's work. I think that the film was a bit longer than it really needed to be. The stage production towards the end didn't help, but that's only because I am not a big fan of musicals. It actually fits in this movie. Also, these characters could have been placed anywhere with a little script adjustment. I don't think iit really mattered that they were in showbiz. Having said that, they did a good job making showbiz an impetus for much of the action. Enough of this, I'm gonna go watch General Zod fight Superman.