Day 169: New York Stories

513334WT37LNew York Stories is not strictly a Woody Allen movie. It’s actually three famous directors – Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola – creating a trilogy of movies about their beloved New York City.

So each director gets, roughly, 1/3 of this 1989 movie’s two-hour length, give or take.

The first movie is “Life Lessons,” directed by Martin Scorsese, is about an abstract painter (Nick Nolte, 1941- ), who is obsessed by a pretty young ex-girlfriend (played by the very sexy Rosanna Arquette, 1959- ) and Procol Harum, whose music (especially “A Whiter Shade of Pale“) provides much of the soundtrack.

The second movie is “Life without Zoe” by Francis Ford Coppola. According to its entry on Wikipedia, “Life Without Zoe” is about,

Zoë (Heather McComb) is a schoolgirl who lives in a luxury hotel. She helps return to an Arab princess a valuable piece of jewelry that the princess had given to Zoë’s father (Giancarlo Giannini) and had been subsequently stolen and recovered. Zoë tries to reconcile her divorced mother, a photographer (Talia Shire), and father, a flute soloist.

Woody Allen’s segment of New York Stories is called “Oedipus Wrecks.”

According to its entry on Wiki, “Oedipus Wrecks” is about,

New York lawyer Sheldon (Woody Allen) has problems with his overly critical mother (Mae Questel). Sheldon complains constantly to his therapist about her, wishing aloud that she would just disappear. Sheldon takes his shiksa fiancé, Lisa (Mia Farrow), to meet his mother, who immediately embarrasses him. The three, as well as Lisa’s children from a previous marriage, go to a magic show. His mother is invited on stage to be a part of the magician’s act. She is put inside a box that has swords stuck through it and she disappears, just as she is supposed to, but then she never reappears.

Although he is furious at first, this development turns out to be great for Sheldon because, with her out of his life, he can finally relax. But soon, to his horror, his mother reappears in the sky over New York City.

Of course, Oedipus Wrecks” opens with black-and-white credits with jazz music playing. It wouldn’t be Woody Allen without it, right?

Also, it wouldn’t be Woody Allen without Woody gesturing wildly, talking to his analyst, and discussing issues of sex, families, and relationships.

In the movie, Woody’s girlfriend is played by Mia Farrow, Woody’s real-life girlfriend who’s co-starred in the last half dozen Woody movies. Woody’s nagging mother is played by Mae Questel (1908-1998).

It’s an interesting Woody Allen movie, about a middle-aged New York lawyer (Woody was 54 when this was released). But it’s not one of my favorites. By far.

An interesting tidbit: The music playing the background during the magician act is the same music used in the later Woody Allen movie The Curse of the Jade Scorpion.

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