132 reviews
Ellen Burstyn could play a tree stump and make it interesting. She's one of the unsung heroes of post-studio cinema. At a time when meaty women's roles were becoming more and more scarce, Burstyn was fighting for and winning one great part after another. She's probably never been better than she is here, though she showed tremendous range in "Same Time, Next Year" and gave one of the most heartbreakingly harrowing performances I've ever seen as recently as 2000, in "Requiem for a Dream." Women's picture and Martin Scorsese are not two phrases that would seem to be tailor made for each other, but a terrific women's picture is exactly what Scorsese gives us with "Alice..." Though I hate using the term women's picture, as if men can't enjoy stories about women, or as if women's pictures are isolated from the rest of "real" movies. Actually and ironically, maybe it was Scorsese's penchant for the tough-guy milieu that made him so right for this film, because "Alice" doesn't suffer from the burn-your-bra self-righteousness of other women's lib movies of its era, like "Un Unmarried Woman." These other films ultimately feel phony, because they were created for the most part by men, who, however noble their intentions, simply didn't have an understanding for the material. But Scorsese gets the character of Alice, and Burstyn knows exactly what she's doing. So the conflict isn't between Alice and the male world, but between the Alice who doesn't have the confidence to be anything other than a doormat and the Alice who wants to make a life for herself on her own terms.
There are some hilarious scenes between Alice and her son in this film, most particularly the scenes of them driving to California (like when Alice calls him Hellen Keller because he keeps asking "what?" to everything she says). Also, a subplot about the evolving friendship between Alice and Flo (played by Diane Ladd) becomes one of the film's highlights, not in the least because both actresses handle it expertly.
This is a winner, and must be seen by anyone who thinks Scorses is out of his element anywhere but the mean streets of NYC.
Grade: A
There are some hilarious scenes between Alice and her son in this film, most particularly the scenes of them driving to California (like when Alice calls him Hellen Keller because he keeps asking "what?" to everything she says). Also, a subplot about the evolving friendship between Alice and Flo (played by Diane Ladd) becomes one of the film's highlights, not in the least because both actresses handle it expertly.
This is a winner, and must be seen by anyone who thinks Scorses is out of his element anywhere but the mean streets of NYC.
Grade: A
- evanston_dad
- Sep 29, 2005
- Permalink
When I was younger, my sister and I would spend countless hours each day watching television. One of the programs we found ourselves glued to was Alice. For those who may not remember the show too clearly, one phrase may help jog your memory... "Kiss my grits!" If that didn't help, you probably have never seen the show (or as some folks may say... "it was before my time.")
Anyway... last night I saw a film titled Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Upon starting the movie, all I knew about it was that it was directed by the great Martin Scorsese, and that it was about a widowed wife and her son who drive across the country. To my great surprise, the character Alice is the same character from the TV sitcom. I didn't put two and two together until halfway through the film when it showed the diner with Mel and the other two waitresses. It was fun to see the other characters like Flo, Vera and Mel (the movie's Mel was the same actor as the TV show's Mel). Many of the elements were similar between television and movie; the only noticeable difference was the tone. On television, the show was a sitcom comedy made to get a good laugh every few minutes.
The film, however, was a bit more serious because of various real life situations (relationships, child upbringing, death).
This coincidence made things much more interesting as the film continued. Don't get me wrong, the movie was pretty damn good already; I just seemed to enjoy it a bit more when I started putting the pieces together. Scorsese, once again, showed his incredible directing skills. He was able to bring the viewer into the extreme pain and desperation of the main character, while at the same time, show the positive things in Alice's life through his use of color and cinematography.
Overall, the film was enjoyable because it was quite heart warming (in contrast to the more famous gangster type films by Scorsese). It made me wish that either the television show were still on syndication, or that I get to chance to see this film sometime again.
Anyway... last night I saw a film titled Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Upon starting the movie, all I knew about it was that it was directed by the great Martin Scorsese, and that it was about a widowed wife and her son who drive across the country. To my great surprise, the character Alice is the same character from the TV sitcom. I didn't put two and two together until halfway through the film when it showed the diner with Mel and the other two waitresses. It was fun to see the other characters like Flo, Vera and Mel (the movie's Mel was the same actor as the TV show's Mel). Many of the elements were similar between television and movie; the only noticeable difference was the tone. On television, the show was a sitcom comedy made to get a good laugh every few minutes.
The film, however, was a bit more serious because of various real life situations (relationships, child upbringing, death).
This coincidence made things much more interesting as the film continued. Don't get me wrong, the movie was pretty damn good already; I just seemed to enjoy it a bit more when I started putting the pieces together. Scorsese, once again, showed his incredible directing skills. He was able to bring the viewer into the extreme pain and desperation of the main character, while at the same time, show the positive things in Alice's life through his use of color and cinematography.
Overall, the film was enjoyable because it was quite heart warming (in contrast to the more famous gangster type films by Scorsese). It made me wish that either the television show were still on syndication, or that I get to chance to see this film sometime again.
- johnson3000
- Aug 21, 2003
- Permalink
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is the film that brought director Martin Scorsese into the commercial limelight; and even though he's had many bigger successes since, this simple and easily accessible story of a woman and her son is well worked and interesting; and personally, I prefer it to a number of his more famous gangster films. The plot is very simple, thus making the film easy to follow and therefore light viewing; and it could also be called a 'chick flick'. However, Scorsese directs with his usual verve and manages to implement a number of memorable characters along the way; some of which are played by the stars of future Scorsese films. The film starts when we are introduced to a young girl named Alice, who has aspirations of being a singer. Several years later, and after the death of her husband, she and her son set off across the country in order for her to pursue her dream career. After her first job and choice of boyfriend go awry, she travels on and ends up meeting a man named David.
This film provides an acting credit for Ellen Burstyn who, just as she would go on to do in the likes of The Exorcist, delivers a well worked and believable performance. Kris Kristofferson is her opposite number, although he doesn't get to flex his acting muscles much - while Taxi Driver co-stars Jodie Fosters and Harvey Keitel deliver memorable portrayals in small roles. The film benefits from a very well written script, which manages to give credence to all of its lead characters, which elevate the film above similar material in its class. The locations are well used, and the director does well in implementing a gritty country style; as well as the central theme of ordinary people trying to make something out of themselves. The main problem with the film is that sometimes it can be a little too light-hearted, and some of the heavier plot ideas aren't allowed to shine through as they should. Overall, this film may be disliked by fans of Scorsese films such as Goodfellas and Casino, and it definitely is a chick flick; but personally, I have no qualms with naming it as one of the better films on Scorsese's list of film credits.
This film provides an acting credit for Ellen Burstyn who, just as she would go on to do in the likes of The Exorcist, delivers a well worked and believable performance. Kris Kristofferson is her opposite number, although he doesn't get to flex his acting muscles much - while Taxi Driver co-stars Jodie Fosters and Harvey Keitel deliver memorable portrayals in small roles. The film benefits from a very well written script, which manages to give credence to all of its lead characters, which elevate the film above similar material in its class. The locations are well used, and the director does well in implementing a gritty country style; as well as the central theme of ordinary people trying to make something out of themselves. The main problem with the film is that sometimes it can be a little too light-hearted, and some of the heavier plot ideas aren't allowed to shine through as they should. Overall, this film may be disliked by fans of Scorsese films such as Goodfellas and Casino, and it definitely is a chick flick; but personally, I have no qualms with naming it as one of the better films on Scorsese's list of film credits.
I actually prefer this film to Mean Streets or Raging Bull. Ellen Burstyn was always a personal favorite and she is absolutely brilliant as Alice. This film bears no resemblance to the sitcom that would spin off from it. This is a textured, touching and humorous look at a woman's journey BACK towards independence. It is far superior and a much more mature film than, say, Thelma & Louise. If you're looking for female "empowerment" movies. Alice is reality. The fine cast also includes, Harvey Keitel and Diane Ladd. Both in fantastic performances. This is just a great movie and very overlooked. If you're getting into Scorsese, don't miss this one!
Not much of a story here, and what there is is fairly tedious. Burstyn gives a good performance. In fact, everyone in the cast does. Their performances are what make this a tolerable movie. The story is just dull life experiences of some random people, which is okay, but hardly entertaining.
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
This is a weird, oddly moving time trip. If you can't quite connect to the characters, or the country wholesome slightly offbeat lower class middle America circa 1973 you won't enjoy it. Because it's about absorbing the mood as a two young people fall in love and find that being in love is hard.
Which it is. Ellen Burstyn as a single mom is pretty amazing, very convincing, avoiding glamorous clichés (not that she isn't beautiful in some Hollywood sense, but she's real). Her counterpart is played by Kris Kristofferson, who isn't really much of an actor, he holds his own most of the time, but in general he drags the movie down. Everyone, including Kristofferson, survives partly because it's about being normal, about the mundane, about being an average American.
It's filmed with a surprising beauty--but not the kind that draws attention to itself. There are parts where the camera moves with surprising fluidity, quickly following the characters. Other times, it's just the light that is so beautiful, and the color. Let's give Scorsese credit. He makes it affecting without making it false. A beautiful film. It's modest, somehow, not sensational, but thankfully not. Heartfelt above all.
This is a weird, oddly moving time trip. If you can't quite connect to the characters, or the country wholesome slightly offbeat lower class middle America circa 1973 you won't enjoy it. Because it's about absorbing the mood as a two young people fall in love and find that being in love is hard.
Which it is. Ellen Burstyn as a single mom is pretty amazing, very convincing, avoiding glamorous clichés (not that she isn't beautiful in some Hollywood sense, but she's real). Her counterpart is played by Kris Kristofferson, who isn't really much of an actor, he holds his own most of the time, but in general he drags the movie down. Everyone, including Kristofferson, survives partly because it's about being normal, about the mundane, about being an average American.
It's filmed with a surprising beauty--but not the kind that draws attention to itself. There are parts where the camera moves with surprising fluidity, quickly following the characters. Other times, it's just the light that is so beautiful, and the color. Let's give Scorsese credit. He makes it affecting without making it false. A beautiful film. It's modest, somehow, not sensational, but thankfully not. Heartfelt above all.
- secondtake
- Dec 28, 2010
- Permalink
This has to be one of Martin Scorses's most enjoyable films. The film follows Alice (Ellen Burstyn) on a journey back to happier times after a tragedy forces her to make important decisions about her life. Needing a job to raise cash for this journey takes her and her son (the remarkably cheeky Alfred Lutter) on a journey of self discovery. Having a small talent for singing she eventually secures a job as a singer in a bar but flees town after meeting psychopathic Harvey Keitel. Eventually working as a waitress in Mel's Diner she becomes involved with the strangely uncharismatic Kris Kristofferson and realises she has finally met someone who really cares for her. The performances make this a remarkable film, Burstyn & Lutter are a great double act as mother and son, Harvey Keitel frighteningly plausible as a mentally unbalanced suitor and Jodie Foster sexually ambiguous as Lutters playmate. Diane Ladd excels as hard-bitten fellow waitress Flo and Jane Curtin and Billy Green Bush make an impact with barely half a dozen lines between them. Add to this a terrific musical score and inspiring cinematography and you have a timeless classic that is just crying out for a DVD release.
- Greensleeves
- Sep 11, 2002
- Permalink
"Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" seems to be more about undermining women's liberation than endorsing it. A movie about a remarkable, adventuring woman improving on a deadbeat marriage by arriving at a more ideal one is not exactly earth shaking. In fact, it seems far less about bravado than it dos about settling for less, both in terms of marriage (itself) and career.
Doubts about Scorsese's Alice occur from the get-go. The most striking thing to me is the hip vs square dynamic inside her working class family. The husband is a coca-cola truck driver, a moody handsome hunk, with rather torturing moods. Yet, given the alliance between his spirited wife and their precocious son, who regularly conspire against him barely veiled private exchanges, he might pass as an outsider in his own family. Yeah, they're too classy for the likes of him, but it's only his dangerous job that gives Alice the out she seems incapable of initiating on her own. So a smashed red truck in a tunnel soon means the open road for Alice and son. And they set off for Monterey, with Alice's singing career on the horizon, freedom and adventure in the mix, and with marriage object lesson #1 hopefully in tow.
For Alice is more than typically attractive to men. In Phoenix, to help fund her trip, Alice latches on to a singing job in a rather low end night club. Soon a young dude (Ben) spies her as a challenging catch, and marks her off for sex. She resists but mistakenly cites her older age as a deterrent, the perfect opening for this predator. The fling ensues, and only ends when his discarded wife shows up at Alice's to haplessly plead her case. The brute enters and assaults his oft-battered wife. He then flips the switch on his rioting machismo to sweet talk Alice as if he were breaking down a call girl. Object lesson #2 about marriage and the violent, two-faced nature of males. Then enters Scorsese to signal to his shocked heroine to cut out of town without nary a thought for the fate of macho Ben's stricken wife.
In Tucson, Alice, too exhausted to seek another singing job, settles for waitressing in Mel & Ruby's Cafe. Suddenly the misery and darkness associated with Phoenix goes bright and shiny inside the diner as a zany display of button-pushing, brashy comedy and melodrama take over. Alice and the her wait staff sisters now get to perform these antics and a gamut of female emotions--including true love, both for the TV-audience-type patrons, and for us movie goers who are assumed to have liberal reflexes. The somewhat off-camera star (a misfit in this diner) is Alice's new admirer, a wealthy rancher, who is fairly hip, sincere, sparkly-eyed and light in his pursuit. So, before Alice has any thoughts of her own, she is not only caught up in the celebrity waiter whirl but also in her new, more promising love routine, in which her adolescent son has as much or more to say about than she. Soon her expectations shrink from world to home, and Alice loses interest in singing for herself. Well, you can put a bow on the rest and present it in the grand finale to the cheering gratified audience in Mel & Ruby's. Needless to say, the marriage object lessons have ceased.
Doubts about Scorsese's Alice occur from the get-go. The most striking thing to me is the hip vs square dynamic inside her working class family. The husband is a coca-cola truck driver, a moody handsome hunk, with rather torturing moods. Yet, given the alliance between his spirited wife and their precocious son, who regularly conspire against him barely veiled private exchanges, he might pass as an outsider in his own family. Yeah, they're too classy for the likes of him, but it's only his dangerous job that gives Alice the out she seems incapable of initiating on her own. So a smashed red truck in a tunnel soon means the open road for Alice and son. And they set off for Monterey, with Alice's singing career on the horizon, freedom and adventure in the mix, and with marriage object lesson #1 hopefully in tow.
For Alice is more than typically attractive to men. In Phoenix, to help fund her trip, Alice latches on to a singing job in a rather low end night club. Soon a young dude (Ben) spies her as a challenging catch, and marks her off for sex. She resists but mistakenly cites her older age as a deterrent, the perfect opening for this predator. The fling ensues, and only ends when his discarded wife shows up at Alice's to haplessly plead her case. The brute enters and assaults his oft-battered wife. He then flips the switch on his rioting machismo to sweet talk Alice as if he were breaking down a call girl. Object lesson #2 about marriage and the violent, two-faced nature of males. Then enters Scorsese to signal to his shocked heroine to cut out of town without nary a thought for the fate of macho Ben's stricken wife.
In Tucson, Alice, too exhausted to seek another singing job, settles for waitressing in Mel & Ruby's Cafe. Suddenly the misery and darkness associated with Phoenix goes bright and shiny inside the diner as a zany display of button-pushing, brashy comedy and melodrama take over. Alice and the her wait staff sisters now get to perform these antics and a gamut of female emotions--including true love, both for the TV-audience-type patrons, and for us movie goers who are assumed to have liberal reflexes. The somewhat off-camera star (a misfit in this diner) is Alice's new admirer, a wealthy rancher, who is fairly hip, sincere, sparkly-eyed and light in his pursuit. So, before Alice has any thoughts of her own, she is not only caught up in the celebrity waiter whirl but also in her new, more promising love routine, in which her adolescent son has as much or more to say about than she. Soon her expectations shrink from world to home, and Alice loses interest in singing for herself. Well, you can put a bow on the rest and present it in the grand finale to the cheering gratified audience in Mel & Ruby's. Needless to say, the marriage object lessons have ceased.
People forget that "ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE" is a Scorsese film. Look at it again and you'll see it is one hundred percent Scorsese. Totally focused on a female character. I read somewhere that Ellen Burstyn asked Scorsese "How well do you know women" and Scorsese replayed "Not well at all, but I'm willing to learn" The portrait of Alice adds something to film female characters that had never been present on the screen before. All those Joan Crawford fighting working class women seem like a joke compared to Ellen Burstyn's Alice. Jodie Foster steps into the screen with a funny, touching BANG. If you've never seen this film, hurry up! If you've seen it, see it again.
- marcosaguado
- Mar 19, 2004
- Permalink
- WinterOf63
- Aug 10, 2021
- Permalink
Starring the incomparable Ellen Burstyn, giving an Oscar-winning performance (one of the finest of the 1970s), this comedy-drama is gritty and tough, but never off-putting. After her husband dies, 35-year-old Alice Hyatt from New Mexico and her smart-mouthed 11-year-old son (Alfred Lutter) take to the road, chasing her girlhood dream of finding songbird success in Monterey, CA. They get stuck in Phoenix, where she meets up with a frightening working-stiff in a cowboy hat (Harvey Keitel). Later, waitressing at Mel & Ruby's Cafe in Tucson, she meets a gentle farmer (Kris Kristofferson) who's had his share of heartbreak. Perceptive, amusing, knockabout film regarding ordinary people trying to make it, episodes in their lives that enrich or derail them. Alice and her son have a wonderfully natural give-and-take, and the oddballs they meet on their odyssey (like Jodie Foster's shoplifting tomboy or the sweet, overweight cowboy who gives Alice a singing job) are deliciously silly, yet incredibly real. Burstyn is a joy cutting up with her neighbor in the backyard, having a Coke fight with her kid in a seedy motel, trading quips with Diane Ladd's salty Flo in the diner. Some critics complained that the happy ending felt tacked on, but you come to respect Alice and her choices, and most of the film's little faults are camouflaged by director Martin Scorsese's bittersweet framing and Robert Getchell's vivid screenplay. Far superior to the TV sitcom, "Alice", which quickly followed.
- moonspinner55
- Sep 12, 2005
- Permalink
I don't think my disdain for Martin Scorsese is much of a secret for anyone who knows my taste in film, so it came as a welcome surprise when I found myself being moved and impressed by his 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Telling the story of a recently widowed woman (Ellen Burstyn) who takes her son on the road, this was a touching study of a woman struggling to find herself in a time when many women determined their worth based on the man who was at their side. In a lot of ways it takes an interesting look at the era in which it was made, but even today it stands strong as a look into this woman being stripped bare of the things she thought were important and being forced to find out what really matters to her.
She finds a few romantic partners throughout the film and it starts to get an "all men are evil" theme going on which I was getting worried about, but Robert Getchell's script ends up coming back around full circle to an ending (that was created by actor Kris Kristofferson, who plays one of her lovers, the day before they shot it) that was touching and spoke to the journey this character was brought down. There's a Wizard of Oz metaphor that bookends her evolution, which I found touching without being poured on too much.
Scorsese, known for his gritty approach, was surprisingly adept at bringing this woman's story to the screen. This is a film that could have easily gone down the saccharine, cheesy Lifetime route if it was handled improperly by it's director, but instead Scorsese is able to make it feel shockingly genuine all the way through. There are moments that are incredibly uncomfortable, such as Burstyn making her way around town desperate to find a job to support her and her son, along with ones that are genuinely terrifying, like when Harvey Keitel's character punches through a glass window in order to break into her hotel room in a brutal display of male aggression.
There's a shift in this character that occurs over the course of the film, slowly developing from a woman who lets men control her into a woman who isn't afraid to stand up for herself and her son, that is portrayed brilliantly by Burstyn. She won an Oscar for her role and it was incredibly well-deserved, along with the fellow nomination that came to Diane Ladd, who steals all of her scenes as a waitress at a diner where Burstyn's character eventually begins to work at. I think it's the mother/son dynamic that made the film work the most for me though, as I found a lot to personally connect to in it.
As an early child of divorce, I spent a lot of time growing up with just my mother and myself, and the relationship between them in this film felt so true in regards to my own experience. The way that the two would drive each other mad one second, but the next they would come back together and be laughing or supporting one another. I felt a deep connection there that touched me a lot. Ellen Burstyn's character here reminded me a lot my own mother, and watching her evolve on this path to finding herself meant quite a bit to me. Solid work by everyone involved here.
She finds a few romantic partners throughout the film and it starts to get an "all men are evil" theme going on which I was getting worried about, but Robert Getchell's script ends up coming back around full circle to an ending (that was created by actor Kris Kristofferson, who plays one of her lovers, the day before they shot it) that was touching and spoke to the journey this character was brought down. There's a Wizard of Oz metaphor that bookends her evolution, which I found touching without being poured on too much.
Scorsese, known for his gritty approach, was surprisingly adept at bringing this woman's story to the screen. This is a film that could have easily gone down the saccharine, cheesy Lifetime route if it was handled improperly by it's director, but instead Scorsese is able to make it feel shockingly genuine all the way through. There are moments that are incredibly uncomfortable, such as Burstyn making her way around town desperate to find a job to support her and her son, along with ones that are genuinely terrifying, like when Harvey Keitel's character punches through a glass window in order to break into her hotel room in a brutal display of male aggression.
There's a shift in this character that occurs over the course of the film, slowly developing from a woman who lets men control her into a woman who isn't afraid to stand up for herself and her son, that is portrayed brilliantly by Burstyn. She won an Oscar for her role and it was incredibly well-deserved, along with the fellow nomination that came to Diane Ladd, who steals all of her scenes as a waitress at a diner where Burstyn's character eventually begins to work at. I think it's the mother/son dynamic that made the film work the most for me though, as I found a lot to personally connect to in it.
As an early child of divorce, I spent a lot of time growing up with just my mother and myself, and the relationship between them in this film felt so true in regards to my own experience. The way that the two would drive each other mad one second, but the next they would come back together and be laughing or supporting one another. I felt a deep connection there that touched me a lot. Ellen Burstyn's character here reminded me a lot my own mother, and watching her evolve on this path to finding herself meant quite a bit to me. Solid work by everyone involved here.
- Rockwell_Cronenberg
- Mar 28, 2012
- Permalink
I'm sorry, I really hated this film. It was dull. It was tiresome. It drags on and on. And I'm sorry to say but I cannot stand Ellen Burstyn as an actress. She just irritates me and she is so shallow as an actress. I don't know how people cast her in movies. She T-A-L-K-S S-O S-L-O-W-L-Y. Her slow speaking is distracting. She has no depth, charisma or chemistry. And, her singing in this movie made me CRINGE. How abominable. How uninspiring.
Diane Ladd is another story. This woman is beautiful to look at and has a certain chemistry and depth and reality that you just don't see very much anymore.
Anyway, I think this movie could have been better had it been cast with a different actress then Ellen Boring Burstyn.
Diane Ladd is another story. This woman is beautiful to look at and has a certain chemistry and depth and reality that you just don't see very much anymore.
Anyway, I think this movie could have been better had it been cast with a different actress then Ellen Boring Burstyn.
- catherine-albrecht
- Sep 4, 2014
- Permalink
For those of you who thought Martin Scorsese only made gangster movies, here's a real surprise: not only did he make a housewife melodrama somewhere in the seventies, but he made the best one around for miles. Ellen Burstyn is fantastic as middle-aging wife and mother Alice, whose life is torn apart when her neglectful husband is killed in a car accident and she is left with nothing to take care of her fast growing son (Alfred Lutter III). The two find themselves on a road trip across the country to Tucson where she plans to start all over again, but not before various stops along the way keep them from achieving their goal too soon. Diane Ladd is brilliant as Flo, the nasty-mouthed waitress at the diner where Alice gets a job to stay afloat (Polly Holliday made a name for herself playing the role on the hit television show "Alice" that was based on this film). Look for little Laura Dern eating an ice cream cone at the diner counter, and a twelve year-old Jodie Foster as a precocious little thief who hilariously refers to her prostitute mother as "Ramada Rose". Excellent stuff.
Not Scorsese's best, but an interesting effort. The Stappert IMDb review is very good. I would also note that Burstyn, Ladd and Lutter are very strong. Jodie Foster is fascinating in her brief role, as one compares her appearance here with her personal history and how public her life has been.
Scorsese has made a film with some likeable characters (unlike much of his later work). He uses music well, although the soundtrack in the early part of the film reflects some poor choices. There is some good camera work here as well that presages later films such as "Goodfellas." (He has several interesting shots of bar fronts and interiors.) Harvey Keitel ALMOST fools the audience here, and Kristofferson is...well, Kristofferson.
I saw this on an old videocassette, and it seems to have had the sound edited and some cuts made to the print, so I rated it a "7." It is definitely NOT a comedy, and is worth watching with "An Unmarried Woman." It's unfortunate that the insipid TV show resulted from this much stronger original effort.
One additional comment/complaint. Like "An Unmarried Woman," men seem to fall into two classes here: Complete psychos or s***s, or men who have some faults but seem to be open and almost desperate to possess the central female character. Is this a true reflection on the gender, or just another Hollywood convention?
Scorsese has made a film with some likeable characters (unlike much of his later work). He uses music well, although the soundtrack in the early part of the film reflects some poor choices. There is some good camera work here as well that presages later films such as "Goodfellas." (He has several interesting shots of bar fronts and interiors.) Harvey Keitel ALMOST fools the audience here, and Kristofferson is...well, Kristofferson.
I saw this on an old videocassette, and it seems to have had the sound edited and some cuts made to the print, so I rated it a "7." It is definitely NOT a comedy, and is worth watching with "An Unmarried Woman." It's unfortunate that the insipid TV show resulted from this much stronger original effort.
One additional comment/complaint. Like "An Unmarried Woman," men seem to fall into two classes here: Complete psychos or s***s, or men who have some faults but seem to be open and almost desperate to possess the central female character. Is this a true reflection on the gender, or just another Hollywood convention?
I loved this movie when I saw it in its initial release - after "The Exorcist", I thought Ellen Burstyn ruled the world. This movie is still good today, has many interesting and funny characters. There are touches that suggest director Martin Scorsese was still getting familiar with actors and camera movement - when Alice cries at an audition in a bar, and goes to another bar because they have a piano..its Marty all the way. Harvey Keitel & Jodie Foster are in the movie in small parts; maybe they were having their own audition - for "Taxi Driver". Diane Ladd is very funny as filthy-mouthed Flo, but Ellen Burstyn is fantastic in the part that won her an Oscar against some pretty stiff competition - Faye Dunaway in "Chinatown" among them - and she holds the movie together.
Martin Scorsese's reputation as the director of some of the best gangster movies of all time often obscures his enormous sensitivity to the nuances of every-day modern life. Despite being his first commercial success, 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore' is probably Scorsese's most overlooked film, which is shameful, because it is arguably his best, and in any analysis, deserves acknowledgment as one of the most honest and, ultimately, uplifting portraits of working-class womanhood written and directed by men.
The scenario is familiar to anyone with a vague awareness of late 1970s American pop culture, as it was adapted into a successful TV sit-com, 'Alice,' starring Linda Lavin in the title role originated by the great Ellen Burstyn: a former lounge singer who traded a dicey future for the stability of blue-collar married life in suburban New Mexico, Alice Hyatt finds herself suddenly widowed, with little to no money, no career possibilities or job experience, and a precocious (and frequently obnoxious) twelve year-old son (Alfred Lutter, who went on to make 'The Bad News Bears' before growing up and disappearing) to provide for. With few other options on hand, Alice determines to restart her singing career back in Monterrey, California, the last place she remembered feeling truly happy and optimistic about the future. She packs her life and her son into the family station wagon and makes her way west, stopping off first in Phoenix (where the sit-com is set) and then in Tucson, trying to save enough cash to get to Monterrey. En route, she suffers defeat, humiliation, and a continuation of her serial attraction to abusive men, until finally she finds herself reduced to a job as a waitress in a roadside café, the now-ubiquitous 'Mel's Diner,' a dive dominated by the profane banter between saucy head waitress Flo (Diane Ladd) and cook/owner Mel (Vic Tayback). Alice finds herself living in an extended-stay fleabag motel, pinching pennies and praying for a bit of luck, which dubiously arrives in the form of David (Kris Kristofferson), a local rancher whom Alice feels herself falling for but is unable to trust, thanks to her history of abuse at the hands of formerly charming men.
Scorsese's innovative, trademark camera work is on ample display here, along with his art-house director's penchant for the unusual (the film opens with an homage to 'The Wizard of Oz,' in which Dorothy is replaced by the young but already brassy and foul-mouthed Alice). But this is a story about humanity, and Scorsese knows enough to step back and let his brilliant lead actress fill up the screen with her honesty and emotional range.
Ellen Burstyn won the 1976 Best Actress Oscar for this film, and it's easy to see why. Scorsese clearly knew what he had on his hands: Burstyn's Alice is both tough and vulnerable, desperate and determined. Burstyn lets the camera linger on her aging face (she was 42 when the film was released), which, strangely enough, is more beautiful and alluring than the polished appearances of most of today's actresses. Alice faces countless hardships, and Burstyn makes them feel as true as any we face in our own lives. She tries to keep up a bright face for Tommy, her quirky, quizzical son, but has moments of naked, gut-wrenching despair as she tries to fathom how she'll ever be able to support herself. Burstyn was herself a singer and a waitress before finding success as a film actress, and her vocal performances are powerfully affecting--pitch-perfect, but shaky enough to reveal her inner vulnerability. She is a brilliant vehicle for this portrait of the life of a hard-luck woman with no one to trust. The film is full of fine, heartbreakingly memorable moments--Alice weeps in bed next to her husband Donald (Billy Green Bush) after another silent, loveless dinner, and the two clutch each other, unable to speak, Alice's disappointment outweighed only by her desperate need; after a long day of rejections, Alice breaks down into tears before a gentle bar manager, who ultimately caves in allows her to audition for him, whereupon she performs a heartbreaking medley of standards for a stunned crowd of average joes in a dingy piano bar; Alice gets a rare moment of joy, drunkenly sitting up from the kitchen table to show David her first dance routine after making love for the first time. These moments feel so real and honest that you almost forget you're watching a movie.
The supporting performances are all easily above par, especially Diane Ladd as Flo, a role made famous for the sanitized 'Kiss my grits' line immortalized by Ladd's TV counterpart, Polly Holliday (interestingly, Ladd briefly succeeded Holliday on the TV 'Alice' in the role of 'Belle' after Flo got her own short-lived spin-off). Alice and Flo initially clash, but eventually form a sisterly bond, revealing that in many ways they are opposite sides of the same coin (curiously, Diane Ladd and Ellen Burstyn were born within a month of each other, Burstyn in Detroit and Ladd in Mississippi). Alfred Lutter's Tommy is perfectly exasperating but also lovable. Kris Kristofferson's David manages to be 'too good to be true' without being unbelievable as the first good man in Alice's life. Harvey Keitel (as a rakish suitor), Jodie Foster (as a spunky ne'er-do-well who befriends Tommy), and, of course, Vic Tayback, are all perfect in their smaller, supporting roles.
'Alice . . .' deserves to be revisited again and again. It's so close to the experience of single mothers in the 1970s that it could be considered a documentary. It's also frequently very funny, capturing the small bits of laughter and silliness in normal life with pitch-perfect accuracy. I doubt that there has ever been another film that has made fictional characters feel so real and true. Alice is a true heroine--a survivor--and sharing her travails and triumphs, you feel the empathy and involvement that only appear in transcendent art.
The scenario is familiar to anyone with a vague awareness of late 1970s American pop culture, as it was adapted into a successful TV sit-com, 'Alice,' starring Linda Lavin in the title role originated by the great Ellen Burstyn: a former lounge singer who traded a dicey future for the stability of blue-collar married life in suburban New Mexico, Alice Hyatt finds herself suddenly widowed, with little to no money, no career possibilities or job experience, and a precocious (and frequently obnoxious) twelve year-old son (Alfred Lutter, who went on to make 'The Bad News Bears' before growing up and disappearing) to provide for. With few other options on hand, Alice determines to restart her singing career back in Monterrey, California, the last place she remembered feeling truly happy and optimistic about the future. She packs her life and her son into the family station wagon and makes her way west, stopping off first in Phoenix (where the sit-com is set) and then in Tucson, trying to save enough cash to get to Monterrey. En route, she suffers defeat, humiliation, and a continuation of her serial attraction to abusive men, until finally she finds herself reduced to a job as a waitress in a roadside café, the now-ubiquitous 'Mel's Diner,' a dive dominated by the profane banter between saucy head waitress Flo (Diane Ladd) and cook/owner Mel (Vic Tayback). Alice finds herself living in an extended-stay fleabag motel, pinching pennies and praying for a bit of luck, which dubiously arrives in the form of David (Kris Kristofferson), a local rancher whom Alice feels herself falling for but is unable to trust, thanks to her history of abuse at the hands of formerly charming men.
Scorsese's innovative, trademark camera work is on ample display here, along with his art-house director's penchant for the unusual (the film opens with an homage to 'The Wizard of Oz,' in which Dorothy is replaced by the young but already brassy and foul-mouthed Alice). But this is a story about humanity, and Scorsese knows enough to step back and let his brilliant lead actress fill up the screen with her honesty and emotional range.
Ellen Burstyn won the 1976 Best Actress Oscar for this film, and it's easy to see why. Scorsese clearly knew what he had on his hands: Burstyn's Alice is both tough and vulnerable, desperate and determined. Burstyn lets the camera linger on her aging face (she was 42 when the film was released), which, strangely enough, is more beautiful and alluring than the polished appearances of most of today's actresses. Alice faces countless hardships, and Burstyn makes them feel as true as any we face in our own lives. She tries to keep up a bright face for Tommy, her quirky, quizzical son, but has moments of naked, gut-wrenching despair as she tries to fathom how she'll ever be able to support herself. Burstyn was herself a singer and a waitress before finding success as a film actress, and her vocal performances are powerfully affecting--pitch-perfect, but shaky enough to reveal her inner vulnerability. She is a brilliant vehicle for this portrait of the life of a hard-luck woman with no one to trust. The film is full of fine, heartbreakingly memorable moments--Alice weeps in bed next to her husband Donald (Billy Green Bush) after another silent, loveless dinner, and the two clutch each other, unable to speak, Alice's disappointment outweighed only by her desperate need; after a long day of rejections, Alice breaks down into tears before a gentle bar manager, who ultimately caves in allows her to audition for him, whereupon she performs a heartbreaking medley of standards for a stunned crowd of average joes in a dingy piano bar; Alice gets a rare moment of joy, drunkenly sitting up from the kitchen table to show David her first dance routine after making love for the first time. These moments feel so real and honest that you almost forget you're watching a movie.
The supporting performances are all easily above par, especially Diane Ladd as Flo, a role made famous for the sanitized 'Kiss my grits' line immortalized by Ladd's TV counterpart, Polly Holliday (interestingly, Ladd briefly succeeded Holliday on the TV 'Alice' in the role of 'Belle' after Flo got her own short-lived spin-off). Alice and Flo initially clash, but eventually form a sisterly bond, revealing that in many ways they are opposite sides of the same coin (curiously, Diane Ladd and Ellen Burstyn were born within a month of each other, Burstyn in Detroit and Ladd in Mississippi). Alfred Lutter's Tommy is perfectly exasperating but also lovable. Kris Kristofferson's David manages to be 'too good to be true' without being unbelievable as the first good man in Alice's life. Harvey Keitel (as a rakish suitor), Jodie Foster (as a spunky ne'er-do-well who befriends Tommy), and, of course, Vic Tayback, are all perfect in their smaller, supporting roles.
'Alice . . .' deserves to be revisited again and again. It's so close to the experience of single mothers in the 1970s that it could be considered a documentary. It's also frequently very funny, capturing the small bits of laughter and silliness in normal life with pitch-perfect accuracy. I doubt that there has ever been another film that has made fictional characters feel so real and true. Alice is a true heroine--a survivor--and sharing her travails and triumphs, you feel the empathy and involvement that only appear in transcendent art.
In what may be his most unusual movie, Martin Scorsese tells the story of Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn), a woman who is looking for a new direction in life. So, she and her son Tommy move to Phoenix, where she feels that she may have a shot at greatness. As a singing waitress, she struggles to make something of herself.
Ellen Burstyn won a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar for this role (it was especially interesting seeing her in this kind of a role, given that she'd most recently starred in "The Exorcist"), and Kris Kristofferson, Harvey Keitel, Alfred Lutter and an androgynous Jodie Foster offer good supporting roles. I recommend "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" to everyone.
Ellen Burstyn won a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar for this role (it was especially interesting seeing her in this kind of a role, given that she'd most recently starred in "The Exorcist"), and Kris Kristofferson, Harvey Keitel, Alfred Lutter and an androgynous Jodie Foster offer good supporting roles. I recommend "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" to everyone.
- lee_eisenberg
- Jul 10, 2005
- Permalink
Scorsese seemed to be following the path of a director determined to maintain his own voice in cinema but also understanding that he needed to work with producers at the same time. Mean Streets was purely an independent production eventually picked up by Warner Brothers. His next film, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, was purely a studio production driven by Ellen Burstyn's love for the script and desire to help an up and coming director. This would never fall under Scorsese's films that would define him, but it was an important building block in his early career, proving that he could work with an established star and under the studio system at the same time.
Alice is married to Daniel and they have a pre-teen son named Tommy. Daniel is far from an ideal husband, providing little more than antagonism towards Tommy while giving Alice little affection at the same time. However, when he dies suddenly in a traffic accident, Alice is set free from the small New Mexico town of Socorro and the life that she had accepted with Daniel. Buoyed by dreams of Monterey, California from her youth (manifested by the film's opening that has an explicitly studio lot look and feel reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz in contrast to the rest of the film that was filmed mostly in real locations), she sells everything, packs up what's left, and takes Tommy westward. With little money, she stops in Phoenix to find a job as a singer, her profession before she had married Daniel.
She meets a man named Ben, a young man that beds her but ends up married to another woman. He breaks into Alice's rented place with his wife there, scaring Alice into abandoning Phoenix completely. She moved Tommy to Tucson where all the work she can find is as a waitress. Working in the little diner where she found her job, she meets David, a rugged rancher who looks a whole lot like Kris Kristofferson who is instantly attracted to her. He gets along with Tommy at first, and Alice's life seems to be looking up. When David ends up spanking Tommy after he's a particular little bit of unpleasantness on his birthday, Alice storms off in a rage with her son, but Alice and David do love each other so they reconnect by the end.
It's a feminist story of a woman recently freed from being trapped in a marriage with a controlling man finding a way to accept that she can want it all, and I think that smallness ends up working against the film a bit. By the end, after Alice has gone through two new relationships with men, her realization is that she can want it all, not that she can or cannot have it all. It opens her up to the desire for more, and that ends up feeling really small. It's nice.
What makes the movie, though, is its sense of humor. A lot of that comes from Tommy. He's an annoying smartass, but his interactions with Alice are often very funny. Hired because of his ability to improvise and go off script with Burstyn, the young Alfred Lutter has an entertaining wit that works well with Burstyn. His efforts to explain an inexplicable joke are confounding, a kind of portrait of an annoying and smart kid, born from the actor trying to tell the joke to Scorsese himself on a trip from a location shoot. Diane Ladd is also in the film as Flo, a fellow waitress at the diner, and she has a variety of colorful sayings that initially push Alice away but ultimately get them to bond together.
The movie is a light entertainment about a woman realizing something small and populated with entertaining side-characters that help provide the film's sense of humor. It could have been more, digging deeper or being funnier, but as it is, it's a nice little movie. Entertaining enough to stand on its own.
Alice is married to Daniel and they have a pre-teen son named Tommy. Daniel is far from an ideal husband, providing little more than antagonism towards Tommy while giving Alice little affection at the same time. However, when he dies suddenly in a traffic accident, Alice is set free from the small New Mexico town of Socorro and the life that she had accepted with Daniel. Buoyed by dreams of Monterey, California from her youth (manifested by the film's opening that has an explicitly studio lot look and feel reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz in contrast to the rest of the film that was filmed mostly in real locations), she sells everything, packs up what's left, and takes Tommy westward. With little money, she stops in Phoenix to find a job as a singer, her profession before she had married Daniel.
She meets a man named Ben, a young man that beds her but ends up married to another woman. He breaks into Alice's rented place with his wife there, scaring Alice into abandoning Phoenix completely. She moved Tommy to Tucson where all the work she can find is as a waitress. Working in the little diner where she found her job, she meets David, a rugged rancher who looks a whole lot like Kris Kristofferson who is instantly attracted to her. He gets along with Tommy at first, and Alice's life seems to be looking up. When David ends up spanking Tommy after he's a particular little bit of unpleasantness on his birthday, Alice storms off in a rage with her son, but Alice and David do love each other so they reconnect by the end.
It's a feminist story of a woman recently freed from being trapped in a marriage with a controlling man finding a way to accept that she can want it all, and I think that smallness ends up working against the film a bit. By the end, after Alice has gone through two new relationships with men, her realization is that she can want it all, not that she can or cannot have it all. It opens her up to the desire for more, and that ends up feeling really small. It's nice.
What makes the movie, though, is its sense of humor. A lot of that comes from Tommy. He's an annoying smartass, but his interactions with Alice are often very funny. Hired because of his ability to improvise and go off script with Burstyn, the young Alfred Lutter has an entertaining wit that works well with Burstyn. His efforts to explain an inexplicable joke are confounding, a kind of portrait of an annoying and smart kid, born from the actor trying to tell the joke to Scorsese himself on a trip from a location shoot. Diane Ladd is also in the film as Flo, a fellow waitress at the diner, and she has a variety of colorful sayings that initially push Alice away but ultimately get them to bond together.
The movie is a light entertainment about a woman realizing something small and populated with entertaining side-characters that help provide the film's sense of humor. It could have been more, digging deeper or being funnier, but as it is, it's a nice little movie. Entertaining enough to stand on its own.
- davidmvining
- Feb 22, 2021
- Permalink
This was a lighter film than I am used to seeing from director Martin Scorsese, known for his movies with gangsters and other blighters. Of course, there are some such characters in this movie--mostly malevolent men. At first, Scorsese showcases some of his directorial ingenuity; the film opens with an old-fashioned credits screen, with Mack Gordon and Harry Warren's "You'll Never Know" playing in the background. The opening scene was in homage to "The Wizard of Oz". (The fences also reminded me of "Gone with the Wind".) But then, Alice, as a child (played by Mia Bendixsen), says "if anybody doesn't like it, they can blow it out their ass."
"All the Way from Memphis," by Ian Hunter, carries us to Alice, 27 years older (played by Ellen Burstyn in her Oscar-winning performance). Foul language and wisecracks are the brighter part of Alice's life; the other part is hopping from one abusive relationship to the next, while searching for employment. Alice eventually becomes a waitress at a diner (the scenario was revived in the lousy sitcom "Alice" (1976-1985)).
Diane Ladd earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as smart aleck waitress Flo. Jodie Foster does well as an assertive child. Ellen Burstyn and Alfred Lutter, who plays Alice's kid, carry the movie most of the way, though. When done right, teaming an adult and a child together for the majority of conversation in a film results in an enjoyable, light movie (which this one is). This was Scorsese's first commercial success; with editing and a moving camera among other tricks, his presence is revealed throughout.
"All the Way from Memphis," by Ian Hunter, carries us to Alice, 27 years older (played by Ellen Burstyn in her Oscar-winning performance). Foul language and wisecracks are the brighter part of Alice's life; the other part is hopping from one abusive relationship to the next, while searching for employment. Alice eventually becomes a waitress at a diner (the scenario was revived in the lousy sitcom "Alice" (1976-1985)).
Diane Ladd earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as smart aleck waitress Flo. Jodie Foster does well as an assertive child. Ellen Burstyn and Alfred Lutter, who plays Alice's kid, carry the movie most of the way, though. When done right, teaming an adult and a child together for the majority of conversation in a film results in an enjoyable, light movie (which this one is). This was Scorsese's first commercial success; with editing and a moving camera among other tricks, his presence is revealed throughout.
- Cineanalyst
- Jan 24, 2004
- Permalink
at first i was thinking .. oh this is going to be boring,, wrong this is a very touching movie , about a woman who is trying to get her life on track, now i've seen the TV show alice,, so this movie i guess i could relate to much more, Kris Krisstofferson did a decent job in here, it was good to see old Vic Tayback on screen,, he is also in the TV show as "Mel".. Flo, and Vera are also in here for you fans of the TV show,, now i'm wondering if the song alice's restaurant by Arlo Guthrie has anything to do with this,, but seriously folks this is a heartwarming movie,, it's got an annoying little boy in there too, it's Alice's kid,, Harvey Keitel makes a brief appearance, as a deranged and jilted lover,, all in all though i must admit it was a pretty decent movie.
- kairingler
- Jun 10, 2009
- Permalink
I am not a connoisseur of films. Not in the slightest. I'm just a basic audience member. I don't know who the director is and I don't really care. I'm giving my honest opinion here:
This movie is boring. Honestly, I'm not certain how people can stand it. The plot is a bunch of loosely cobbled-together scenes. The child character is obnoxious. Also, for a movie that centers around a singer, you'd think they'd get someone good at singing. This film is overrated and quite terrible.
This movie is boring. Honestly, I'm not certain how people can stand it. The plot is a bunch of loosely cobbled-together scenes. The child character is obnoxious. Also, for a movie that centers around a singer, you'd think they'd get someone good at singing. This film is overrated and quite terrible.
- sparkletasticcookiedough
- Sep 15, 2021
- Permalink