Stardust Memories Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Stardust Memories
Year: 1980
Director: Woody Allen
Country: US
Language: English

When Stardust Memories premiered in 1980, it was disliked by critics and audience members alike. Woody Allen intended the picture to be his 8 1/2, as noted from the very beginning where Allen is trapped in a railroad car which is a direct homage to Marcello Mastroianni trapped in his auto at the start of the Fellini film. It is a more pessimistic picture than the beloved Manhattan, made only a year earlier, and a great departure from the comedies that made him so adored by the public.

Renowned filmmaker Sandy Bates (Woody Allen) is in a professional transition, directing largely comedies early in his career now wanting to direct more serious movies so that he can explore the meaning of life, most specifically his own. Most are fighting him all along the way, including the movie going public, who continually tell him that they love his movies especially the earlier funny ones

Despite the fairly obvious autobiographical tone of the film, Woody Allen  has consistently insisted that this is not an autobiographical picture. Stardust Memories, as well as Interiors (1978) represented a great change in the Director's style, mood and overarching themes. For some time he would explore his philosophical angst while paying homage to great artists like Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini and Francois Truffaut. Though his pictures would still be funny, they would be a different kind of funny. His earlier films like Sleeper (1973) and Bananas (1971) relied heavily on the chaos of slapstick comedy. Allen's new brand of comedy was reflective in nature and primarily utilized by speech. 

 Stardust Memories represents Woody Allen's desire to break free from the typecast jokester that the public has tried to make him to be. He is a little cruel towards his fans, portraying many as clueless bimbos and mindless suits, but I could see how he would feel alienated towards people who claim to "know" him but really don't. The film looks quite different than many others at the time, which can be credited towards the unusual editing stylizing by Susan Morse and  Godon Willis' evocative black and white cinematography.

The film perceptively explores the relationships between art and reality, between the artist and his work, between the work and its consumers. While it's not Allen's greatest work, it certainly is thought provoking and worthwhile to view many times. Very few film-makers can mix comedy, tragedy and pathos so well. Praise it! 4.5/5