Stardust Memories ***** (1980, Woody Allen, Charlotte Rampling, Jessica Harper) – Classic Movie Review 1810

This is the Woody Allen film with the message the public didn’t want to hear – ‘I don’t want to make funny movies any more. I don’t feel funny.’ It is one of his serious artworks, with an apparently clearly autobiographical story about a director seemingly not a million miles away from Woody Allen.

During a retrospective festival of his movies at the Stardust hotel in up-state New York which he’s been forced to attend against his better judgement, film director Sandy Bates (Woody Allen) finds himself mobbed and pursued by a horde of pompous critics, crazy fans, charity workers, studio bosses, relatives and lovers old and new. As the weekend progresses, he’s haunted by memories of previous relationships and the present becomes strangely confused with the past.

Allen is on great form and there’s delightful support from Charlotte Rampling, Jessica Harper and Marie-Christine Barrault as the women in Allen’s character’s life. It’s a witty film and it’s given a real touch of class by the stunning, inventive black and white images from clever cinematographer Gordon Willis.

Morose Allen may be, but there are plenty of hilarious one-liners to light up this gorgeous, underrated, under-valued film. In her debut, Sharon Stone waves to Woody from a passing train.

Tony Roberts also stars as Tony. Also in the cast are Helen Hanft, John Rothman, Anne De Salvo, Joan Neuman, Ken Chapin, Eli Mintz, Daniel Stern, Amy Wright, Gabrielle Strasun, Bob Maroff, Leonardo Cimino, Robert Munk, Louise Lassert and Laraine Newman,

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1810

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