Stardust Memories (1980)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

26 September 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

While attending a retrospect of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his films.

Plot Keywords:

Weekend | Filmmaking | Fan | Hotel | X Rayed Skeleton

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Woody Allen	...	Sandy Bates
Charlotte Rampling	...	Dorrie
Jessica Harper	...	Daisy
Marie-Christine Barrault	...	Isobel
Tony Roberts	...	Tony
Daniel Stern	...	Actor
Amy Wright	...	Shelley - Sandy's Bed Hopper
Helen Hanft	...	Vivian Orkin
John Rothman	...	Jack Abel
Anne De Salvo	...	Sandy's Sister
Joan Neuman	...	Sandy's Mother
Ken Chapin	...	Sandy's Father
Leonardo Cimino	...	Sandy's Analyst
Eli Mintz	...	Old Man
Bob Maroff	...	Jerry Abraham

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Spain:13 | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Sweden:11 | USA:PG (PCA #26157) | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Rollins-Joffe Productions

Trivia:

In the scene where the movie execs criticize Sandy's film, two of the execs are Andy Albeck (a real-life executive who worked with Woody Allen at United Artists) and Jack Rollins (one of Allen's long-time managers).

Quotes:

Young Girl: I understand you studied philosophy at school.
Sandy Bates: Uh, no, that's not true. I-I-I did take - I took one course in existential philosophy at, uh, at New York University, and on, uh, on the final... they gave me ten questions, and, uh, I couldn't answer a single one of 'em. You know? I left 'em all blank... I got a hundred.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in St. Elmo's Fire (1985)

Soundtrack:

Tickletoe

Ignore the Critics on this one. Its great.

The problem with Woody has always been that everyone takes his movies more seriously than he does. Here, using the tactics of Felini, he makes fools of his detractors including the greatest detractor of all, Woody himself. For many reasons, I rank this among his best. He removes the restraint of plot, and just goes balls out nuts with his usual philosophical angst, and endless worship of beautiful dames. Oddly enough, without the fetters of convention, to me it was actually less pretentious or indulgent I think people like to call it, and a lot easier to understand and empathize with. One thing that I've always found absurd, and ironically what this film dwells on, is the complaints by fans and critics that he should go back to making comedies. Woody cannot not make a funny movie. If he's in it, and he's talking, I'm laughing. Especially back in this era, when his jokes were so fresh. So make no mistake, this film is loaded with comedy. Finally, I liked his choice of women in this. Charlotte Rampling is what I suppose the word breathtaking was originally meant to describe. If you arent touched by the final scenes with her, you got issues.