Jimmy (Robert De Niro) is a joint-jumpin’ saxophonist on his way to stardom.  Francine (Liza Minnelli) is a wannabe starlet with dreams of singing in the spotlight.  When they meet, sparks fly – and when he plays and she sings, they set New York on fire!  It’s the beginning of a stormy relationship as the two struggle to balance their passions for music and each other under the pressures of big time show biz.

V-J Day, 1945.  The War was over and it was time to party.  Into this reveille steps Jimmy Doyle, who has wasted no time in trading in his military fatigues for a sharp Hawaiian shirt.  He is trying to pick up every girl he sees, but when he first meets Francine, it is all he can do to get her to say something other than “No.”  Her rejections only encourage him, and he becomes charmingly persistent (“even though I’m giving you a line, I’m serious”).

The back and forth between De Niro and Minnelli is amazing.  Much of it was improvised, and the actors are spot on, and they counter each other perfectly.  The wit oozes from the screen.  The whole cast of this film does well.  Minnelli is the perfect choice for the role she plays.  Aside from the obvious reasons, she calls to mind the biggest star of the time this film celebrates, her own mother, Judy Garland.  The reminder is subtle but effective, and it never overwhelms Minnelli’s performance.

Jimmy’s sax playing, like his personality, is loud, aggressive, and it does not win him many fans early on.  No one can deny his talent, but they all want him to play conventional.  Jimmy and Francine take the show on the road, hitting what seems like every small town in America.  As they find their niche and make a name for themselves, they go from playing empty ballrooms in Paducah to being the hottest act in New York, the epicenter of the big band era.

Scorsese shoots all of this with very precise camera work, the cinematic grace that would become his trademark.  The photography, Lazlo Kovacs, is beautiful, with lush colors that recall the glory days of Technicolor.  Scorsese’s original intent was to shoot the film in the 1.33:1 full frame ratio, which by that time was made nearly impossible by the wider format equipment. 

This film was Scorsese’s follow-up to Taxi Driver, and it is an interesting choice.  After who’s That Knocking At My Door, Mean Streets, and Taxi Driver, Scorsese went from shooting on the streets to recreating New York on an MGM sound stage.  The result is Scorsese’s New York meets the Big Hollywood Musical, something real and not at the same time, a parallel reality.  New York, New York not only embraces the artifice of the big musical, it celebrates and revels in it.  The end result is a tribute, but it is also a reexamining.  The film is an old time musical with a darker edge.

New York, New York is not without its flaws, the biggest of which being the pacing.  Even with its two-and-a-half hour running time, the film feels incredibly long.  The dialogue crackles, and the characters bounce off of each other, and the film should hum along at a faster pace, but it drags.  The flaws are outweighed by the film’s strengths, and this is a strong, often overlooked early film from Scorsese.

New York, New York is presented in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio, which is only slightly wider than the average television.  The rich colors are well translated, but the overall picture sharpness was a bit disappointing.  There are no grains or defects, but the picture is a bit fuzzy.

This DVD offers English 5.1 Surround, English Mono, and Spanish Mono.  The presentation here is quite good, and all the musical numbers and ambient crowd sounds come through crisply.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary With Martin Scorsese and Critic Carrie Rickey: Rickey gives an interesting critical analysis, marred only by the fact that she is clearly reading from a prepared text.  Scorsese is more conversational, talking about his career up to that point and how this film came together.

Introduction by Martin Scorsese: The director talks about the ideas that drew him to this film and what he was trying to accomplish.

Alternate Takes/Deleted Scenes: Much of New York, New York was improvised, and here we have different interpretations of key scenes in the film and scenes that were cut altogether.  It is interesting to see these actors experiment.

Photo Gallery: An extensive gallery, with photos of the cast and crew, lobby cards and posters, storyboards, on set photos and test shots.

Theatrical Trailer: The original trailer, very much of the 1970’s, but also reminiscent of the period the film celebrates.

Teaser Trailer: A shorter trailer, focusing more on the romanticism of the film.

New York, New York is an interesting early film from Martin Scorsese.  The film features a great performance from Robert De Niro, and some great cinematography by Lazlo Kovacs.  The film is wonderfully reminiscent of the big musicals of Hollywood’s Golden Age.  The films flaws are obvious, but the special features are interesting.