Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
by Martin Scorsese
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alfred Lutter III, Billy Green Bush, Ellen Burstyn, Lelia Goldoni, Mia BendixsenDirector: Martin Scorsese
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Surround Sound
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-08-17
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Movie Review: A Classic Movie of the 1970's (Even With that Gorilla Joke!)
Summary: 5 Stars
Ever since I got a DVD player, a number of years ago, the one movie title, I have been looking in vain for, is the wonderful, 1974 comedy/drama, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore". Now, with the recent treasure trove of DVD releases of Director, Martin Scorsese's Warner Brothers film output, the wait is finally over. The film takes place in the American South-West. Alice Hyatt (a brilliant Ellen Burstyn) is an unhappy housewife, trapped in a stale marriage with an angry man (Billy Green Bush), who seems to have little interest in her. She spends her days cooking, cleaning and trying to keep her husband from "killing" Tommy (Alfred Lutter III), their bratty, twelve year old child. Fate intervenes, when her husband suddenly dies in a truck accident. With little money in her pocket, the newly widowed, Alice and her son set out in a battered station wagon to Monterey, CA with hopes of renewing her past career as a lounge singer. During the course of the trip, we follow this mom across the West as she sings in bars, becomes a waitress in a lousy Tuscon, AZ diner and eventually finds true love with a 'too good to be true' local rancher named David (Kris Kristofferson). The movie isn't just about the physical journey that Alice takes. Instead the film looks at Alice's emotional journey of self discovery as a women & human being. She learns, that she is more than just a housewife, who needs to be taken care of. She has hopes & dreams and can stand on her own two feet to try to achieve them. Now, normally, when one thinks of films about "women's issues", Martin Scorsese's name does not pop up. This is the director, who became famous for films about 'wiseguys', prize fighters and psychotic taxi cab drivers. But "Alice" proved that Scorsese is one of America's premiere film makers, who can master any genre. Just watch the scene, where the recently widowed, Alice sits at her home piano and plays Rogers & Hart's "Where or When". Scorsese's camera slowly circles around her and we just get mesmerized by how lost she is in the music. The scene is so simple, yet so brilliant. The acting in the film is as good as you can get. Ellen Burstyn roundly deserves her 1974 Academy Award for 'Best Actress'. She just runs through so many emotions and gives such a heart felt performance. Alfred Lutter III also gives a very funny and genuine performance as Tommy. You could practically look up the words "bratty attention-starved kid" in the dictionary and find his picture. The smaller roles are done well also. There are great performances from Diane Ladd as the saucey waitress, Flo and a really scarey bit of acting from Harvey Keitel as an abusive man, Alice has a short relationship with. Finally mention should be made of the movie's wonderful soundtrack. It is made up of an eclectic mixture of classic popular standards, rock n' roll and country, that not only lends atmosphere and ambience, but also comments on the scenes they are in. A good example is the film's opening scenes, where we are treated to the highly stylized, rose colored memories of Alice's childhood. Over the soundtrack we hear Alice Faye gently singing "You'll Never Know". Abruptly, the scene ends and we are jolted back to gritty, reality with the hard rock of Mott the Hoople's "All the way to Memphis." This is Scorese's genuise at work! This DVD is a must for any serious DVD collection. A very moving and entertaining film, that I highly recommend!
Summary of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE - DVD MovieHaving scored a critical triumph with Mean Streets, Martin Scorsese accepted Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore as his first big-studio assignment, proving his versatility and further advancing his promising career. Hot off The Exorcist with her choice of projects at Warner Brothers, Ellen Burstyn sought a hot young talent (Scorsese was recommended by Francis Coppola) to direct Robert Getchell's fine, sensitive screenplay about Alice Wyatt, a newly-widowed 35-year-old lounge singer with a bratty 12-year-old son (Alfred Lutter) and a very uncertain future. Her pursuit of broken dreams lands her a waitressing job in an Arizona diner, where she befriends foul-mouthed Flo (Diane Ladd) and meets and falls in love with a divorced farmer (Kris Kristofferson). With absolute authenticity of emotion and incident, Alice--which earned Burstyn a well-deserved Oscar® and features supporting roles for future Taxi Driver costars Jodie Foster and Harvey Keitel--conveys a then-timely sense of strength and endurance from a single mother in desperate times. There have been several similar dramas made since 1974, but Alice (which inspired the popular TV sitcoms Alice and Flo) is still the best. Trivia buffs: Look closely for Ladd's daughter--a very young Laura Dern--and Scorsese as background extras in the diner scenes. --Jeff Shannon
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