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.

68 out of 74 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

I was very surprised to find out that Stardust Memories is dismissed by both critics (at least some of them) and viewers as absolutely unwatchable Allen's film, his most chaotic attempt to claim that he can not stand his fans. I found it insightful and witty satire that cleverly (as always; if anything, Woody is a very clever man) fuses the comic and the serious.
Sandy Bates (Allen, of course) - a comic director who does not want to make funny films anymore 'because there is so much suffering in the world' (the scene reminds so much of Sturgis's 'Sullivan's Travels'). Sandy is depressed because his new 'serious' film is not well received by both critics and public and he is spending a weekend at Stardust Hotel during showing of his films. While there, he reflects upon his life, art, and relationships with three different women. Sounds familiar? Like 8 1/2, anyone? You are absolutely right. Woody meets Federico in the Stardust Hotel. The film is delight in gorgeous black and white. It is funny, touching, angry - all in the same time. The film was made twenty four years ago and I am very happy that Sandy - Woody had realized that to help the world IS to do what you do the best - funny movies. 'The people survived because they laughed'.
One more thing - Charlotte Rampling is breathtaking.
9.5/10

43 out of 47 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Reading some of the comments listed here, I'm dismayed by some of the narrowness of the criticisms ('It's shot in black & white for no reason!' 'The flashbacks are indistinguishable from the present day!').. as if these were somehow to be construed as mistakes. Jeez.
I love this film. It rambles a little here and there, and sometimes it's so personal I feel voyeuristic watching it. The montage of Charlotte Rampling towards the end is stunning in how it summarizes Allen's feelings about memory, nostalgia, and the ever-present reality that never seems to allow the past to make sense.
One cannot deny that Allen has a very keen understanding of who he is, as a person, comedian, and lover. This is not to say that he is infallible or somehow more evolved than anyone else, but rather - through the retrospective of his 'earlier funny films' - it's clear that he understands his strengths, and - outside the theatre - the weaknesses of his emotional life.
A perfect film for a quiet Sunday.

46 out of 51 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

While this film doesn't get the praise and respect of, say, 'Annie Hall' or 'Manhattan,' I think it is a brilliant look into the mind of a film director. How much of Woody Allen is Sandy Bates? Some, I'm sure, but I think it's more interesting to compare Sandy to Woody Allen's 'persona'--that is, who the public thinks he is.
The structure of the film is also quite interesting to me. Allen had done a very non-linear story structure, mixed with occasional flights of fantasy, in 'Annie Hall,' but 'Stardust Memories' does that and piles on a movie within a movie within a movie, and manages to both comment on all that, at the same time as he's telling the story of the brilliant, but self-absorbed Sandy Bates.
A great movie, that you probably should see more than once to appreciate.

32 out of 36 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Only a filmmaking genius like Woody Allen could bring such viable characters to the screen with such life and perception. Allen (who also scripted) is Sandy Bates, an acclaimed, world-reknowned director who attends a weekend festival honoring his works. When he's not being bombarded by mobs of autograph hounds and PR people, he takes time to reflect on himself and the three diverse women in his life: drug-abusing actress Dorrie (Charlotte Rampling), wistful violinist Daisy (Jessica Harper, who also appeared in Allen's 'Love and Death' (1975)) and French housewife Isobel (Academy Award-nominee Marie-Christine Barrault). Loaded with the crisp dialogue that we've come to expect from Allen (Best line: 'I would trade that Oscar for one more second of life'), 'Stardust Memories' is noticably one of Allen's most personal films. Also, what makes 'SM' unlike his other works, where his characters do a lot of interacting, the film's focus is mainly on Allen (most beautifully) interacting with himself mentally. Sharon Stone has a bit part in the beginning as a train passenger. Gordon Willis' cinematography is gorgeous. ***1/2 of ****.

20 out of 23 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

It seems that Stardust Memories does not get the credit that it truly deserves. Everyone has such distaste for this film because they thought that this was an autobiography and it was Woody's attack on his fans/critics. Woody himself has said many times that this is not the case, but even if it were, I believe that the fans/critics deserve to be lowered down a peg. After all, Woody's interpretation of his fans (via Fellini's style of awkward and hilarious faces) is valid. Fans and critics alike should never have verbally abused him so much after the release of Interiors (1978). Why should directors be type-casted? Let him have his freedom! After all, Interiors wasn't such a bad movie. It was different, but not bad. Stardust Memories has also been accused of Woody's most self-indulgent film, but this is an outrage. All of Woody's films have something to do with his personal life, but if he had casted someone like John Cusack as Sandy Bates, then everyone would have stopped complaining about it's self-indulgence and start understanding how much of a creative genius Woody Allen is. Overall, Stardust Memories will be one of his films that lasts; but only time will tell.

37 out of 49 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

In my opinion, Stardust Memories is Allen's greatest achievement. The film perceptively explores the relationships between art and reality, between the artist and his work, between the work and its consumers. Beyond its philosophic concerns though, this is also an incredibly funny film. There are more genuinely funny moments within this serious film than in many of Allen's earlier pure comedies. It skewers the movie industry, the movie-going public, Allen's own earlier work, Allen's present insecurities (surprise!), and a number of other targets. Intelligent, thought provoking, and at times hilarious, this film is an overlooked gem in the Allen canon.

20 out of 25 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

..and, in Sandy Bates, the lead of his satire on celebrity, loves, and his usual themes of turmoil over life and death, is a sense that Woody Allen is doing one of two things (or both perhaps)- taking from his own life and thinly disguising characters and situations, or using his own public image in film's culture to look through the looking glass slightly at some of his popular themes. This is not to say that the film is one of his very best. I could see what Allen was doing, for example, with the scenes and instances of tipping the hat to Fellini and his masterwork 8 1/2- the two films share that common thread of an artist in an overall funk of bittersweet memories and creative confusion. But while Fellini made his film out of a burning need to reveal all of his love for cinema out of his angst(s) after La Dolce Vita, Allen's track record shows that he's near incapable of waiting around too long to make a film (he's averaged nearly a film a year in 37 years up till 2003) so much of what comes forth in Stardust Memories isn't as much autobiographical as it is told through a character filtered with and not with himself. In short, a lot of the 8 1/2 dues were my least favorite parts in the movie (though I did like the quick Superman-type mementos).
But does that make Stardust Memories a failure, pretentious? Not to my point of view- once Allen starts the story rolling, and he gets his characters/actors into the gist of the film, it goes along like most other Allen films involving phobias, fears, loves (women), and sophisticated sense of varied parody. There are moments that Allen's stand-up act is injected into the mix, or a scene that could've been a chapter from one of his books, but mostly the audience gets the sense of his OWN love of cinema via Sandy Bates. Bates is another one of those Woody characters that seems all the more impressively formed and executed since it feels like the Woody we know, but Bates is just a little more on the edge of satire, viewing into his own self-doubts and trying to see if there can be any hope or meaning to it all- or if he can tell funny jokes.
The script contains some of the most memorable moments of Allen's career in one-liners (there are a few from the fans and autograph-hounds that stick out) and in having a natural flow, close to a type of poetry, in the conversations and dialog in the film. Even if one doesn't laugh, it definitely shows the work of a wonderful writer at the peak of his game. His direction is also intrinsically interesting, especially how he uses the unique, dark, and evoking cinematography by the great Gordon Willis, and the unusual editing stylizing by Susan Morse (though, once again, some of these editing tricks are to Fellini's credit). And the performances work well enough for the material, more often than not, with Charlotte Rampling as Dorrie, Bates' wonderfully stressed ex-girlfriend, Marie-Christine Barrault as Isobel, an old friend who left her husband for him, Jessica Harper as Daisy, whom he falls head over heels for while she and her professor-boyfriend are at the Stardust attending Bates' appearance(s), and Tony Roberts, who had a worthy supporting role in Annie Hall, pops up here as well.
I can recommend Stardust Memories for Woody Allen's main fan base, as it gives those who love his early films and his films that have more mature subject matter a bit of a (delightful) challenge. I don't know if I could recommend it however, as the very first film someone could see if the person wants to start of his films. There is an amusing quality to it that could give non-Woody fans a second thought about the filmmaker's work, but it's hard to say. It's not an altogether easy film to watch, or is it a masterwork like Manhattan. By the end of it, never-the-less, my time was not the least wasted, I knew I saw some ingenious scenes and jokes here and there, and there was a subtlety to it that has me liking it and responding more to it on repeat viewings. Is it homage? Sure, but it's a blend of homage (or as Roberts says 'ripping it off') and a personal, nearly original style, and it ends up, on a repeat viewing, a major work. 9.5/10

13 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Contrary to popular and critical opinion, this is Woody Allen's Best film. Yes, better than Manhattan or Annie Hall and all the others (about 30 i think). It is his best film because it is his most truthful, and it's angry. Critics dont like it because it attacks critics. But it is inventive, brillantly imaginative and purely cinematic, the narrative is almost non-existent and the film is really feelings put onto celluloid, in this sense it is a very PURE film, and probably autobiographical. Although no doubt Allen would deny this! I love the off-beat characters , and its also a very atmospheric film. I have seen about 25 Woody Allen films and think this is the most honest of them all.

23 out of 33 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

It's no secret that Woody Allen tends to make his films somewhat autobiographical of his own life and personal experiences, but Stardust Memories takes it to the next level. It is basically a complete reflection of Allen's state of mind in 1980. The movie is about a film director named Sandy Bates, who is starting to have anxiety about what he is doing for a living and starts to question its purpose. He goes into a retrospective recluse about his previous work and begins to recall all the things that influence his love of film. I wasn't alive in 1980 and I didn't know Woody Allen in 1980, but if you can't call this autobiographical to the extreme, I don't know what you can.
Stardust Memories is an odd film because it really has no storyline. It is told in an anecdotal narrative style as Bates recalls different moments in his life as new moments arise and influence him. He considers all the different oddities that inspired him to make the popular films he's made. There are a lot of different women in Bates' life and they all have various amounts of influence on him as a filmmaker, and the whole film is told through these stories about women he's encountered or loved in the past. After a while you start to think, what is the point of all this? The film doesn't seem to be going anywhere after a while, and it all boils down to just a lot of retrospect and internal conflict more than anything else. It feels as though Woody Allen made this film for himself rather than anybody else. And there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, but to the viewer it's not very appealing.
One of the biggest issues with this film is that Woody Allen's character, Sandy Bates, isn't likable. He's a complete narcissist and is completely full of himself. He doesn't necessarily convey it outwardly dramatically, but he has a constant aura of egotistical jerk that is impossible to really connect with. He feels detached from the world and it makes it difficult to relate to his conflict, but that really just goes back to the fact that this is a film for Woody, not a film for the audience. And that's a paradox that just doesn't work with me, and it only made me feel like this film was a waste of time.
Artistically this film doesn't have a whole lot going for it either. It has your typical Woody Allen nuances, but not to the level that some of his other great films have. It doesn't stick to one specific style and its thoughts seem a little scattered. It is shot in black and white which was interesting, but eventually got to the point where it served no purpose. Visually there was nothing in this film that gave me that fascination or 'wow' reaction that Allen's films typically incite in me. There are undoubtedly some well designed moments of the film with shots that made me nod my head in appreciation, but it doesn't have that consistent visual style that other Woody Allen films have.
Allen was 45 years old when he made this film. I think you could definitely call it his mid-life crisis movie. All of the thoughts that were whizzing around in Allen's mind at that point in his neurotic life are conveyed and put into a script through Stardust Memories. For Allen I'm sure this film was a huge success that probably helped him sort through his life and allow his mind to clamber out of that jumbled crisis it was going through. But for me as the viewer I didn't get much of anything out of this film. Allen's intentions were clear, but the movie felt like a waste of time.

9 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

To describe only one scene, the voiced-over flashback of the Dorrie character (Rampling) reading the newspaper while listening to Louis Armstrong on a calm Sunday morning is possibly the best that this minimalistic style of shot will ever get. Allen used a single, close minute-long shot of the partner looking back at him to illustrate the sweet spot of a relationship, in which a pair is seeing in each other mainly things that they like. That's the point for which the serious are always angling, and the point the romantically frivolous can never reach. Which one Allen is - that's left up to the viewer. Possibly he considers himself less than romantically serious, but fantastically lucky to have gotten to this moment.

9 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Funny, moving, imaginative, bold, intelligent, surreal, nostalgic and beautiful; Stardust Memories (1980) is one of Allen's greatest films, if not THE greatest. At its most simple level, the film is a merciless satire on the film industry, on the notion of celebrity, and on Allen's public persona, as he here essays the role of a stand-up comedian turned filmmaker wrestling with a number of weighty personal issues, including the death of a close friend, the breakup of a relationship and the beginning of an affair - all the while trying desperately to reconcile the need for personal success in relation to artistic expression. It is without question one of the filmmaker's most radical and imaginative works released at the peak of his powers, featuring a great deal of wit, warmth and human emotion alongside irreverent moments of personal homage, silliness and surrealism.
The film opens on a train as a ticking clock fills the soundtrack. Allen's character, Sandy Bates sits helpless in the carriage, surrounded by ugly, depressed looking people who stare back at him with dead eyes. As he looks out of the window he sees another carriage, this time filled with beautiful, revelling sophisticates all cheering and waving. Sandy tries desperately to convince the conductor to let him off the train so that he can switch carriages, but his pleas fall on deaf ears. As he tries frantically to signal to the other train, a beautiful woman kisses the glass and laughs as Sandy's train pulls away from the station. The next shot shows the ugly, depressed people from the train wandering through a garbage dump, recalling elements of The Seventh Seal (1957) and One Plus One (1968) before the film reaches the end of the reel and we realise that what we are seeing is a film within a film. The sequence works on a number of levels - firstly, as an extended homage to Fellini's 8 ½ (1963); establishing the theme of film-making and the games within the narrative, etc. Secondly, it is a comment on the nature of the character and on life itself; with none of the characters satisfied with the situations that they're in and always wanting something more. Lastly, the scene establishes the tone of the film; being every bit as stark, surreal and enigmatic as anything by Bergman, Fellini, Godard, etc - with the comment on mortality, on artist expression and on the journey of life - but is also incredibly funny.
Unlike later films of Allen that were more mature and more serious in-tone than the 'early funny ones', like, for example, Crimes and Misdemeanours (1988) or Husbands and Wives (1992), Stardust Memory is a film rich in absurd humour, imagination, fun and frivolity, whilst also containing some of Allen's most moving and intelligent ideas. I'd liken it to a combination of the aforementioned 8 ½ and elements of the Coen Brothers' last definitive film The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), which would seem to have taken influence from certain elements depicted here. As a comment on the struggle of the filmmaker and the argument of art over commerce, Allen is entirely ruthless; turning the backroom nature of film production into a leering Fellini-like circus of stupidity, banality and contempt for the audience. At one point, Allen's character is being berated by the studio heads for turning in a film that is 'pretentious, self-indulgent and unfunny', while carefully positioned in front of the famous Eddie Adams photograph of the execution of Vietcong prisoner Nguyễn Văn Lém; creating a tragic echo of that later scene which foreshadowed the murder of John Lennon.
It also shows the absurdity of film-making and the pressure for Sandy to return to former glories and produce work simply to satisfy the masses. Although Allen claims that there are no elements of auto-biography in his work, I think he is wrong. Even if does it unconsciously, without thinking, it's impossible to see Stardust Memories and not see it as a comment on the critical and commercial failure of his earlier film Interiors (1978). With that particular project, Allen was able to turn to the massive success of Annie Hall (1977) into producing a more sombre and serious film with heavy references to both Bergman and Chekhov. The film was a critical failure and led into the production of Manhattan (1979); one of Allen's most celebrated and iconic films, but one that he apparently wanted to have destroyed. Many of these personal issues can be seen in the character of Sandy, who is struggling through life like the rest of us and yet is expected to entertain. At one point he argues that it's impossible to be funny with so much sadness in the world, whilst simultaneously creating a film that is very funny as well as somewhat moving. The second element of the film deals with the memory of Sandy's troubled relationship with tortured manic depressive Dorrie. The relationship is sensitively handled and brilliantly performed by Charlotte Rampling, who conveys the fears, desired, dread and anxiety of this character on a path to self-destruction.
In the final act of the film the walls between life and death, fact and fiction, fantasy and memory all come tumbling down as Allen creates a kaleidoscope of elements all reoccurring from previous sequences in the film. The colourful characters, all chosen for their often unique physical features that are further distorted by the skewed, black and white cinematography of Gordon Willis also adds to the film's somewhat stark and surreal approach, which is filled with imaginative visual composition, intelligent production and location design, elements of wild fantasy and abstract, absurdist humour. By the end of the film, we no longer know if what we've experienced is real, literal or a theoretical film within a film, but we know the experience has been a unique one.

5 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Woody has a good look at himself as his career changes from the funny man with glasses who now wants to make serious films. Fun with black and white photography, taking the piss out of Ingmar Bergman's film style and turning serious is all part of Woody's maturity.

8 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

With the exception of 'Annie Hall' this is easily Woody Allens most personal film and I think its also an homage to the Fellini film 8 1/2 as we watch Allen as Sandy Bates. He's a very successful filmmaker and is hounded by autograph seekers wherever he goes. While at a film festival honoring his work, Bates reflects on his life and relationships and also what direction to take his career into. The studio hates his new film and want it changed. Sound familiar? It should. Charlotte Rampling plays Dorrie who is Bates girlfriend and Marie-Christine Barrault is a woman that Bates has always been in love with and she has just left her husband and taken the kids with her. You can't argue the fact that this is self indulgent as a lot of the critics of this film have complained about. But its suppose to be. I was a little annoyed at some of the turns that the film took and I never really understood the whole UFO watcher segment. Allen does a good job of showing the problems of being a celebrity like the never ending autograph hounds that pop in every situation when he's trying to say something important to someone. It also shows his frustration at the studios who complain that he's not funny enough and want to take control of his own film. But these points are made early and then the rest of the film gets at times repetitive. Yes, we know you don't want to make funny movies anymore because your depressed at the world. One of the fun things about this film is 'Spotting the star'. Daniel Stern, Amy Wright, Anne DeSalvo, Brent Spiner, Cynthia Gibb and Sharon Stone makes her film debut as the party woman on the train. Not nearly as bad as some have been saying and it does reflect on Woody's conscience. Over the years this film is probably more interesting than when it first came out. Still a must for Allen fans and I think others will have to take their chances on this reflective film.

15 out of 24 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The best film I ever came across is Fellini's 8 1/2.. It's witty, melancholy and simply true.
The only choice for the disillusioned modern man to escape the dreadful emptiness he calls 'life' is between suicide and despite.
Guido Anselmi chooses to treat his contemporaries with mild sarcasm that is rooted in deep resentment instead of fleeing this earth by hanging himself like Fassbinder's 'Herr R.', who overcomes his miseries by slaying his wife and kid before dangling from the office's bathroom window frame.
By doing so, Anselmi becomes a modern Everyman who should pose a role model for everyone of us. Instead of giving in to the worries that plague us constantly, we must emancipate ourselves from engaging emotionally with our fellow people - a valuable lesson to be taught by this film! Woody Allen manages to add even more spice to this story by inserting his unique point of view. Where Fellini is witty, Woody is downright funny; where Fellini is melancholy, Woody is equally so; where Fellini is true, Woody strays a bit for the sake of malicious humor --- but nonetheless: Allen accomplished an incredible feat - he copied one of his heroes and emulated him in a certain way.
When the audience poses questions at the cast of the film in the film, Eric Roberts is asked whether a particular scene is supposed to be a homage to 'House of Wax' he honestly replies: 'No, we just stole the idea'.
Woody stole Fellini's idea and elaborated on it in a truly American, New Yorkish, Jewish, Woody Allenish way. The result is cinema at its best: entertaining, thoughtful and uplifting (if you are depressed as any intelligent human being should be).
Watch it, be amazed, drop off and learn: Misanthropy REALLY IS a manual for living stoically: Never mind the buggers who are trying to hassle you, focus on yourself and YOU'LL BE FINE!!! Thanks Federico! Thanks Woody! A perfect 10 --- !!!!

5 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Woody Allen likes his privacy. He rarely gives any access to the media or his audience, yet he's aware they exist, and once in a while he makes a movie like 'Stardust Memories', where he speaks to them. Following the maturing success of 'Annie Hall' and 'Manhattan', Woody decided to address the segment of fans who were clamoring for his 'early, funny' films. As filmmaker Sandy Bates, Woody attends a film festival in his honor where he reflects back on his cinematic career and love life, the latter of which concentrates on two French women. As usual, Woody claimed years after that this film was not autobiographical. It's probable that some details in the story were constructed or exaggerated for dramatic effect. Still, with Woody's evident evolving as an artist, coupled with references to his own life (studying magic as a child, the numerous fans praising his 'early, funny' films), it's clear that some of these thoughts mirror Woody's real life. These inner-reservations may not be as incendiary as the ones presented in the wonderfully blistering 'Deconstructing Harry', but they are genuinely honest - and resentful.
There are two types of Woody Allen films; his 'New York' films and his experimental, European-influenced films (perhaps a third style would be when he blends the two together). 'Stardust Memories' would definitely qualify as one of his experimental European films. Despite the lush black-and-white photography of 'Manhattan' cinematographer Gordon Willis, and the all-around nuanced performances (most certainly Jessica Harper and Helen Hanft above all others), this is a strange journey the viewer takes in the film. What transpires is essentially a film within a film within another film, but Woody rolls it out wonderfully (especially the ending, or rather, the ending-within-an-ending-within-an-ending). Given the usual intelligence and intellectualism in Woody's films, criticizing the audience may seem off-putting but he should be allowed to once in a while. Sandy is a relatively normal person whose fame and success breeds hangers-on and freeloaders. Critics are rightfully portrayed here as self-serving media whores (a critic asks a cutting question that implies plagiarizing Vincent Price and then gives a 'I've-got-him-now' wink), and Sandy's fans are seen as selfish, inarticulate leeches ('Would you sign my left breast?' 'I love your films sir, you have such a degenerate mind!'). It is not lost on Woody for a moment that 'Stardust Memories' may be criticized as the work of a narcissist documenting his personal pain and 'fobbing it off as art', so he has someone say so within the first ten minutes of the film. Smart move!
What is so strange about this film are the facial features of several characters. Many of the critics and audience members appear with elongated beards, pudgy noses, raised eyebrows and oversized glasses. It always makes me curious when I see the film whether Woody is implying that he only remembers the strange-looking people in his audience or if he sees all of them in a skewered manner. In a way I hope I never learn which is the truth, I enjoy the mystery of it, and it's always a good sign when a movie raises questions. The Q&A sequences, the discussion with the aliens, and Sandy's crashing of a Sci-fi convention are absolutely genius. This is definitely a film for the more hard-core Woody fans, but I think it remains of of his most essential (and so does he).

6 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

A self-indulgent yet enjoyable fantasy by Woody Allen, where he models his style after Fellini's '8 1/2'. Allen plays a world famous film star/director not unlike his real self, who's now approached a mid-life crisis and has tired of making 'funny movies'. Though he's become embittered, he reluctantly agrees to be the guest of honor at a weekend celebration where the best of his films are going to be shown. While there he has to contend with sycophants, obnoxious autograph seekers, childhood flashbacks and different women on a surreal journey to self-realization. Woody received some hard knocks from fans and critics for making this type of highly personal movie, but I think it's very stylish and dream-like. Photographed in glorious black and white. *** out of ****

7 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Ladies and gentlemen, this is an authentic Woody Allen masterpiece. In Stardust Memories, there is everything that made me fall in love with this incredible artist since I watched Annie Hall for the first time, years ago. It's one of the most significant, sensitive and subtle works from Allen's filmography and a sincerely gift from the director to all of his genuine fans. Stardust Memories is so much more than a autobiographical inspired film, it's a reflection exercise about what life means to each one of us and how we cannot take it so seriously all the time. Loved it in every way! When someone asks me why I love Woody Allen so bad, I'll show just Annie Hall and Stardust Memories. Makes me sad realize it's one of his most underrated films.

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

I remember when this first came out; after the brilliant mid 70's period of Allen - Annie Hall and Manhattan. At the time it was panned by a number of critics; but even back then I thought it was one of the true classics of Allen. I continue to watch it every couple of years - usually on one of those mid week afternoons when you've skived off work and just want to escape into the mind of someone else. Why are we all here; what is the point of anything and why cant we just make some funny films like we used to

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Many of Woody Allen's movies have been introspective and autobiographical, yet this is the most introspective and autobiographical of all of them. Incredibly layered and complex, probably too much so. Still contains the usual Allen wit and clever dialogue, but toned down to be more serious. Truly captures the spirit of a director at a crossroads, and a quandary over where his true direction lies.
However, as mentioned, it is overly complex. Scenes seem discontinuous and random at times. Also, if you aren't a Woody Allen fan (luckily I am one), many of the in-jokes and self-references will be lost on you.
Solid performances all round, especially as the roles would have been difficult to play, considering the complexity of the script. As always, Woody Allen gets to play himself, though this time the character is actually himself.
Probably the least accessible Woody Allen movie, but definitely worth the watch if you are a fan.

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

'…obviously if you don't have enough to eat that becomes your major problem, but what happens when your living in a situation where you don't need to worry about that, then your problems become, how can I fall in love? or why can't I fall in love? Why do I age and die? and what meaning can my life possibly have? the issues become very complex for you.' These lines are spoken by Sandy Bates the lead character played by none other than Woody Allen in one of the prolific director's best films.
I choose the above quote to start this review as I believe that it perfectly elaborates the meaning of the film (and maybe all of Allen's films). Stardust Memories is about a film director who is on the verge of a mental breakdown, as he is feeling increasing pressure from his relationships, his career, his fans and himself. Sandy Bates finds himself being forced to attend a film festival celebrating himself. While Sandy is at the festival he is being constantly harassed by fans of his films, who are all painted in an extremely bad light and has often been called by both critics and the public as Woody Allen attacking his own fans who call for him to go back to making films like his 'early funny ones' after the commercial failure of Interiors.
The secondary story line focuses on Sandy's relationship with the many woman in his life, where he cannot decide between someone who is stable and wants marriage, another who has many psychological issues but is very exciting and sexy and one of whom he shares many common interests with but is indecisive and is dating a friend of his, and i believe that this is where the films main weakness lies, (along with inconsistent pacing, and slight tonal shifts), opposed to the fleshed out and well defined female characters in the past two films to star Woody Allen, Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979) the female characters in Stardust Memories are very thinly defined once you go past your initial impressions of them.
The film takes obvious influence from the films of Federico Fellini especially 8½ (the working title was Woody Allen no. 4, in an interview Allen stated he wasn't even half the Fellini of 8½) The main evidence of the influence can be seen in the opening scene which seems to be taken straight from Fellini's 1963 opus, and many dream sequences spread throughout and the near mandatory beach scene. The difference between the two films is that in 8½ Fellini deals with internal issues effecting only the life of Guido, while Sandy Bates seems to have much more going on in his mind, as shown in the scene where he meets the aliens.
While I don't believe that Stardust Memories can be seen in the same league as one of Woody Allen's greats which would include Manhattan, Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanours and Hannah and Her Sisters, if never seen one of his films i would suggest seeing one of these before Stardust Memories, but it is an extremely effective film and if you are a fan of Woody Allen I would definitely recommend seeing it as it is certainly one of his best.

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Stardust Memories (1980)
Woody Allen's search for what matters in life boils down to some less than funny truths in this utterly brilliant movie. First, what really matters is a relationship that works. Second, there is no obtainable big truth about life and death. Hence the last three minutes of the movie, which throws every shred of reality out the window.
But then there is the last fifteen seconds of the movie, which is about what also really matters to Allen--the movies, alone, with the blank screen waiting. No matter that it will fade out some day.
The plot is actually fairly straight forward, but it's told in a highly abstract and broken up way. And the presumed reality is interrupted, without warning, by segments of other films, starring the same people, so it's easy to lose your footing. The best advice is to watch it loosely, not worrying about the facts. And to watch it twice. I've seen it ten times by now, over thirty years, and love it every time.
One reason is the filming, the photography, the sets and lights, the constant inventive and sometimes referential construction and editing. There are parts that will refer to Fellini and another amazing moment that pulls out Bergman, both directors that the real Woody Allen admires (and insists he is vastly inferior to). There are some beautiful, brief, offscreen moments that recall Ozu, and there are endless scenes that allow the camera to move through crowds with highly orchestrated strings of people (often bizarre caricatures), in a virtuosic way. (The cameraman is Gordon Willis, sometimes thought to be the greatest cinematographer since New Hollywood in the late 60s. Check his list of films on this site and gasp.)
But the plot, the plot. There are those out there (I'm not one of them) who really prefer movies to make sense, and to want the plot to pull them along rather than push them away as happens here. So I'll say this much about what happens, which you should skip if you want to find out for yourself--Allen plays a movie director named Bates who is much like himself, and he is currently involved with a French speaking woman named Isobel. She represents the stability of a truly caring, loving relationship, and that stability (and her two children) scares Bates. He was previously involved with a stunning bit part actress who he raised to starring roles in his films, Dory, who is also beautifully bipolar, which he finds maddening and unworkable. But Dory has some mysterious spark and depth of character he can't get over, a touch for something deeper, which is always in his quest. Meanwhile, at the film festival that is the main site of the plot, he falls for a much (much) younger woman, Daisy, and that begins to mess with his head, too.
You really can follow those threads through pretty well, and survive. Or just sit back, grab a few laughs, and be dazzled by the visuals and the editing and the inventiveness of it all. And the truth it so well represents.

3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

I love almost all of Woody's films for different reasons. I think his first films (TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN through LOVE AND DEATH) relied more on slapstick and funny one-liners in the best comedy tradition. ANNIE HALL and MANHATTAN were great romantic comedies based in reality rather than slapstick. But STARDUST MEMORIES is both a very deep and very funny picture. It has some very funny lines. One of the funniest scenes is when he comes back to his apartment late at night to find a strange woman in his bed. At any rate, this film is excellent and despite the fact that some people find it kind of self-indulgent, I think it is one of Woody Allen's best films.

3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Let us start by getting to the heart of the matter.Stardust refers to an extremely naive romantic quality.By this yardstick,stardust memories are those romantic remembrances of the past which are an integral part of human consciousness.Old memories must be assessed on a timely basis in order to make sense of the life one is leading.This is precisely something which Woody Allen chose to depict in his film 'Stardust Memories'.In many ways,this film gives viewers an idea about Woody Allen's status in American cinema.We get to see through this film that he is neither a product of Hollywood studios nor a leading light of American independent cinema movement.He is quite simply an American director who has embedded a lot of European sensibilities in his films.Stardust Memories reveals that film directors like to lead different kinds of lives outside of their film making activities.It is a common fact that everybody would like to be associated with a film director in order to promote some social cause.This aspect has been nicely depicted by Woody Allen in this film.One word about Woody Allen's women characters.The women characters of 'Stardust Memories' are not weak but they have also not been shown as strong willed women.In this manner their is a mysterious ambivalence concerning this film's women protagonists.Black and White format is a nice method chosen by Woody Allen as all our dreams,all our memories are invariably made up of black and white images.

4 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

In what may have been Woody Allen's best movie ever, he plays an aging director attending a festival to honor him. The movie starts with him on a train full of morose people; that's when he looks out the window and sees a train where everyone's partying (Sharon Stone plays one of the passengers on the other train). This is only a taste of the bizarre things that await him.
At the festival, the movie becomes truly Fellini-like. Not only is he surrounded by people requesting his autograph, but one woman asks him to sign her breast! But the chain of events also allows him to reflect on his life and relationships (Woody Allen has a way with relationships). Among his former lovers are Charlotte Rampling and Jessica Harper.
Anyway, 'Stardust Memories' is definitely one that you have to see. It reminds us that Allen was quite good before he got all obsessed with neurotic rich New Yorkers. Also starring Tony Roberts, Daniel Stern, Laraine Newman and Brent Spiner (Data on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation').

4 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink