April’s Scorsese of the Month screening is selected and introduced by Justin Currie of Del Amitri.
Martin Scorsese followed up Taxi Driver with this Big Band era musical, and it remains his only full-blown foray into the genre to date. Robert De Niro stars as Jimmy, a talented saxophonist who prowls post WWII nightclub floors, sizing up amorous prospects. When he meets Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli), a bravely independent band vocalist with the USO, sparks fly. As their relationship grows, Jimmy finds success slow in coming; however, Francine achieves success early as a recording artist and movie star. Will their music tear their relationship apart?
On its release in 1977 New York, New York proved too much of a swerve in style from Scorsese’s established gritty realism for many audiences, and it was a box office disappointment. Now, though, we can see it is another fascinating entry in Scorsese’s eclectic body of work, filled with the supercharged glamour of the Big Band era of the 1940s, and featuring an all-time classic title song.