New York Stories
USA , 1989.

Directed by: Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese
Script: Richard Price, Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola
Producer: Robert Greenhut
Production company: Touchstone Pictures
Cinematography: NĂ©stor Almendros, Sven Nykvist, Vittorio Storaro
Editing: Barry Malkin, Susan E. Morse, Thelma Schoonmaker
Music: Carmine Coppola, Kid Creole
Cast: Woody Allen, Marvin Chatinover, Mae Questel, Mia Farrow, Molly Regan, Ira Wheeler, Joan Bud, Jessie Keosian, Michael Rizzo, George Schindler, Bridgit Ryan, Larry David, Paul Herman, Herschel Rosen, Lola André, Andrew MacMillan, Jodi Long, Julie Kavner, Heather McComb, Talia Shire, Gia Coppola, Giancarlo Giannini

Format: video
Running time: 119'

Synopsis
New York Stories consists of three shorts with the central theme being New York City. The first short is 'Life Lessons', directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Richard Price. The second is 'Life Without Zoe', directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by Coppola and his daughter, Sofia Coppola. The last segment is 'Oedipus Wrecks', directed and written by Woody Allen.


Nick Nolte plays Lionel Dobie, an acclaimed abstract painter who is unable to paint before a major gallery exhibition of his new work, and Rosanna Arquette is Paulette, his apprentice/assistant and former lover. Lionel is still infatuated with her, but Paulette wants only his tutelage, which makes things difficult since they live in the same studio-loft, where most of the action in the movie takes place. While Lionel procrastinates, unable to complete the paintings that are scheduled for an upcoming solo exhibition of his, Paulette dates other people, including a performance artist played by Steve Buscemi and a painter played by Jesse Borrego.

Life Without Zoe is about an heiress Zoe (Heather McComb), a young girl who helps return to an Arab queen a valuable piece of jewelry that was given to her father (Giancarlo Giannini). At the same time she spends time trying to reunite her divorced mother, a photographer (Talia Shire), and father, a flutist. The lush cinematography and sumptuous sets and art direction are the main features of this film, which presents a fairy-tale New York where even the homeless people are characters. The short also includes Adrien Brody as Mel in his first film role.

Oedipus Wrecks is about a New York lawyer Sheldon (Woody Allen), who has problems with his overly critical Jewish mother (Mae Questel). Sheldon complains constantly to his therapist about her, eventually concluding he wished she would just disappear. He takes his fiancé, Lisa (Mia Farrow), to meet his mother and she disapproves. The three of them, as well as Lisa's children from a previous marriage, try to get to know each other better by going to a magic show. At the magic show, his mother is invited to be a part of the act. She is put in a box that has swords stuck through it and she disappears like she is supposed to, but then she never reappears. This turns out to be great for Sheldon because, with her out of his life, he can finally relax. But soon his mother reappears in the sky over New York City.

Awards
American Comedy Awards, USA 1990 American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Julie Kavner)

Directors Biography
Martin Scorsese is born 1942. He is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation and a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Oscars, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Directors Guild of America. Scorsese is widely considered to be one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of his era, directing landmark films such as 'Taxi Driver', 'Raging Bull' and 'Goodfellas'; all of which he collaborated on with actor Robert De Niro. He earned the Academy Award for Best Director for 'The Departed'.

Francis Ford Coppola is born April 7, 1939. He is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, magazine publisher and hotelier. He is a graduate of Hofstra University where he studied theatre. Earned an M.F.A. in film directing from the UCLA Film School. Coppola is most renowned for directing the 'Godfather' films, 'The Conversation', 'Apocalypse Now' and 'Bram Stoker's Dracula'.

Woody Allen is born 1935. He is an American film director, screenwriter, actor and musician. Allen's distinctive films, which run the gamut from dramas to screwball sex comedies, have made him one of the most respected living American directors. He is also distinguished by his rapid rate of production and his very large body of work. Allen writes and directs his movies and has also acted in the majority of them. Woody Allen has won three Academy Awards and been nominated a total of 21 times: 14 as a screenwriter, six as a director, and one as an actor.

Location and screening schedule: Tuškanac Cinema, Thursday, October 22nd at 21.00