Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Rating:
Summary: Mean Deserts
Review: Although a stop-gap movie for Martin Scorsese, 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore' proved to be the pinnacle of Ellen Burstyn's career. Her academy award winning performance in this film crosses back and forth between careful tenderness and passionate intensity with intelligent ease. In most of his best work Scorsese encourages the actors in his films to play around with the script and improvise extensively. In 'Alice' he allows Burstyn's instincts about her character to come to the fore in the scene in the kitchen with Kris Kristofferson where she talks of her early showbiz career with her brother. Practically all of the dialogue was improvised by Burstyn herself, so much so that Scorsese had to cut the scene down to 3 minutes from 15! In fact there seems to have been a lot of cutting going on in this film. Alice's husband comes across as a totally unsympathetic character until you realize that much of his more tender scenes with Alice were cut in order to make the film move faster.

And move faster it does, for with Scorsese's deep aversion to static shots and his use of a hand-held camera in the small claustrophobic environments in which Alice and her son are confined, all the characters in this film look deeply unsettled in personality as well as in geography.

Ironically, filming had to be stopped on this movie for a couple of days because Ellen Burstyn had to go to the Oscars as she was nominated for her role in 'The Exorcist' that year. She returned unawarded to the work that would eventually reward her.

Rating:
Summary: One Of Scorsese's Very Best. Time Will Tell...
Review: Do you notice how little one hears about "Raging Bull"
lately? Well, there's a reason--it's not so hot. There is a
lot of repetition, a lot of improvisation, a lot of falsity in
that movie. And in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"?
There's a lot of truth and humor.

This was Scorsese's first studio picture; it was a hit,
and Ellen Burstyn got the Oscar for Best Actress. (In
England, the movie won Best Picture, Best Actress, Best
Supporting Actress, Best Newcomer, and Best Screenplay,
but--inexplicably--not Best Director). The movie was so
popular in America that CBS made a series out of it, and
the series ran for nine full years--the second longest
hit series ever made from a feature film (next to MASH).

I notice that some of the people who have visited this
site have downed the movie, but I also notice that the
one who downed it most didn't even know how to spell
the director's name correctly. (It's Scorsese).

Anyway, time will tell. This heartfelt, true little movie will
work its way very close to the top of Scorsese's ouevre.
It's hilariously funny and also touching and, at times,
harrowing. A well directed, well acted, well written
movie. What a rarity. Watch it and enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: They Don't Make Movies Like This Anymore!!
Review: This movie is the ultimate single mom movie..she faces abuse, tragedy and a life alone raising her child and she doesn't know how she is going to do it. I thought the acting (especially by Jodie Foster) was awesome and true to life. This movie has everything, it's funny, sad and in depth in what life is all about. This movie is for everyone who is just trying to survive life.