alice.html

• Cert: 15
• Running time: 107 minutes
• Year: 1974
• Cat.no: SO12547
• Released: 17th February 1997
• Sound: Dolby Surround
• Widescreen : 1.85:1
• Price: £12.99
• Extras : Original Theatrical Trailer
  

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  Director:

  Martin Scorsese

  (Casino, Cape Fear, Taxi Driver)

Producer:

Screenplay:

Cast:

Alice: Ellen Burstyn (How To Make An American Quilt)
David: Kris Kristofferson (Convoy, Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid)
Ben: Harvey Keitel (Taxi Driver, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction)
Audrey: Jodie Foster (Taxi Driver, Silence of the Lambs)
Tommy: Alfred Lutter
Flo: Diane Ladd (Wild At Heart)

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymoreis an Oscar winning story of onespirited woman’s voyage towards happiness as she rebuilds and reassesses herlife. Ellen Burstyn, recently seen in the Winona Ryder film, How To MakeAn American Quilt, won the 1974 Best Actress Oscar for her performance asAlice, an ordinary woman with an ordinary life who moves out south headingfor Monterey when her husband Donald is killed in a car crash.

As Alice learns to become an independent woman while living in a bedsit withher son, she goes for the only jobs she knows, first as a singer and then as awaitress. The biggest challenge comes when she meets David (Kris Kristofferson)who tries to win her love.

This powerful drama is one of those rare gems, especially to see earlyperformances from two people. Harvey Keitel plays Ben, a married man who woosAlice in the first bar she takes a job in, and also Jodie Foster as Audrey,who befriends Alice’s son,

There’s no questioning Scorsese’s directing skills, and these are used to greateffect in a number of scenes from quick cuts, to hand-held camera shots, anda combination of both as used in the early tragic scene for Alice.

Picture quality on my tape was a little grainy, but the sound was good, withmost use made of it during the musical moments from Mott The Hoople’s”All The Way From Memphis” and Elton John’s “Daniel” through to T-Rex’s”Jeepster”. The original theatrical trailer is also on the retail video,although it wasn’t on the tape available for review.

If there’s any Howard Jones fans in the audience, you’ll recognise some linesof dialogue at the end having been used at the start of his song, “Look Mama”.

In short, this is certainly one film worth checking out, especially now asit’s only £12.99. It was originally released on the Tartan Video labelwhere the price was three pounds higher. At that time, a laserdisc was alsoreleased, so if you can find a copy, that would be worth a look too.

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1997.