#Stardust memories synopsis plus

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. 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. 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). Although Allen claims that there are no elements of auto-biography in his work, I think he is wrong.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

#Stardust memories synopsis plus

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. 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. 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 looks out of the window he sees another carriage, this time filled with beautiful, revelling sophisticates all cheering and waving. Allen's character, Sandy Bates sits helpless in the carriage, surrounded by ugly, depressed looking people who stare back at him with dead eyes. The film opens on a train as a ticking clock fills the soundtrack. 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.

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. Funny, moving, imaginative, bold, intelligent, surreal, nostalgic and beautiful Stardust Memories (1980) is one of Allen's greatest films, if not THE greatest.