Search - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore on DVD

Simply brilliant; beautifully acted, written, and realized

C. Heinrich | Oyster Bay, NY USA | 03/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this movie when I was very young (at least 16 years ago). To me it was just a comedy film that launched "Alice" (which was one of my favorite shows at the time). I now saw it after all these years and was amazed by all that I saw this time around. This is one of the best-acted films I've ever seen. Nothing more needs to be said about Ellen Burstyn here other than she still remains in my mind as one of the luminary, top-drawer actresses in American cinema these past 30+ years. She is flawless here; even breathtaking! And the performance by Alfred Lutter as her son Tommy was one of the finest performances I've seen by a teen/pre-teen. And of course there's Diane Ladd as the infamous Flo, who revels (and excels) in a small meaty role that usually wins Best Supporting Actress Oscars (she unfortunately lost). And Jodie Foster (as butch as can be) is a riot. And Kris Kristofferson gets his part just right, as do Harvey Keitel and the late Vic Tayback as the overbearing but lovable Mel. I don't know if the perfect acting in this film is a tribute to the actors or to Martin Scorsese (or both). But this film shows that Martin Scorsese is truly a monumental talent. High praise also goes to Robert Getchell for a screenplay that is as hilarious as it is moving. The purity and spirit of this film is obvious and very affecting. I think this is one of the great films of the 1970s. Be sure to put it on your list if you're a student of cinema. I think it is a landmark film in the human comedy/drama genre."

The end of the fairytale world over the rainbow...

John Grabowski | USA | 12/11/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The opening of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore must have been daring for 1974: it's a Wizard of Oz parody, a depiction of Dorothy's fairytale world of Kansas, but definitely without the sweet dialogue we're accustomed to hearing from that film. In two short minutes, we're told that modern times ("modern times" being the early-mid 1970s) are quite different from the world into which Alice Hyatt was born. You've come a long way, baby.

I was struck by how dated this film is in some ways. But of course what else could be expected. This was the beginning of the women's movement, and in the film Alice, played brilliantly by Ellen Burstyn, finds herself widowed, alone with a 12-year-old kid, and without any visible means of support. And women didn't necessarily have all the options then that they have now.

This could have been played as a maudlin or preachy piece, but what makes Alice such a joy is that the film never loses its sense of humor, because Hyatt never loses her sense of humor about life as she goes about talking to her child in funny voices and listening to his interminable unfunny jokes. (At least, they're not funny if you're older than 12.) At the same time, we always manage to appreciate her situation--the film also doesn't go for easy laughs. The sequence where she decides she has to get a job as a singer, and goes from dive to dive until one kind-hearted owner takes pity on her, is heart-breakingly real. Again, Scorsese could have gone the easy route and played the guy as a letch who would only agree to give her the jog if she slept with him, but he avoids the obvious, thank heavens, and instead we get a study of human nature instead of a feminist cliche.

I did have some problems with this film, mostly of the narrative kind. The fights with Kris Kristofferson's character seem a bit contrived. In the end we don't really sense if Alice will be any happier. Maybe Kristofferson will be a jerk towards her. She's still no to her dream as a singer, and a dream is what it is as best, because it's obvious she doesn't have the talent to make it big, or even make it period. (Even a mediocre version of "Where or When" can be moving, however.)

But although the finish isn't perfect, the journey sure is interesting. Alice is a survivor. She's not booksmart, but she's streetsmart. She's not sexy, but she is attractive. She's not vulnerable, but she's not a cold and aloof character either.

What makes most of the film work is the miraculous performance by Ellen Burstyn. She got an Oscar for this, and she deserved it. Also outstanding is Alfred Lutter as 12-year-old Donald Hyatt. He had almost no prior screen experience, but you'd never know it. Billy Green Bush is completely convincing as the domineering husband who gets KOed in a truck accident. Kristofferson is standard-issue Kristofferson--good enough, but not particularly memorable. Scorsese sprinkles his special restless energy over the whole trhing to make it play just right. Few movies have such honest, unsentimentalized visions of everyday folks in everyday places. My only problem is with some of the diner scenes, which were played a little too over-the-top. If Scorsese was trying for comedy it wasn't funny. If he was trying for heightened drama it wasn't convincing. Those scenes seemed to go against the grain of the rest of the movie's naturalistic style. Also, those who grew up on the TV sitcom Alice may be surprised how little the diner--and the characters of Mel, Flo and Vera--figure in the film.

As usual, Warner Bros. does an excellent job with the DVD. (They're Criterion's only serious competition when it comes to reissues.) The print looks so good you'd think this was shot yesterday--I barely noticed a spec of dirt on this 32-year-old film. The disc features the theatrical trailer and an interesting retrospective with Kristofferson and Burstyn, but no one else. Their reminiscences are interesting and fun, however. I'm really not sure, 30 years later, if this is a "great" film. However, it's better than anything Scorsese has done since 1990.
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