New York, New York

New Hollywood directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg evoked gloriously warm memories of the Old Hollywood Saturday matinee films of their youths with Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Martin Scorsese is no less passionate a film buff, so it's a wonder that his 1977 homage to the bygone MGM and Warner Bros. musicals is something of a misfire. Blame the miscasting of Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli, De Niro's overall unsympathetic character, and a love story in which the audience roots for the couple not to get together. De Niro is all too convincing as arrogant jazzman Jimmy Doyle, whose fortunes rise when he meets singer Francine Evans on VJ Day in 1945. The pair become a hit, but the music they make offstage is anything but beautiful. Jimmy and Francine can neither live with nor without each other, which is not what “Happy Endings” (to quote the film's showstopping production number) are made of. Even though New York, New York is a qualified wreck, there is still much to appreciate here. Minnelli is in powerful voice (move over, Sinatra; she owns the title song, which, incredibly, was not nominated for an Oscar), Boris Leven's spectacular production design recreates the artificial look of the old studio musicals, and John Kander and Fred Ebb's songs are now standards. DVD extras include an introduction by Scorsese, who also shares commentary duties with lackluster film critic Carrie Rickey (they are as mismatched as De Niro and Minnelli), as well as deleted scenes, a two-part retrospective documentary on the film's production, and an interview with Minnelli. A strong optional purchase. (D. Liebenson)[Blu-ray Review—June 21, 2011—MGM, 163 min., PG, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1977's New York, New York features a nice transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include an introduction by director Martin Scorsese (6 min.), audio commentary by Scorsese and film critic Carrie Rickey, “The New York, New York Stories” two-part documentary (53 min.), “Liza on New York, New York” retrospective featurette with star Liza Minnelli (22 min.), alternate takes and deleted scenes (19 min.), select scene commentary by cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs (10 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: Scorsese's uneven musical throwback makes a fine debut on Blu-ray.]