Stardust Memories (1980)

Directed by Woody Allen. Starring Woody Allen, Charlotte Rampling, Marie-Christine Barrault, Jessica Harper, Tony Roberts, Helen Hanft, Amy Wright, Anne De Salvo, Daniel Stern, John Rothman, Leonardo Cimino. [PG]

Flashback-laden, pseudo-biographical chronicle of a famous movie director (Allen) attending a retrospective film festival, burdened by obsessive fans and groupies, in addition to assorted memories, neuroses, panic attacks, etc. The obscure symbolism and disclosures, black & white photography, spin cycle of female companions, blurred lines between fantasy and reality, and (superficial) self-analytic/referential nature all appear to be modeled off of Fellini’s 8½, but Woody is too flippant with the quips and too shapeless with the experimental structure for it to work as a send-up, an homage, or the real deal. Sometimes narcissistic, often repetitious, and no matter how sardonic the application may be intended, so much fawning from would-be lovers and applauding patrons shot in grotesque close-ups can’t help but resemble self-congratulation with a whiff of the odious. Widely criticized when first released, it has experienced a more favorable reappraisal in the years since, so the debate rages on. At the very least, it’s one of the writer/director/star’s most technically-accomplished efforts during his peak period. A few familiar faces make uncredited walk-ons, such as Laraine Newman and Louise Lasser; the young woman on the train at the beginning who looks like Sharon Stone actually is Sharon Stone (her first film appearance).

47/100