New York New York [Blu-ray] Reviews

Of his considerable and generally lauded output, New York, New York is director Martin Scorsese’s most controversial endeavor. For many, it’s his nadir: an overproduced, overlong spectacle that wasted his gifts on material unworthy of the time and money spent on it. But there are others who see its admirable qualities: performances of top quality, production design of astonishing variety, a song score of superb craftsmanship, and a rather fascinating amalgamation of studio artifice with the rawer, more genuine emotions of a modern movie scenario. Undeniably the film has its flaws: it’s sometimes overindulgent basking in improvisatory scenes which accomplish nothing and run too long, and the production design varies in quality and effectiveness as if money had run out and the skill level of the production’s effects sank appreciably. And with a leading character who’s impossible to like, it makes spending almost three hours with him something of a chore. Regardless, the movie is effective despite its numerous flaws and certainly isn’t worthy of the scorn that is often heaped upon it. 

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