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Stardust Memories

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Stardust Memories

PG

Released Sep 26, 1980

1h 31m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

66%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Can a comedian evolve into a challenging artist? Not in the public's view, as Sandy Bates (Woody Allen) learns the hard way. The hostile comments persistently hurled at him indicate that audiences prefer his earlier slapstick comedies over his recent work: allegorical black-and-white head-scratchers in the vein of European art films. Invited to attend a retrospective of his work, the former funny man must come to terms with critics, audiences, lovers and, ultimately, himself.

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Critics Consensus

Woody Allen throws himself a pity party with all the surrealistic trimmings of Federico Fellini in Stardust Memories, a scabrous self-portrait that rankles as often as it impresses stylistically.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

In Stardust Memones, Woody Allen degrades the people who respond to his work and presents himself as their victim.

Sep 18, 2023

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Linda Deutsch

Associated Press

This one is best seen by film buffs and blindly devoted Woody Allen fans who will accept even his castigation. The rest of us can hope he cheers up soon.

Jan 29, 2019

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Variety Staff

Variety

Though there are laughs along the way, this is a truly mean-spirited picture.

Mar 23, 2009

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Certainly, it's one of Woody Allen's most bilious works, but it's largely this unbridled furiosity that makes the film such an intriguing watch.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 1, 2022

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Norman Dresser

Toledo Blade

Woody Allen's new picture, Stardust Memories, is a most curious work, often hilariously funny as only Allen can be, sometimes a parody of Allen films, and, as a whole, perhaps the least successful of any of his movies in the last five years.

Jul 14, 2022

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Kenneth Turan

New West/California

Stardust Memories is a very sharp film, a black comedy of despair if you will, and though the jokes are extraordinarily bitter and biting, they are plentiful and they are breathtakingly funny.

Nov 4, 2021

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David H

Woody Allen has made a handful of really great films. In my opinion, this is not one of them. *** I'm not sure exactly what I expected from this film. I remember that Steve Martin was in the midst of his meteoric rise right when it came out in 1980, and I was hoping the film might track that sort of a phenomenon in some way. *** Maybe I was hoping for a sort of Bob Roberts or something, except where the protagonist is an entertainer instead of a politician. Someone who can murder someone in the middle of a crowded avenue, to paraphrase a certain inept personality in US politics, over and over again without losing support. *** Or maybe another Being There, where an inept and clueless know-nothing unwittingly ascends to the upper echelons of political power. *** Instead, it ended up being a kind of whiny manifesto by Allen himself except in the voice of the character he has created. *** I did enjoy some of the scenes where he is approached by legions of fans, all of them with annoying requests. The flying-saucer scene was a bit over the top for my taste, but the film did have its moments. *** I'd love to find that train station where he goes with his French girlfriend to pick up and drop off her kids. It looks like a really interesting piece of architecture. I wonder where it is.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

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Alec B

Despite what Allen claims, it's hard to not see this as a manifestation of his own anxieties about his career and audience. Regardless the movie is quite funny and an effective homage of Fellini

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/24

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ed m

Interesting. Not great but fun. Strictly for Woody Allen fans.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

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Shioka O

Story is not noteworthy. You'll see strong influences from European film directors like Fellini. Great cinematography by Gordon Willis as always!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/23/22

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Audience Member

One of Woody's finest, but that's something I can say about more than 20 of his films. This one is funny, complex, beautiful, existential, intelligent and artful. At the end it can be seen as a film, within a film, within a film. Love it every time!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

Very funny, yet poignant look at celebrity. Prophetic really considering John Lennon was killed by a "fan" not long after the release of this movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Woody Allen

Director

Woody Allen

Sandy Bates

Charlotte Rampling

Dorrie

Jessica Harper

Daisy

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Synopsis

Can a comedian evolve into a challenging artist? Not in the public's view, as Sandy Bates (Woody Allen) learns the hard way. The hostile comments persistently hurled at him indicate that audiences prefer his earlier slapstick comedies over his recent work: allegorical black-and-white head-scratchers in the vein of European art films. Invited to attend a retrospective of his work, the former funny man must come to terms with critics, audiences, lovers and, ultimately, himself.

Director: Woody Allen
Producer: Robert Greenhut
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists
Production Co: United Artists, Rollins-Joffe Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 26, 1980, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Mono

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