Stardust Memories

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Stardust Memories

PG,

1980,

1h 28m,

Comedy/

Drama/

Romance

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Watchlist

70%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

78%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

30 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.

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

Sep 18, 2023

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

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Linda Deutsch

Associated Press

Jan 29, 2019

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.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Mar 23, 2009

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

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Oct 1, 2022

3/4

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.

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Norman Dresser

Toledo Blade

Jul 14, 2022

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.

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Kenneth Turan

New West/California

Nov 4, 2021

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.

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Hermione L

Feb 21, 2019

Unlike most, I enjoyed this work of Woody Allen's, much more so than many of his "arty" films, and specifically because it doesn't seem as if it's trying to do any of that pretentious fawning for approval. As usual, Allen is chasing women - for better or for worse, his Muses, only placebo Muses - in between bouts of dealing with unthinking, selfish fans and the "get to the bottom line" money people, but it all has the endgame in sight of achieving satisfaction of his one true love: film. He even got a coupla laughs out of me, and it's been awhile since he's done that. Good stuff.

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George W

Dec 26, 2018

For all its subversion of the cinematic form, and its commentary on the action itself, ultimately it seems to be the answer to the question 'how do creative geeks get to kiss beautiful women', the ultimate implied solution to Allen's faux crisis about the point of being an artist.

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Poe R

May 1, 2018

I love when Allen stars in it's own movies, but I found "Stardust Memories" very average. There are some nice jokes in it, but the film is very repetitive and self-pitying. Plus, even if I don't want to mix the private life of the man with his work, some sentences he says caused me a slight sense of nausea. Lastly, if you want to fish Fellini from my memory, be ready to lose the comparison!

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Poe W

Apr 3, 2017

#WOODYALLENRETRO PODCAST PROJECT A mistep in Woodys career that many have forgiven over time and i would have also forgiven IF woody has not said in recent years 75% of this movie is actually a dream..... In that case, the message was lost and that was not communicated well in direction, other than that, the characters are not particularly likeable - the fan bashing bit DOES seem like a nod to the fans and critics and overall this is well shot but not memorable If woody made this movie now in 2017 we thinks it might have been more effective and the DREAM IDEA should have just been dropped altogether... actually most audiences didn't even realise that was even a thing... a definite miss in woodys huge collection of movies imho

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Ron W

Jan 16, 2017

Woody's existential comedy is probably the most honest and complete look into the writer's personality and personal life

Luke L

Mar 27, 2012

F 8.2 [Woody Allen]

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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
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists
Production Co: United Artists, Rollins-Joffe Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 26, 1980, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Mono

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