Penguin Videos: what your eyes want to see   In association with Amazon.com
Departments
All DVDs
Action
Animals
Animation
Anime
Art House
Blaxploitation
Camp
Classics
Comedy
Cult Movies
Disney
Documentary
Drama
Education
FamilyDrama
Fitness
Gay and Lesbian
Horror
Horror Humorous
Horror Slasher
Horror Teen
Kids
Music Video
Musicals
Mystery
Satire
Science Fiction
Sports Action
Sports Drama
Teen Comedy
TV Drama
TV Shows
UrbanComedy
VHS
Westerns
Yoga
Downloads
Apple iTunes

New York Stories

New York Stories
Directors: Scorsese, Martin, Coppola, Francis Ford
Actors: Lola Andre, Joan Bud, Marvin Chatinover, Larry David, Annie Joe Edwards
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Category: DVD

List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $13.49
You Save: $1.50 (10%)



New (42) Used (12) Collectible (1) from $4.33

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 25 reviews
Sales Rank: 32445

Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 124 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6

MPN: DISD29216D
UPC: 786936209068
EAN: 0786936209068
ASIN: B00008978N

Theatrical Release Date: March 10, 1989
Release Date: April 8, 2003
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Promotion: Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Terms and Conditions
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
What do an east village artist a lonely rich girl & a brow-beaten mammas boy hove in common? theyre all a part of the new york experience as seen through the eyes of directors martin scorcese francis ford coppola & woody allen. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 04/08/2003 Starring: Nick Nolte Mia Farrow Run time: 126 minutes Rating: Pg

Amazon.com essential video
Three views of life in the city of all cities comprise this film, with segments directed by Woody Allen, Francis Coppola, and Martin Scorsese. The best of the three is "Life Lessons," directed by Scorsese, about an artist (played by Nick Nolte) who uses his hypersuccess to lure beautiful young aspiring artists to serve as his assistant/lovers. The segment is an astute portrait of the nature of the New York art world. In "Life Without Zoe," Coppola portrays the life of the privileged Zoe, the daughter of a world-renowned flutist, whose adventures on the Upper East Side (in the upper echelons of society) play like something approaching a cartoon. Woody Allen finishes up the film with his "Oedipus Wrecks," a typical Allen number about a successful New York lawyer who's still hounded by his mother--the title tells you all you need to know. Though stronger segments to complement Scorsese's would have made this film much more interesting and enjoyable, it does provide an accurate glimpse into this wondrous city and is a must-see for anyone fascinated by New York. --James McGrath


Customer Reviews:   Read 20 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars Scorcese yes. Coppola and Allen no.   September 22, 2008
Bradley F. Smith (Miami Beach, FL)
The Nick Nolte piece about a Soho artist's quixotic fixations with young girls is the best of the three films here. Nice Scorcese rock soundtrack, as usual. The Coppola bit is cartoon-like and not very interesting, though visually arresting. Woody's schtick about the over bearing Jewish mother is quite funny, but short and thin. The directors all try to outdo each other with fancy camera work. Great looks at late 80s NYC.


4 out of 5 stars Two parts juice, one part froth   June 28, 2008
LGwriter (Astoria, N.Y. United States)
The middle segment in this trilogy, written by the director Francis Ford Coppola and his daughter, is--pretty clearly--a thinly disguised portrait of, that's right, the director and his daughter (and wife). The daughter is spoiled rotten and shows that off in just about every scene. Don Novello as her protector/butler puts in some good acting chops, and there's a nifty bit for Chris Elliot as an upscale crook, but otherwise this isn't much.

The high points are the first and last segments. As a passionate obsessive ego-maniacal artist, Nick Nolte--in Martin Scorsese's Life Lessons--is absolutely perfect. He dominates this piece, as well he should, frenziedly painting his huge canvases while soaking in 70s rock--especially Procol Harum, Cream, and Bob Dylan. Rosanna Arquette, as his sexy assistant, provides the complementary tension he needs to give this intense piece its powerful momentum. This is a superior short film, one of the best in the last 20 years.

Woody Allen's closing piece, Oedipus Wrecks, is a spiffy closer in which the viewer gets to see Larry David (of Curb Your Enthusiasm) circa 1989, and in which the protagonist's (Woody) mother winds up as a floating head in the Manhattan skyline. Don't ask. Just see it. It's a real hoot.

This is worth owning for the Scorsese and the Allen pieces; the Coppola is froth, but at least it goes down easy.



4 out of 5 stars Ode to a Jewish Mother   September 26, 2007
Randy Keehn (Williston, ND United States)
I'll be up front about my interest in "New York Stories", I only bought it to see the Woody Allen portion. I watched the entire movie and I found the first episode, "Life's Lessons", to be a compelling tale about an obsessive artist. His relationship with his former girlfriend is the focus of the story. The intensity of this segment is its' strength and the ending serves to mock the intensity. The second segment is a light piece about a rich juvenile girl in Manhatten (all of the stories are centered on Manhatten). I wasn't drawn into this story but I did come away with a glimpse of how the $ther half lives.

For me, the highlight was the third story written by, directed by, and starring Woody Allen. It is the ode to the Jewish mother and it is hilarious as much as it is heartwarming. The stereotypes are enlarged to mamouth proportions (literally, at times). There were so many scenes that had me laughing out loud but, for me, the best was the one where the people in the traffic jam all get out the pictures of their children. The beauty of this segment was that it was told in just the right amount of time. It would have been overdone as a full-length movie or even as an 80 minute movie. The format enabled three talented directors to tell a short story on film and the economy of time allowed for a better overall product.



5 out of 5 stars New York Stories   June 11, 2007
Sharon L. Chibnall (St.Louis,Mo.)
This is one of Woody Allens best , I know it's a short subject but it is hysterical. The other two stories are very good too. I finally bought it I don't know what took me so long. It's Great!


4 out of 5 stars New York, New York   March 13, 2007
Galina (Virginia, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

The anthology of three short films that take place in New York City was made by three great American directors, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Francis Ford Coppola.

"Life Lessons" directed by Martin Scorsese, literally took my breath away - it made me want to rewatch all Scorsese's films (with the one exception, GONY, though). What a magnificent work - visually it is as powerful as the painting Nolte's Lionel was painting. Combining in one short film Procul Harum's "A whiter shade of pale" and Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from "Turandot" was a stroke of genius. This film is an ode to the power of talent; it is about greatness and curse of the gift, not about love to the woman. The best scene of the film and I'd say one of the best ever made about the Artist's work is Nolte triumphantly painting his masterpiece - his love, desire, lust, cries, whispers, tears, and humiliations magically transform with every stroke of his brush into the immortal, triumphant, brilliant work of art. By the time the painting is finished, he would need a new source of inspiration and self-torture, and the cycle will repeat over again. Devilishly clever portrait of an Artist as Not a Young Man. 9.5/10 (4.5/5)

I loved Woody Allen's "Oedipus Wrecks" and I think it is very funny and touching. Looks like Allen has met mothers or grandmothers like Mrs. Millstein in real life and his little gem is his love-hate letter to them. In the end, mom always knows what is best for her little boy. Mae Questel and Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson) were wonderful. Woody's face after his mom "disappears" and the scene when he practically makes love to the chicken drumstick are pure delight; also the commentary that New York is used to everything and readily accepts the crazy situation - it is so true. One of the best Allen's films I've seen lately - I am very glad that I finally saw it.

Larry David ("Seinfeld", "Curb Your Enthusiasm") plays the Theater Manager. It made me think if Estelle Costanza created by David and Mrs. Millstein (Woody's omnipresent mother) have a lot in common in making the lives of their sons miserable and smothering them with their merciless love? 9/10 (4/5)

Coppola's "Life Without Zoe" was much weaker than Scorsese's and Allan's stories and paled in comparison - this episode "from the lives of the reach and beautiful" was pretty and cute but you can skip it. 5/10 (2.5/5)



Apple iTunes

Shelves
Grade Level (feature_five_browse-bin)
Preschool
Kindergarten
Elementary School
Middle & High School
College
Post-Graduate
Audio Type (feature_six_browse-bin)
Digital Sound
Dolby
Surround Sound
Other Penguins

Penguin Audio

Penguin 64

Penguin CPU

Penguin Cameras

Penguin Kitchens