Review of Stardust Memories (1980) by Kenneth R — 02 Sep 2011

After the success of Manhattan (1979), Woody Allen made a witty, knowing homage to Federico Fellini's 8Â 1/2 (1963), although you'd be forgiven for thinking this was autobiographical, it's a surrealist homage about the stresses of filmmaking, studio-interference and how typed directors can rarely do something different.

Woody plays acclaimed director Sandy Bates, who specialises in comedies, he attends a retrospective of his films at a seaside hotel where fantasy and reality fuse together. At the same time, the studio making his new film are trying to recut it, as it's not a comedy, but an "art film".

Bates recalls his life and the women he loved, including his ex-girlfriend Dorrie (Charlotte Rampling). his current squeeze Isobel (Marie-Christine Barrault), but at the same time, he finds himself attracted to Daisy (Jessica Harper).

Bates didn't even want to go to the retrospective, but he puts a brave face on, and answers his fans' questions, even though alot of them prefer his "early, funny films". Some might accuse this of being much more than semi-autobiographical, (which Allen has always denied), it's a satire on what a director has to go through, whether it be their private or public life, but does have some good performances and some very funny one-liners.