MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Martin Scorsese's first Hollywood studio production also marked his first (and only) foray into a woman-centered story. Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn), a resigned Southwest housewife, takes advantage of her trucker husband's sudden death to hit the road with her bratty son Tommy (Alfred Lutter) and pursue her childhood dream of a singing career. She finds a job as a lounge singer, but after a horrific encounter with an abusive new beau (Harvey Keitel), she flees and winds up taking a waitress job at Mel's Diner, run by gruff cook Mel (Vic Tayback). With her career on hold, Alice soon finds strength and self-worth through her friendship with the other waitresses, saucy Flo (Diane Ladd) and spacy Vera (Valerie Curtin). When sensitive rancher David (Kris Kristofferson) starts courting her, Alice wonders if she wants to abandon her goals for domesticity again. To contrast Alice's dream life with her reality, Scorsese created a stylized opening sequence of Alice as a child reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, Duel in the Sun and Gone With the Wind, before shifting into the present-day atmospheric immediacy of location shooting and scenes built out of improvisations. That opening sequence alone cost over twice as much as Scorsese's debut feature, Who's That Knocking At My Door?. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: French, English, Spanish
• Features:
  • • Commetary by director Martin Scorsese, Ellen Burstyn, and Kris Kristofferson
    • Making-of documentary "Second Chances"
    • Theatrical trailer
    • Languages: English, French
    • Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Actress - 1974 (Ellen Burstyn)
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1974 (Robert Getchell)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 1974 (Diane Ladd)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Actress - 1975 (Ellen Burstyn)
•     Won Best Picture - 1975 (Martin Scorsese)
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1975 (Robert Getchell)
•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1975 (Diane Ladd)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1974 (Ellen Burstyn)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic - 1974 (Diane Ladd)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1975

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Martin Scorsese

• Producer:

  Audrey Maas, Sandra Weintraub Roland, David Susskind

• Screenwriter:

  Robert Getchell

• Cinematographer:

  Kent Wakeford

• Composer (Music Score):

  Dick LaSalle

• Editor:

  Marcia Lucas

• Production Designer:

  Toby Carr Rafelson

• Co-producer:

  Sandra Weintraub

• Makeup:

  Bob Westmoreland

• First Assistant Director:

  Mike Moder

REVIEW:

• Although Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore has almost none of Martin Scorsese's thematic characteristics, it draws its charm and energy from the same kind of lifelike, improvisational style common to all his films, especially in scenes between Alice and either Flo or the annoyingly articulate Tommy; star Ellen Burstyn suggested Scorsese to Warner Bros. after Francis Ford Coppola told her to see the not-yet released Mean Streets. She wound up winning the Best Actress Oscar. In its time, the movie was criticized for presenting Alice with too pat a choice between lover and career, and with making the lover too implausibly attractive in the person of Kris Kristofferson. Jodie Foster appears as Tommy's eccentric new friend Audrey. Screenwriter Bob Getchell's characters were adapted for the TV series Alice starring Linda Lavin, Polly Holliday, and Vic Tayback. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi