The Dominator reviews
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Distributed by
Elite Collection/Warner Home Video
Producer:
David Susskind and Audrey Maas
Screenplay:
Cast:
Alice: Ellen Burstyn (How To Make An American Quilt )
David: Kris Kristofferson (Convoy, Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid )
Ben: Harvey Keitel (Taxi Driver, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction )
Audrey: Jodie Foster (Taxi Driver, Silence of the Lambs )
Tommy: Alfred Lutter
Flo: Diane Ladd (Wild At Heart )
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore How To Make
An American Quilt , won the 1974 Best Actress Oscar for her performance as
Alice, an ordinary woman with an ordinary life who moves out south heading
for Monterey when her husband Donald is killed in a car crash.
As Alice learns to become an independent woman while living in a bedsit with
her son, she goes for the only jobs she knows, first as a singer and then as a
waitress. The biggest challenge comes when she meets David (Kris Kristofferson)
who tries to win her love.
This powerful drama is one of those rare gems, especially to see early
performances from two people. Harvey Keitel plays Ben, a married man who woos
Alice in the first bar she takes a job in, and also Jodie Foster as Audrey,
who befriends Alice's son,
There's no questioning Scorsese's directing skills, and these are used to great
effect in a number of scenes from quick cuts, to hand-held camera shots, and
a combination of both as used in the early tragic scene for Alice.
Picture quality on my tape was a little grainy, but the sound was good, with
most use made of it during the musical moments from Mott The Hoople's
"All The Way From Memphis" and Elton John's "Daniel" through to T-Rex's
"Jeepster". The original theatrical trailer is also on the retail video,
although it wasn't on the tape available for review.
If there's any Howard Jones fans in the audience, you'll recognise some lines
of dialogue at the end having been used at the start of his song, "Look Mama".
In short, this is certainly one film worth checking out, especially now as
it's only £12.99. It was originally released on the Tartan Video label
where the price was three pounds higher. At that time, a laserdisc was also
released, so if you can find a copy, that would be worth a look too.
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1997.
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