Stardust Memories

Stardust Memories (1980)

Timing: 1:29 (89 min)

7/10
399

All about film

Video 1

Photo 10

Actors and characters

Release date

1980-09-26

Country

United States

Production

United Artists, Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions

Genre

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Budget

$10 000 000

Revenue

$10 389 003

Website

Director

Woody Allen

Actors

Woody Allen, Charlotte Rampling, Jessica Harper, Marie-Christine Barrault, Tony Roberts, Daniel Stern, Amy Wright, Helen Hanft, John Rothman, Eli Mintz
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Robert Greenhut, Charles H. Joffe, Jack Rollins

Operator

Gordon Willis

Composer

Artist

Audition

Juliet Taylor

Editing

Susan E. Morse
All team (51)

• Woody Allen has often stated that, along with "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985), this film is his favorite of all those he has directed.
• The film pays homage to Federico Fellini's "8½" (1963). This is reflected in the black-and-white cinematography, the opening scene with Woody Allen on a train, the coastal filming locations, the focus on a director pursued by critics and fans, and relationships with several women. Furthermore, although in a completely different context, both films feature a spaceship.
• The working title of the film was "Woody Allen #4". Allen said in an interview: "I'm not even half of Fellini's "8½" (1963)."
• Woody Allen has always vehemently denied that the film is autobiographical.
• This film is, to some extent, Woody Allen’s response to a hostile article written about him by writer Joan Didion, and the Academy’s indifference to his serious work – the film 'Interiors' (1978). This explains the film’s dissatisfaction with a critical society, particularly those who attend cinemas.
• The character of Dori was created based on Woody Allen’s ex-wife, Louise Lasser, who played an episodic role in the film.
• The film marked the debut of actors Brent Spiner and Sharon Stone.
• The film is based on film festivals organized by film critic Judith Crist, who also appeared in a cameo role in the film.
• Tony Roberts’ character mentions that he dated a Playboy girl. In his last scenes in the film, Roberts speaks with Candy Loving, who was actually Playboy’s Playmate of the Year for their 25th anniversary.
• This is Woody Allen's last film for United Artists. UA executives who had worked with Allen for 10 years left the company to found Orion Pictures, with whom Allen worked for another 10 years.
• In the scene where the executives criticize Sandy's film, two of the executives are Andy Albeck (who worked with Woody Allen at United Artists in real life) and Jack Rollins (one of Allen's longtime managers).
• In 1978, Lorraine Newman was quoted in Rolling Stone as saying that Woody Allen had told her she was the only person from the 'Saturday Night Live' (1975) cast who looked like a real actress. Newman was given the role of the only female executive in 'Stardust Memories' (1980).
• When Woody Allen was editing his films, he would listen to old musical recordings in the editing suite. This helped him catch the rhythm of the scene being edited. This was the first film in which Allen used these recordings as a soundtrack.
• The book that Sandy signs for the boy during lunch with the new studio executives is 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'.
• The scene where Shelly sneaks into Sandy's bed without his knowledge is a homage to John Huston's film 'Wise Blood' (1979). In it, actress Amy Wright does the same to the protagonist, played by Brad Dourif.
• It is known that this film is an homage to '8½' (1963). If 'What's Up, Tiger Lily?' (1966) is considered half a film (because Woody Allen simply re-voiced an already finished film), then it turns out that Allen had made eight and a half films before this one.
• The Hotel Stardust Memories is actually the Ocean Grove Great Auditorium building in New Jersey.
• The wallpaper in Sandy's apartment changes, emphasizing the theme of the scene in which they appear. For example, in the scene where Sandy and Dorrie argue about his flirting with her 13-year-old cousin, a newspaper headline 'Incest Between... Father and...' is visible on the wallpaper.