Scorsese, Allen and Coppola: Ranking the ‘New York Stories’ from worst to best
Anthology films are notoriously tricky customers, offering up viewers several different stories that are often tied together by one overarching theme or central story. Still, they remain very popular forms of storytelling for some of the most well-respected filmmakers of all time, providing a blank canvas on which creative storytellers can splash stories of several tones that span a multitude of ideas.
Most famously, Quentin Tarantino used this ancient form of storytelling for his Palme d’Or-winning crime movie, Pulp Fiction, in which several violent tales occur on the very same destructive night. More recently, the Coen brothers applied the structure to the wild west, releasing the fantastic Ballad Of Buster Scruggs in 2018, starring Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco and Tom Waits.
Back in 1989, however, three of America’s most iconic filmmakers came together for an anthology movie like no other. Indeed, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola each helped to paint an impressive portrait of New York throughout their own filmography, but when it came to the collaborative effort of New York Stories, how did each director fare?
Ranking the New York Stories from worst to best:
3. Life without Zoe (Francis Ford Coppola)
The worst of the three short stories is Francis Ford Coppola’s Life without Zoe, a peculiarly basic story which lacks the drives of the two tales it’s sandwiched between. Telling the tale of a 12-year-old schoolgirl who lives in a luxury hotel, Coppola follows the young character as she returns a valuable piece of jewellery to an Arab princess and tries to comfort her divorced mother. It’s a strange, dull, hodge-podge of a story.
Silly and aimless, perhaps the worst part of Coppola’s tale is that we are forced to spend so much time with such a spoilt, unlikely protagonist.
2. Oedipus Wrecks (Woody Allen)
Whilst Woody Allen may have had a remarkable grasp of New York life in the late 20th century, his segment, titled Oedipus Wrecks, in New York Stories lacks significant gumption. Starring in his own story like his previous films, the short movie tells the story of a 50-year-old banker whose mother dominates his life and embarrasses him on almost every occasion.
When the mother one day disappears, Allen’s protagonist is left to deal with the hilarious mystery which unfolds. It’s a wild romp that provides several light-hearted moments but is hardly memorable.
1. Life Lessons (Martin Scorsese)
Is it really much of a surprise that the king of New York tales, from Taxi Driver to After Hours, also creates the best short film about his beloved city? Dense and meaningful, Life Lessons tells the story of a middle-aged painter and his intricate relationship with his young girlfriend. Dancing around the concept of love and beauty, Scorsese delicately questions such curiosities with a restless cinematic eye.
Scorsese’s section would fly miles ahead of the pack if it weren’t for a few minor missteps, but as it is, Life Lessons merely adds to the director’s impressive oeuvre of New York Stories.
