People are voting emotionally.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

After positively loving Woody Allen's 1980 film Stardust Memories, and finding myself surprised that I hadn't heard it called one of the filmmakers' best, I did what I have never done before writing my own thoughts on the film--read other reviews on it. I was shocked to learn that Stardust Memories was nearly universally panned by critics. Roger Ebert called Stardust Memories a "disappointment", even. I'm still not sure why this film was so hated, but what I am sure of is that I am firmly in the apparent minority of viewers who loved Stardust Memories.Sandy Bates (Woody Allen) is embarking on a career transformation; the filmmaker, renowned for his comedic films is looking to pivot to directing more serious films. Sandy is hoping this change helps him discover the meaning of life, particularly his own. At every point in Sandy's life, there are people praising him for his wonderful films, no one can imagine any reason Sandy would want to leave these films behind. His struggles only worsen when he is invited to a retrospective weekend of his work. He struggles listening to the praise of his work, films that have not brought him any sense of purpose to his life. Then, there are the film executives Sandy must contend with. The producers working with Sandy on his newest film, attempt to put comedic moments into any place possible in hopes of making the film more like those in Sandy's past that audiences already love. No aspect of Sandy's life is free from the intense introspection he is currently experiencing. Sandy is also evaluating his love life questioning whether to keep his relationship with his married girlfriend going, or, to explore a possible relationship with an attendee he has come to know during the retrospective weekend of his work. Sandy is searching for the meaning of life, love, and art, which he hopes will lead him somewhere before the earth's decaying matter leaves only stardust memories.One of my favorite happenings in life is when fans of cinema make a film. From the opening of Stardust Memories and its nod to Fellini to the iris out of the camera lens to the constant noir use of shadows, you can tell Woody Allen is a fan of cinema. Such loving homages to classic cinema will always find a place in my heart, and Stardust Memories is full of such loving nods. While blatant in its instances of homage, I reject the claim that Stardust Memories is "Woody Allen's version of a Fellini film", as I've heard. I especially reject the portion of Roger Ebert's review in which he opines: "In the Allen picture, there's no depth, no personal context" Ebert covers in the review that he is displeased by what Allen has to add to the struggle and Allen's imagination as an artist is stunted because all he seemed to add was uncertainty. That's just it though, Woody Allen in every film I've seen of his so far grapples with life's uncertainty and whether or not he or anyone else even has meaning. That's what Allen's imagination is focused on and he shouldn't be shunned simply because he refuses to trade in his black-rimmed glasses for a pair of rose-colored ones. It's funny, in my limited knowledge of the artists life as a painter, I am often criticized for not painting "something happier" or using brighter colors; there are enough artists who take the tribulations life has to offer and attempt to make it pretty, I want to grapple with the possibility that maybe there isn't a way to make this better, and maybe it is really all for naught. Maybe I just figured out why I like Woody Allen films so much.

"…obviously if you don't have enough to eat that becomes your major problem, but what happens when your living in a situation where you don't need to worry about that, then your problems become, how can I fall in love? or why can't I fall in love? Why do I age and die? and what meaning can my life possibly have? the issues become very complex for you." These lines are spoken by Sandy Bates the lead character played by none other than Woody Allen in one of the prolific director's best films. I choose the above quote to start this review as I believe that it perfectly elaborates the meaning of the film (and maybe all of Allen's films). Stardust Memories is about a film director who is on the verge of a mental breakdown, as he is feeling increasing pressure from his relationships, his career, his fans and himself. Sandy Bates finds himself being forced to attend a film festival celebrating himself. While Sandy is at the festival he is being constantly harassed by fans of his films, who are all painted in an extremely bad light and has often been called by both critics and the public as Woody Allen attacking his own fans who call for him to go back to making films like his "early funny ones" after the commercial failure of Interiors. The secondary story line focuses on Sandy's relationship with the many woman in his life, where he cannot decide between someone who is stable and wants marriage, another who has many psychological issues but is very exciting and sexy and one of whom he shares many common interests with but is indecisive and is dating a friend of his, and i believe that this is where the films main weakness lies, (along with inconsistent pacing, and slight tonal shifts), opposed to the fleshed out and well defined female characters in the past two films to star Woody Allen, Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979) the female characters in Stardust Memories are very thinly defined once you go past your initial impressions of them. The film takes obvious influence from the films of Federico Fellini especially 8½ (the working title was Woody Allen no. 4, in an interview Allen stated he wasn't even half the Fellini of 8½) The main evidence of the influence can be seen in the opening scene which seems to be taken straight from Fellini's 1963 opus, and many dream sequences spread throughout and the near mandatory beach scene. The difference between the two films is that in 8½ Fellini deals with internal issues effecting only the life of Guido, while Sandy Bates seems to have much more going on in his mind, as shown in the scene where he meets the aliens. While I don't believe that Stardust Memories can be seen in the same league as one of Woody Allen's greats which would include Manhattan, Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanours and Hannah and Her Sisters, if never seen one of his films i would suggest seeing one of these before Stardust Memories, but it is an extremely effective film and if you are a fan of Woody Allen I would definitely recommend seeing it as it is certainly one of his best.

Maligned by many on its initial release (Pauline Kael called it a dupe of a dupe of 8 ½), STARDUST MEMORIES is one of Woody Allen's richest films. Neither comedy nor drama, it's shows Allen's outrageous moxie in both spoofing Fellini and making his own version of the hell which fame can bring. Allen is Sandy Bates, a famous movie director attending a weekend festival of his own films where he's inundated with one loony fan after another. Freakish looking or unbelievably intrusive, these people give him no rest. Inter-cut with telling episodes of his own personal life, which of course is full of women troubles (Charlotte Rampling, Jessica Harper & Marie-Christine Barrault are excellent), the film has lots of laughs, though admittedly a lot of cynicism as well. The stark B&W cinematography by Gordon Willis adds a lot, bringing many ghoulish looking people to life. The large cast includes Daniel Stern, Tony Roberts, Amy Wright, Laraine Newman, Louise Lasser and Dorothy Leon (as Allen's non too bright cook).

Woody Allen can't decide (at this point in his career) if he wants to make funny or serious films; I can't decide if (and how much) I like "Stardust Memories". The term " mixed bag" was invented for films like this; on one hand, it has several layers of self reflection (it's a movie about a director who wants to leave the "funny stuff" behind but can't quite bring himself to, and the movie itself has a lot less "funny stuff" than Allen's early films, but certainly a lot more than "Interiors", plus there are movies-within-the movie-within-the-movie), some great lines ("If I identified with a Greek mythological character, it wouldn't be Narcissus" - "Who would it be?" - "Zeus!"), a couple of inexplicably magical moments (the hot air balloons), and three extremely beautiful women (my favorite is Marie Christine Barrault). On the other hand, it has practically no plot (I'd say approximately 70% of the movie is Woody being pestered by fans and signing autographs), it feels aimless, and it's a little hard to stomach that the three aforementioned extremely beautiful women (four, if you count the "room service" by an eager young female fan) all have the hots for Woody. I guess this whole movie is a matter of perspective: if you like it, you'll call it free-form. If you don't, you'll find it formless. One thing is beyond doubt, however: Woody's taste in music is impeccable. **1/2 out of 4.