"These Little Town Blues Are Melting Away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                    The year 1977 was a crucial one both for films and me.  On screen, there was "Annie Hall," "The Goodbye Girl," "The Turning Point," "Star Wars," and "Julia."

                                      Then there was Martin Scorsese's much hyped 1977 ode to 40's musicals, "New York, New York."

                                       I had also graduated college that year and had to face the world, having no idea then I would end up in New York.

                                         So, when I saw the film the first time that year, all I came out impressed by was Liza singing "The World Goes Round."  I have sung that myself, since, but Liza is still the definitive version.

                                          As is her rendition of the title song, which Frank Sinatra had the nerve to cop from her.  Now, everyone thinks his is the definitive rendition, forgetting hers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           All this, and more, came back to me, the other day while watching the film after a 49-year interval.  Hell, I was 22, then and now I am 71.  Time does make a difference.

                                             I never dreamed then I was ready for New York.  And while the film is a beautiful pastiche honoring the look of NYC at that period as well as Judy Garland musicals, it is also a sad tale of those who come here to make it, and those who don't. Robert DeNiro, in one of his best performances, is an example of the latter, while Liza, of course is the one who makes it.

                                              It was heartbreaking to watch DeNiro reach for something he knew he could never have  yet still try.  Like the song says, "There's a broken heart for every light on Broadway."

                                               The lengthy musical interlude, choreographed by Ron Field, and showcasing Liza at her best, is probably the most ambitious segment attempted since MGM did "An American In Paris" in 1951.  Though it has more of the flavor of Garland's 1955 "Born In A Trunk," from her "A Star Is Born."

                                                 Darlings, did you know this was Mary Kay Place's film debut?  They got her right off of 'Mary Hartman,' and she proved she had a range going far beyond Loretta Haggers.

                                                   Everyone praises Scorsese's gangster pics, but not enough credit is given for this one.

                                                    It may not be perfect, but compared to the messes being turned out today, it is heaven.  And an interval

 of 49 nine years of life experience gave it for me, this time, an understanding I did not have back in 1977.

                                                      The title song asks the city to "come through!"  In this film, it does!

                                                      Girls, this has to be seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!