Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore · reception & legacy

1974 · Martin Scorsese

How Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

Dismissed by some at the time as Scorsese-for-hire — the 'women's picture' he made between Mean Streets and Taxi Driver — it's since been reclaimed as proof of his range and one of the key New Hollywood films actually centered on a woman's life.

What's debated

Film fans still argue over the ending: is it a genuine feminist statement or a Hollywood compromise that softens everything the film spent two hours building?

Its footprint

Its diner spun off into the long-running sitcom 'Alice' (1976–85), which gave the world Flo's 'Kiss my grits!' — meaning millions of Americans knew the TV catchphrase long before they knew the Scorsese film behind it.

Where it stands

The perennial 'wait, Scorsese made this?' entry — a deep-cut favourite among cinephiles who love pointing out it won Ellen Burstyn her Oscar.

★ Did you know? Fresh off The Exorcist, Ellen Burstyn had director approval and picked the young Martin Scorsese on Francis Ford Coppola's recommendation; when she asked what he knew about women, he famously answered, 'Nothing — but I'd like to learn.'

Named by the director

Influences Martin Scorsese has publicly named — the director's own word, distinct from the inferred lines of influence.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) — Scorsese said the film's deliberately artificial, soundstage-bound prologue was designed to evoke it.
Duel in the Sun (1946) — Scorsese cited its lurid Technicolor glow as the other half of the prologue's look.