Sightlines · reception
How Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore was received
1974 · Martin Scorsese · Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore on Sightlines
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 favorite 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
- 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.