Three tales of love, ambition, and neurosis unfold in the city that never sleeps. In "Life Lessons" (Martin Scorsese), a tormented painter channels heartbreak into his art. In "Life Without Zoë" (Francis Ford Coppola), a precocious 12-year-old navigates privilege and loneliness in a Manhattan hotel. And in "Oedipus Wrecks" (Woody Allen), a man’s domineering mother literally becomes a looming presence over New York.
Whether it happened by chance or design, the sketches have more than just New York in common: all three have something to do with middle age, as well as with romantic relationships.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
11 Dec 2007
rotten:
Only Woody Allen seems to have understood what is possible in a featurette.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
fresh:
It's still too early to tell whether the cheering New York Stories will be a box-office hit, but one can hope.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
Allen's contribution is the only one that can be counted as a genuine success.
– Hal Hinson,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
New York Stories consists of three films, one good, one bad, one disappointing.