It’s always interesting and fun to see a great director try their hand at classic genres in cinema. With 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, director Martin Scorsese (After Hours) teamed up with screenwriter Robert Getchell (The Client) to bring his exciting “New Hollywood” sensibilities to the romantic melodrama genre. Alice is a film in which Scorsese throws it all at the wall as he marries melodramatic romance with existential motherhood, not just leaving room for an excellent lead performance from Burstyn, but also successfully subverting genre conventions.
Ellen Burstyn as Alice Hyatt in ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
The film follows newly widowed Alice (Academy Award-winning Ellen Burstyn) and her wisecracking son Tommy (Alfred Lutter) as they set out on the road in search for a better life. As she transitions from the role of struggling lounge singer to depressed diner waitress, Alice soon meets the charming, divorced local rancher David (heartthrob Kris Kristofferson). As the two pursue a romance, Alice wrestles with what she really wants to do with her life and where she really belongs.
Scorsese pays tribute to and pokes mischievous fun at great cinema of the past in this film’s opening scene. A young Alice (resembling something of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz) walks on a dirt road in a Kansas-like neighborhood with Douglas Sirk-like cinematography around her, the maroon sunset enveloping the entire scene. As her mom yells for her to come in before the moon rises, Alice says she will have a career even better than actress-singer Alice Faye and anyone who thinks different can “blow it out their ass.” As she runs into the house, we smash cut 27 years later to a bleak reality of Socorro, New Mexico, Scorsese’s iconic tracking shot swarming through suburban hell and landing on Alice arguing with her son Tommy as Mott the Hoople’s “All the Way from Memphis” blares from her son’s speakers. It’s a cinematic one-two punch that warns the audience that this isn’t their mother’s melodramatic romance.
Alfred Lutter as Tommy Hyatt in ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
As much as this isn’t the typical romance, Burstyn (The Exorcist) doesn’t deliver your typical Jane Wyman performance. Burstyn earns her Oscar in more ways than one. As Alice tries her best to survive obstacle after obstacle, Burstyn delivers a woman who is literally on the edge of losing it. On top of that, Burstyn delivers a layer of magnetic vulnerability as Alice pursues romance with the dreamy country boy, David. County singer Kristofferson (A Star Is Born) carries a charming presence to the role of David, complementing Burstyn’s strong character work by neither undercutting nor flattening in comparison. In the role of a man whose wife literally “left and took the kids”, Kristofferson presents not a broken man but a man who is looking for someone to fill the hole in his achy-breaky heart (sorry, I had to). Scorsese stays in tune with the usual beats of meet-cute romance tropes while still finding room to show this romance blossoming in a surprising way. The chemistry between the film’s leads is at its strongest during a sequence where a hilarious tidbit about turkeys turns romantic. Alice listens to David with a smile as he states that turkeys are so dumb that when it rains, if they open their gullets to swallow the water, they can actually drown. As Alice takes this banal knowledge in, she complements his beard and the two embrace for a sensual kiss. This strange sequence holds power as both a representation of its leads’ strong chemistry and Scorsese’s brilliant subversive vision of romance.
In addition to its biting humor and great lead performances, Alice also boasts a terrific supporting cast. Diane Ladd (Chinatown), in an Academy Award-nominated role, delivers a hilarious performance as Flo, a profane, obnoxious waitress who tries to show Alice the ropes while also trying to keep a steady hand over the chaotic comings-and-goings at the diner. Harvey Keitel (Little Nicky) delivers a devilishly charming and terrifying performance as Ben, a man with a dark, hidden, abusive side who aggressively pursues Alice as she carries a lounge singing gig. And there’s a young Jodie Foster (Inside Man) who plays Audrey, a rebellious love interest of Tommy’s who steals things and delivers a hilarious, blunt philosophy of the world (a different tune from her later iconic performance in Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976)). Scorsese keeps this romantic ride as engaging as he can, infusing a palpable energy in most scenes while remembering to take it slow during the film’s more tender scenes. It’s a great early example of the cinematic showman who brought us later electrifying classics like Raging Bull (1980) and Goodfellas (1990).
Kris Kristofferson as David in ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
This Criterion release has a gorgeous 4K digital restoration (supervised by Scorsese himself) that brings out Kent L. Wakeford’s (Mean Streets) eye-popping cinematography and Toby Carr Rafelson’s (Five Easy Pieces) excellent production design. The featurettes range from a packed audio commentary including Scorsese, Burstyn, and the late Kristofferson to a new conversation between Burstyn and film critic Farran Smith Nehme to an essay by film critic Stephanie Zacharek. This release is both a must-buy for Scorsese fans and for fans of the New Hollywood era.
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore Blu-ray Special Features:
- *NEW* 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Martin Scorsese, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary featuring Scorsese and actors Ellen Burstyn, Jodie Foster, Kris Kristofferson, Diane Ladd, and Alfred Lutter
- *NEW* conversation between Burstyn and film critic Farran Smith Nehme
- *NEW* interview with editor Marcia Lucas
- Making-of documentary featuring Burstyn and Kristofferson
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Stephanie Zacharek
Available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray July 14th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official The Criterion Collection Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore webpage.
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Categories: Home Video, Reviews
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