Forgotten Scorsese film flop gets a second chance — on Broadway
nypost.comNew York, New York,” opening Wednesday at the St. James Theatre, ends with the iconic title number that kicks off with the lyric “Start spreadin’ the news!”It’s an ear-worm everybody knows.
You hear it at Yankees games, Fourth of July fireworks displays and during special occasions in Times Square. The ditty is synonymous with the city — not to mention Frank Sinatra.Yet relatively few New Yorkers realize where the tune, first sung by Liza Minnelli, actually originated.
John Kander and Fred Ebb’s catchy number made its debut as the theme to 1977’s “New York, New York,” a rare flop of a film for director Martin Scorsese — on which the new Broadway show is loosely based.The mostly forgotten flick, which isn’t easily viewable on any streaming service, paid or otherwise, got lousy reviews that railed against its nearly-three-hour runtime.
Critics complained that the “Taxi Driver” visionary’s edginess butted heads with the glitzy musical sequences in the second half. “New York, New York” ultimately grossed just $16.4 million off a $14 million budget, almost certainly incurring losses for its studio United Artists — during the summer of Twentieth Century Fox’s “Star Wars,” no less.Still, producer Irwin Winkler — who stuck by his friend Scorsese after the film bombed and went on to successfully work with him on “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas,” “The Irishman” and more — remembers their first collaboration fondly.“It’s a movie I’ve loved from its inception and through its making,” Winkler, 91, told The Post.
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