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New York Stories

1989 film by Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ977372 ↗
Source-derived summary

New York Stories is a 1989 American anthology film consisting of three segments with the central theme being New York City.

The first is Life Lessons, directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Richard Price and starring Nick Nolte. The second is Life Without Zoë, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by Coppola with his daughter, Sofia Coppola. The last is Oedipus Wrecks, directed, written by and starring Woody Allen. In foreign theatrical releases, the order of the three films was altered, Coppola's being first, followed by Allen's, and finishing with Scorsese's. This movie also marks the film debuts of Adrien Brody and Kirsten Dunst.

The film was screened out of competition at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in theaters on March 10, 1989 by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.

Plot

Life Lessons

Lionel Dobie is an acclaimed abstract artist who finds himself unable to paint during the days before a scheduled gallery exhibition of his new work. Paulette is Lionel's assistant and former lover.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “New York Stories” as 1989 film by Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1989—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1989-01-01, 1989-03-10, 1989-09-21—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. The account is most persuasive where York, Stories and film can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1989 film by Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q977372. VIAF identifies the subject as 177475318. The Library of Congress control number is n90702482. 2 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1989.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “New York Stories”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow New York Stories primary sources, New York Stories archive and York research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “New York Stories”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “New York Stories” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.