Le New York de Martin Scorsese, le New York de Woody Allen

New York is at the core of the works of Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. Their relationships to the city they love are, however, basically different. Scorsese's mise en scene brings out the conflict between the city and the often marginal antagonists in search of themselves and of success ; Woody Allen's protagonists tell about their perfect urban integration. The two visions of the city may not be superimposed. Scorsese's camera, starting from Little Italy, explores all five Boroughs ; Allen feels more comfortable in Manhattan, especially around Central Park, with occasional excursions to Brooklyn. Both film-makers use the roofs of NY in similar ways, in homage to the Hollywood tradition. Yet they diverge in their original uses of bridges, the El, and the Manhattan skyline. Two contrasting symbolic images emerge. Allen's small town, filmed and loved as a woman, is a unique place where nature is integrated into the heart of civilization. In Scorsese's NY, there is no place for couples ; it is a city not unlike LA, an abstract asphalt jungle which comes to symbolize all cities.