Woody Allen Essentials
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ouch, I hope this was a joke post, this is some bizarro-world advice best avoided at all cost.
Jade Scorpion is probably the worst thing Woody's done, and his contribution to New York Stories isn't much better. True, Manhattan's a deserved classic, but Casino Royale's decent Sunday-afternoon fodder, and Sleeper's fantastic.
You may be right along with the critics about Jade and Sleeper but Casino Royale was terrible. Especially with the last 20 minutes or so. It makes no sense!
ouch, I hope this was a joke post, this is some bizarro-world advice best avoided at all cost.
Jade Scorpion is probably the worst thing Woody's done, and his contribution to New York Stories isn't much better. True, Manhattan's a deserved classic, but Casino Royale's decent Sunday-afternoon fodder, and Sleeper's fantastic.
You may be right along with the critics about Jade and Sleeper but Casino Royale was terrible. Especially with the last 20 minutes or so. It makes no sense!
yeah -- it's not really supposed to. it's a childish, nose-thumbing spoof of the Bond franchise with a decent dose of both Swinging London vibes and Richard Lester-type visual humor. no masterpiece and certainly "non-essential" -- but stupid fun in the right mood. Allen's appearance was for-hire, his involvement in the film was minimal, and he hated the finished product, so sorta irrelevant to discussion of his best/worst work, however.
didn't read this whole thread, but excluding the early goofy movies and the ones hes made in the last 10 years, the best ones are:
annie hall
manhattan
crimes and misdemeanors
broadway danny rose
hannah and her sisters
deconstructing harry
almost every other one between 78 and like 2000 is good though
annie hall
manhattan
crimes and misdemeanors
broadway danny rose
hannah and her sisters
deconstructing harry
almost every other one between 78 and like 2000 is good though
essential :
annie hall (1977)
manhattan (1979)
crimes and misdemeanors (1989)
non-essential that i like:
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Match Point (2005)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Celebrity (1998)
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Sleeper (1973)
annie hall (1977)
manhattan (1979)
crimes and misdemeanors (1989)
non-essential that i like:
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Match Point (2005)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Celebrity (1998)
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Sleeper (1973)
A note: Woody Allen beginners should realize that a good half of the man's best films are directly, externally inspired by prior masters like Fellini/Bergman/Nykvist in their phrasing and production. If you're aware of these themes prior to viewing a movie, it can become distracting. If you're not, it might leave you with a bad taste in your mouth upon later viewing one of Allen's inspirations. That's not to classify Allen as a rip-off artist, but I will say that a close understanding of, say, Ingmar Bergman will lead to at least a more nuanced viewing of Allen's repertoire.
Most Woody Allen movies are rightly known for strong casts. Unfortunately, the ensembles become more and more wasted over the waning course of his filmography by name actors who want to show up in a Woody Allen movie before either one of them dies. The fact that Allen's fims after the early 90s usually lack pith only serves to underscore this point. Allen began as a stand-up comedian and fought to be taken seriously, but now does neither at peak levels. The last top-notch Allen movie I've seen, chronologically speaking, was 1992's Husbands and Wives. Since the man puts out about one film per year, that should tell folks something.
Below are my brief comments on Allen's films. The woman has seen twice as many of his movies than me, so her notes are also below, movies marked with an asterisk (*) are ones that neither of us have seen. For some of these, I might be a little confused, as it's been a while since I've seen them.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) (*)
Cassandra's Dream (2007) (*)
Scoop (2006) (*)
Match Point (2005) (Easily the best of his late, late stuff, but not necessary or on par with his early or mid-period stuff)
Melinda and Melinda (2004) (*)
Anything Else (2003) (*)
Hollywood Ending (2002) (Poop)
The Concert for New York City (2001) (TV) (*)
Sounds from a Town I Love (2001) (TV) (*)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) (Poop)
Small Time Crooks (2000) (Poop)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999) (Good, but not 100%. Probably better subject matter than any actual execution would have allowed. Lady likes this a lot)
Celebrity (1998) (*)
Deconstructing Harry (1997) (Not one of her favorites)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996) (Also not a favorite of the lady. A musical. Not recommended)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995) (She says that it's "cute," but also "okay." Take that comment such as it is.)
Don't Drink the Water (1994) (TV) (Co-stars Mayim Bialik. That should tip you off)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994) (Woman hated this)
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) (She says it's "fun")
Husbands and Wives (1992) (Some very good acting and phrasing in this adult drama. Late-Bergmanesque, in a good way. Worth a watch)
Shadows and Fog (1992) (An homage to German silent expressionism and dudes like Kafka. As such, it's derivative but still worth a watch)
Alice (1990) (She regards it as "an adult fantasy" that she liked)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) (A great, great movie. One of his best. A solid, satisfying moral play that is paced perfectly)
New York Stories (1989) (segment "Oedipus Wrecks") (She thought it was a cute, very Jewish humor short)
Another Woman (1988) (She regards it well. Necessarily heavy subject matter, but well-handled)
September (1987) (The Awakening meets Cries And Whispers, if I recall. Melodrama. It's been a while since either of us have seen it)
Radio Days (1987) (The lady really liked this 1930s "sad, worthwhile" family picture)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) (The lady = "it was good." A female-centric ensemble piece that she recommends)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) (She regards it as perhaps a bit chick-flickey, but cute. I personally got bored and didn't finish it)
Broadway Danny Rose (1984) (A stylistic, Broadway/Hollywoody-type feature that can be overly-long. Still worth it, to her)
Zelig (1983) (A great, original concept, well-handled. Beats Forrest Gump a decade ahead of the curve. Secretly, one of his best.)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) (She says that it's okay, silly)
Stardust Memories (1980) (One of my favorites, but for acquainted fans of Fellini, Bergman, and Allen. It's self-referential , but not overbearingly so)
Manhattan (1979) (One of the best-shot, if at times arty, Allen movies. His ode to Manhattan. The Mariel Hemingway romance sub-plot is unintentionally disturbing, as it mirrors Allen's Sun-Yi thing. Even so, well worth seeing)
Interiors (1978) (One of his heaviest movies, and not bad, but firmly in Bergman-biting (The Silence, Through A Glass Darkly) territory. Worth seeing if you have a strong stomach for [melo]drama and, ah, existential ennui)
Annie Hall (1977) (One of the best comedies of all time. There is nothing else to say)
Love and Death (1975) (A silly, but often hilarious send-up of Russian patronymical dramas. Think standard Allen comedy with touches of good, history-minded Mel Brooks. High-schoolers and early collegiates reading Dostoyevsky will love this)
Sleeper (1973) (I liked this more than I probably should have. With Bananas!, a good goofball feature that's probably even better when the viewer is baked)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) (*)
Bananas! (1971) (Goofball all the way. Dated, but occasionally classic early 70s humor)
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV) (*)
Take the Money and Run (1969) (*)
What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966) (Ehh - for completists. A bit long for the humor involved. Think an overly-long MST3K sketch)
Most Woody Allen movies are rightly known for strong casts. Unfortunately, the ensembles become more and more wasted over the waning course of his filmography by name actors who want to show up in a Woody Allen movie before either one of them dies. The fact that Allen's fims after the early 90s usually lack pith only serves to underscore this point. Allen began as a stand-up comedian and fought to be taken seriously, but now does neither at peak levels. The last top-notch Allen movie I've seen, chronologically speaking, was 1992's Husbands and Wives. Since the man puts out about one film per year, that should tell folks something.
Below are my brief comments on Allen's films. The woman has seen twice as many of his movies than me, so her notes are also below, movies marked with an asterisk (*) are ones that neither of us have seen. For some of these, I might be a little confused, as it's been a while since I've seen them.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) (*)
Cassandra's Dream (2007) (*)
Scoop (2006) (*)
Match Point (2005) (Easily the best of his late, late stuff, but not necessary or on par with his early or mid-period stuff)
Melinda and Melinda (2004) (*)
Anything Else (2003) (*)
Hollywood Ending (2002) (Poop)
The Concert for New York City (2001) (TV) (*)
Sounds from a Town I Love (2001) (TV) (*)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) (Poop)
Small Time Crooks (2000) (Poop)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999) (Good, but not 100%. Probably better subject matter than any actual execution would have allowed. Lady likes this a lot)
Celebrity (1998) (*)
Deconstructing Harry (1997) (Not one of her favorites)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996) (Also not a favorite of the lady. A musical. Not recommended)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995) (She says that it's "cute," but also "okay." Take that comment such as it is.)
Don't Drink the Water (1994) (TV) (Co-stars Mayim Bialik. That should tip you off)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994) (Woman hated this)
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) (She says it's "fun")
Husbands and Wives (1992) (Some very good acting and phrasing in this adult drama. Late-Bergmanesque, in a good way. Worth a watch)
Shadows and Fog (1992) (An homage to German silent expressionism and dudes like Kafka. As such, it's derivative but still worth a watch)
Alice (1990) (She regards it as "an adult fantasy" that she liked)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) (A great, great movie. One of his best. A solid, satisfying moral play that is paced perfectly)
New York Stories (1989) (segment "Oedipus Wrecks") (She thought it was a cute, very Jewish humor short)
Another Woman (1988) (She regards it well. Necessarily heavy subject matter, but well-handled)
September (1987) (The Awakening meets Cries And Whispers, if I recall. Melodrama. It's been a while since either of us have seen it)
Radio Days (1987) (The lady really liked this 1930s "sad, worthwhile" family picture)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) (The lady = "it was good." A female-centric ensemble piece that she recommends)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) (She regards it as perhaps a bit chick-flickey, but cute. I personally got bored and didn't finish it)
Broadway Danny Rose (1984) (A stylistic, Broadway/Hollywoody-type feature that can be overly-long. Still worth it, to her)
Zelig (1983) (A great, original concept, well-handled. Beats Forrest Gump a decade ahead of the curve. Secretly, one of his best.)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) (She says that it's okay, silly)
Stardust Memories (1980) (One of my favorites, but for acquainted fans of Fellini, Bergman, and Allen. It's self-referential , but not overbearingly so)
Manhattan (1979) (One of the best-shot, if at times arty, Allen movies. His ode to Manhattan. The Mariel Hemingway romance sub-plot is unintentionally disturbing, as it mirrors Allen's Sun-Yi thing. Even so, well worth seeing)
Interiors (1978) (One of his heaviest movies, and not bad, but firmly in Bergman-biting (The Silence, Through A Glass Darkly) territory. Worth seeing if you have a strong stomach for [melo]drama and, ah, existential ennui)
Annie Hall (1977) (One of the best comedies of all time. There is nothing else to say)
Love and Death (1975) (A silly, but often hilarious send-up of Russian patronymical dramas. Think standard Allen comedy with touches of good, history-minded Mel Brooks. High-schoolers and early collegiates reading Dostoyevsky will love this)
Sleeper (1973) (I liked this more than I probably should have. With Bananas!, a good goofball feature that's probably even better when the viewer is baked)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) (*)
Bananas! (1971) (Goofball all the way. Dated, but occasionally classic early 70s humor)
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV) (*)
Take the Money and Run (1969) (*)
What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966) (Ehh - for completists. A bit long for the humor involved. Think an overly-long MST3K sketch)
That's a pretty terrible movie. As are Small Time Crooks and Hollywood Ending. Terrible pieces of shit. Don't waste your time with these. Anyone recommending these thinks that Perfect Strangers belongs in the Great TV Canon In The Sky.
I'm obviously the only one who thinks it but i remember liking small time crooks back in the day....might be a very diff story 8years later.
deconstructing harry i didn't mind either...
deconstructing harry i didn't mind either...
You can either use the VLC player: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html
or install Perian, which allows Quicktime to play more file formats: http://perian.org/
or install Perian, which allows Quicktime to play more file formats: http://perian.org/
Wow -- thanks, Luck!
Definitely going into the "Favorite Forum" folder for further review.
I have seen very few Bergman films, and can't even step toward a discussion of his canon.
As far as Allen, seeing a few of his films in college but only his most recent dreck in the theater, such as the aforementioned Hollywood Ending (at the Kerasotes Showplace on Western Avenue), gave me an extremely skewed viewpoint of the man's career. I knew Woody went deep -- Marshall McLuhan's cameo in Annie Hall, for instance -- but I didn't know he went that deep.
Thanks again!
Definitely going into the "Favorite Forum" folder for further review.
I have seen very few Bergman films, and can't even step toward a discussion of his canon.
As far as Allen, seeing a few of his films in college but only his most recent dreck in the theater, such as the aforementioned Hollywood Ending (at the Kerasotes Showplace on Western Avenue), gave me an extremely skewed viewpoint of the man's career. I knew Woody went deep -- Marshall McLuhan's cameo in Annie Hall, for instance -- but I didn't know he went that deep.
Thanks again!
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