Woody Allen

[Pherdy]

1.The Purple Rose of Cairo
2.Annie Hall
3.Match Point
4.Zelig
5.Manhattan
6.Sleeper
7.Love and Death
8.Hannah and her sisters
9.Scoop
10.Take the money and run
11.Melinda and Melinda
12.Bullets over Broadway
13.Mighty Aphrodite

[svsg]

Annie Hall
Manhattan (review to follow)
Scoop - 0 stars

[svsg]

I saw Manhattan couple of days ago, but it did not have the same impact on me as Annie Hall. The reason is these movies are so similar in their themes and contexts that it failed to create the "Wow" effect that Annie Hall could. I am sure that had I watched this first, I would have had the same reaction. Woody Allen is funny with his dry humor, but don't you think he played the same character in both the movies?

I don't understand the choice of B&W either. Yes, it does evoke some different feel of New York for sure, but I was thinking "so what". The only theme that stood out for me was what I mentioned in the Yang thread - The final scene.
SPOILERS BELOW:
The ideals and optimism of first love. The girl genuinely loved him and with all earnestness suggested the idea of meeting after 6 months. But we as audience immediately know what he is thinking. Even though he has confessed to his friend's wife that he was most comfortable and happy with the girl, he did not truly love her. He thinks that Diane Keaton's character is intellectually compatible with him and is away from her only because she loves someone else. It just goes on to show how shallow and convenience based many adult relationships are.

[Mike Sullivan]

1. Annie Hall (1977) * * * * *
2. Manhattan (1979) * * * * *
3. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) * * * * *
4. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) * * * * *
5. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) * * * * *
6. Stardust Memories (1980) * * * * *
7. Match Point (2005) * * * * *
8. Mighty Aphrodite (1995) * * * * 1/2
9. Sweet and Lowdown (1999) * * * *
10. Broadway Danny Rose (1984) * * * *
11. Radio Days (1987) * * * 1/2
12. Hollywood Ending (2002) * * * 1/2
13. Zelig (1983) * * * 1/2
14. Melinda and Melinda (2004) * * 1/2
15. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy * *
16. Scoop (2006) * *

[jrod]

Been on quite the Woody Allen roll lately, so i thought I would relist.

1. Hannah and Her Sisters
2. Annie Hall
3. Crimes and Misdemeanors
4. Match Point
5. The Purple Rose of the Cairo
6. Manhattan
7. Husbands and Wives
8. Love and Death
9. Radio Days
10. Decontstructing Harry
11. Broadway Danny Rose
12. Melinda and Melinda
13. Curse of the Jade Scorpion
14. Manhattan Murder Mystery
15. Interiors
16. Bullets over Broadway
17. Scoop
18. Zelig
19. Another Woman
20. Everthing You Always Wanted to Know About Sex
21. Bananas
22. Sleeper
23. Mighty Arphodite
24. Shadows and Fog
25. Stardust Memories
26. Celebrity
27. Anything Else
28. Hollywood Ending
29. Sweet and Lowdown (0)
30. Cassandras Dream (0)
31. A Midsummer Nights Sex Comedy (0)
32. Small Time Crooks (0)

[Michael]

1. Manhattan (1979) ***
2. Annie Hall (1977) **

[Anasazie]

1. Celebrity (1998) 6/10
2. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) 6/10
3. Deconstructing Harry (1997) 6/10
4. Manhattan (1979) 6/10
5. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) 5/10
6. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) 5/10
7. Sweet and Lowdown (1999) 5/10
8. Annie Hall (1977) 5/10
9. Melinda and Melinda (2004) 4/10
10. Mighty Aphrodite (1995) 4/10
11. Small Time Crooks (2000) 4/10

[quentincompson]

1.Hannah and Her Sisters 7/10
2.Manhattan 7/10
3.Annie Hall 6/10
4.Matchpoint 5/10
5.Vicky Christina Barcelona 4/10

[Omar]

Jan 14, 2009 23:03:26 GMT jrod said:

Husbands and Wives is my 4th favorite of his (Crimes and Misdemeanors, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters). Enjoy.

I had been going through his filmography too, putting on of his works every 3rd movie or so in my Netflix queue. Only feature length films I havent seen of his now are VCB, Alice, Everyone Says I Love You, Whats Up Tiger Lily (unavailable on Netflix), and Dont Drink the Water.

My opinion of Allen has changed drastically since my first posts in this thread. I can't get enough of this guy. There is absolutely no way I could rank my favorites of his in order.

What are your thoughts on "Bananas" and "Another Woman"? Two recent favorites of mine that I feel are among his most under appreciated ("Sleeper" is probably the most famous of his early comedies, right?).

Anyway, I can't get enough.

Apr 14, 2007 17:07:51 GMT Michael said:

"I finally had an orgasm, and my doctor said it was the wrong kind."

"You had the wrong kind? I've never had the wrong kind, ever. My worst one was right on the money."

To me, this is the funniest joke I've seen in his films, and the one that had me laughing the longest and hardest. Also, the opening of "Manhattan" has got to be up there with the greatest of openings. Willis' cinematography is gorgeous. A sudden rain storm in the park, street lights shining above the characters, and the space museum! Wow!

[jrod]

my rankings change basically every day of course


My favorite joke is in Crimes and Misdemeanors (the movie I think I call my favorite of his the most frequently)

Clifford Stern: A strange man... defecated on my sister.
Wendy Stern: [pause] ... why?

I liked Bananas, although I need to revisit both it and Sleeper.
You should watch "Play it Again, Sam", which he wrote and starred in. Like those two, its a similar mixture of slapstick with his typical relationship commentary. Funny stuff.
Another Woman is certainly one of his more serious ones. I remember thinking it was solid, although a lot of it is kind of a blur to me now.

[Capo]

I'm looking forward to Vicky Christina Barcelona; the critical response is warm indeed.

[Kino]

Right now VCB is one of his worst movies, in my mind. At best it's not that, but still lowest-tier WA. Great performances, though especially Hall, Cruz, and Bardem. Clarkson is great as usual, but doesn't appear all that much. I just don't know what to make of the voice-over narration. If it's earnest, it's unbelievably poor for someone who has shown he is a great writer. On the other hand, if WA is parodying voice-overs like I've read other commentators mention then I really like it. The thing is, it sort of feels incongruous with the rest of the film which makes me hold back on embracing the notion, but maybe WA was going for a mix of styles.

[Omar]

I was expecting "Anything Else" to be his worst, a total cringe fest. Not so much. It was actually quite good.

Amanda: I've had a crush on you since we met.
Jerry Falk: Really?
Amanda: Couldn't you tell, the way I was ignoring you?

[jrod]

Woody's 00s and late 90s stuff is overhated on because of the measuring stick set by his previous movies. When it comes to romantic comedy, Id much rather have Hollywood Ending, Curse of the Jade Scorpion, or Anything Else than a large majority of the genre.

[Omar]

Jan 27, 2009 19:55:23 GMT jrod said:

Woody's 00s and late 90s stuff is overhated on because of the measuring stick set by his previous movies.

Yeah, you're right. I thought going through this part of his filmography would be a pain, but I have enjoyed it, for the most part.

And while we're at it, I absolutely loved the mostly hated on "Celebrity".

[jrod]

leo dicaprio and joe montega are awesome in that movie. looking at my above list I think its the one I would move the most drastically now, putting it up to about where Another Woman is.

i think its interesting how in middle to late nineties his movies got a little more adult. Celebrity has some raunchy stuff throughout, and Deconstructing Harry, to my immediate recollection, is his only film with nudity.

One thing Ive thought was interesting about his recent career is that instead of the "Woody Allen" character, weve gotten other actors playing the lead male parts with aspects of his personality.
You can see his character in Will Ferrel, Jason Biggs, Kenneth Branagh, or Johnathan Rhys-Meyers, but there is obviously something a bit different too. I would think people who make the knock that "Woody only plays himself" would enjoy this more, but there is never really any praise for any of the above listed actors for their roles.

[Omar]

Jan 27, 2009 20:56:33 GMT jrod said:

i think its interesting how in middle to late nineties his movies got a little more adult. Celebrity has some raunchy stuff throughout, and Deconstructing Harry, to my immediate recollection, is his only film with nudity.

One thing Ive thought was interesting about his recent career is that instead of the "Woody Allen" character, weve gotten other actors playing the lead male parts with aspects of his personality.
You can see his character in Will Ferrel, Jason Biggs, Kenneth Branagh, or Johnathan Rhys-Meyers, but there is obviously something a bit different too. I would think people who make the knock that "Woody only plays himself" would enjoy this more, but there is never really any praise for any of the above listed actors for their roles.

Yeah, "Deconstructing Harry" also was his most fowl script, in regards to four letter words. I never thought I would hear Woody Allen say, "Cunt!", haha. I love that film. It is a strange hybrid of Woody's 70s comedies (the out-of-focus actor, Tobey Maguire's part) and his later, more personal and serious films.

As far as other actors taking on Woody's persona, I love it! I would also add John Cusack to that list from "Bullets Over Broadway", though I would be hesitant to include Rhys-Meyers. Branagh was excellent in "Celebrity", even if he was just channeling Allen. I found it strange that he ruined the film for most people. I think he's such an odd choice to fill Woody's shoes, and the fact that he went straight for the persona instead of going off into his own thing made it all the more interesting, for me at least.

[Omar]

Jan 27, 2009 20:56:33 GMT jrod said:

One thing Ive thought was interesting about his recent career is that instead of the "Woody Allen" character, weve gotten other actors playing the lead male parts with aspects of his personality.
You can see his character in Will Ferrel, Jason Biggs, Kenneth Branagh, or Johnathan Rhys-Meyers, but there is obviously something a bit different too.

And I would add also Scarlett Johanson in "Scoop" to this list. She and Woody make a great and funny team.

[RNL]

1. Annie Hall (1977) _*****
2. Manhattan (1979) _*****
3. Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008) _*****
4. Match Point (2005) _*****
5. Celebrity (1998) _*****
6. Melinda and Melinda (2004) _*****