Woody Allen Essentials
white_tea
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I am ready to delve deep into Woody Allen's catalog. I have only seen maybe a handful of the films he has directed (bolded here) but want to get at what would be considered his best. But since he seems to have averaged about a movie a year, that's a pretty big task. Any help on what to check and what to skip is greatly appreciated. I am pretty sure that Deconstructing Harry and Manhattan are highly rated but what else should I look for?Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) Cassandra's Dream (2007) Scoop (2006) (didn't really like this one)[/b] Match Point (2005) (I loved this movie)[/b] Melinda and Melinda (2004) Anything Else (2003) Hollywood Ending (2002) (thought it sucked but Kelly Kapowski helped a little)[/b] The Concert for New York City (2001) (TV) (segment "Sounds from the Town I Love") Sounds from a Town I Love (2001) (TV) The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) Small Time Crooks (2000) Sweet and Lowdown (1999) Celebrity (1998) (decent)[/b] Deconstructing Harry (1997) Everyone Says I Love You (1996) Mighty Aphrodite (1995) Don't Drink the Water (1994) (TV) Bullets Over Broadway (1994) Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) Husbands and Wives (1992) Shadows and Fog (1992) (caught part of it on TV -- looked cool)[/b]Alice (1990) Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) New York Stories (1989) (segment "Oedipus Wrecks") Another Woman (1988) September (1987) Radio Days (1987) Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) Broadway Danny Rose (1984) Zelig (1983) A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) Stardust Memories (1980) Manhattan (1979) Interiors (1978) Annie Hall (1977) (awesome)[/b] Love and Death (1975) Sleeper (1973) (I can't remember?!?)[/b] Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) Bananas (1971) 
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV) Take the Money and Run (1969) What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV) Take the Money and Run (1969) What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
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Boris: Oh, if only God would give me some sign. If He would just speak to me once. Anything. One sentence. Two words. If He would just cough.
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"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask" is very funny...
Stardust Memories (1980)
Bananas (1971)
Manhattan (1979)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Annie Hall (1977)
Love and Death (1975)
Sleeper (1973)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)
These are my favorite.
these are the ones I'd consider "essentials"
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Zelig (1983)
Stardust Memories (1980)
Manhattan (1979)
Annie Hall (1977)
Love and Death (1975)
Sleeper (1973
Bananas (1971)
these are the only ones after Husbands and Wives that I can recommend without major disclaimers:
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
I'll always check for his new films out of morbid curiousity, but he's let me down too many times lately to be hopeful. IMO Match Point, Vicki Christina, Deconstructing Harry, and basically all the ones that have gotten shine in the past 15 years are majorly overrated.
I've been trying to see this for years, PM me if you got a copy...
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV)
I agree that his recent stuff is overrated to a certain extent. In the case of Match Point, I just thought it was pitch-perfect, a really good genre film.
THE BEST.
Match Point worked for me until the end, but the end felt laughably bad to me and retroactively tainted the rest.
I was up late the other night (maybe even Christimas night after visiting the folks) and Annie Hall came on TCM. I've probably seen the film 50 times -- so many times, anyway, that I've been avoiding it for quite a few years due to overexposure. The first 15 mins or so weren't working so well for me, felt kinda rusty, but by the time Walken showed up I was hooked, and I stayed up til 4 finishing out the film. Still so very very good.
As far as Walken, I have Duane's quote under "favorite quotes" on my Facebook page. Shit is priceless, and then they immediately cut to them driving with Woody having a very "shook" look on his face. I love that scene so much.
That's his best, in my opinion. Has all of the comedy of the obvious essentials plus a well-thought out, deep look into morality and religion, which I found really engaging. Plus, Martin Landau is incredible, and Alan Alda is hilarious. This one has it all.
Aside from Manhattan - this is the most essential.
before on cable in the past few weeks. Celebrity, September and Alice.
All of them were decent, Celebrity is alot of fun and better than I expected - Kenneth
Branagh doing a straight Allen impression is actually quite enjoyable and easier to watch
than Woody himself. Alice was also a ton of fun, although it was on very late at night
and I missed the last 3rd of it, I need to see it again so I can see the end, and September,
while rather morose and ultra-serious, had some fine performances and was certainly watchable.
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
New York Stories (1989) (segment "Oedipus Wrecks")
Manhattan (1979)
But I would not recommend these:
Casino Royale 1967
Sleeper (1973) (I can't remember?!?)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)
Pretty much anything where Woody goes Sci Fi is bad!!
BAN!
Anyone else seen this one yet?
I felt it was a bit, 'ageing man' making his sexual fantasies, into a movie.
It's just weird that, way too many, of the actors in his recent films seem to be doing strange impressions of him. (Is the woman meant to be him and the dude is the strong masculine man, he always dreamed would sweep him off his feet. Or is it his fantasy self making love to his other fantasy self??)
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.
Yay!
Looking forward to checking this out later.
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.
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 (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)
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[/b] (2008) (*)
Cassandra's Dream[/b] (2007) (*)
Scoop[/b] (2006) (*)
Match Point[/b] (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[/b] (2004) (*)
Anything Else[/b] (2003) (*)
Hollywood Ending[/b] (2002) (Poop)
The Concert for New York City[/b] (2001) (TV) (*)
Sounds from a Town I Love[/b] (2001) (TV) (*)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion[/b] (2001) (Poop)
Small Time Crooks[/b] (2000) (Poop)
Sweet and Lowdown[/b] (1999) (Good, but not 100%. Probably better subject matter than any actual execution would have allowed. Lady likes this a lot)
Celebrity[/b] (1998) (*)
Deconstructing Harry[/b] (1997) (Not one of her favorites)
Everyone Says I Love You[/b] (1996) (Also not a favorite of the lady. A musical. Not recommended)
Mighty Aphrodite[/b] (1995) (She says that it's "cute," but also "okay." Take that comment such as it is.)
Don't Drink the Water[/b] (1994) (TV) (Co-stars Mayim Bialik. That should tip you off)
Bullets Over Broadway[/b] (1994) (Woman hated this)
Manhattan Murder Mystery[/b] (1993) (She says it's "fun")
Husbands and Wives[/b] (1992) (Some very good acting and phrasing in this adult drama. Late-Bergmanesque, in a good way. Worth a watch)
Shadows and Fog[/b] (1992) (An homage to German silent expressionism and dudes like Kafka. As such, it's derivative but still worth a watch)
Alice[/b] (1990) (She regards it as "an adult fantasy" that she liked)
Crimes and Misdemeanors[/b] (1989) (A great, great movie. One of his best. A solid, satisfying moral play that is paced perfectly)
New York Stories[/b] (1989) (segment "Oedipus Wrecks") (She thought it was a cute, very Jewish humor short)
Another Woman[/b] (1988) (She regards it well. Necessarily heavy subject matter, but well-handled)
September[/b] (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[/b] (1987) (The lady really liked this 1930s "sad, worthwhile" family picture)
Hannah and Her Sisters[/b] (1986) (The lady = "it was good." A female-centric ensemble piece that she recommends)
The Purple Rose of Cairo[/b] (1985) (She regards it as perhaps a bit chick-flickey, but cute. I personally got bored and didn't finish it)
Broadway Danny Rose[/b] (1984) (A stylistic, Broadway/Hollywoody-type feature that can be overly-long. Still worth it, to her)
Zelig[/b] (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[/b] (1982) (She says that it's okay, silly)
Stardust Memories[/b] (1980) (One of my favorites, but for acquainted fans of Fellini, Bergman, and Allen. It's self-referential [this is his 8 1/2], but not overbearingly so)
Manhattan[/b] (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[/b] (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[/b] (1977) (One of the best comedies of all time. There is nothing else to say)
Love and Death[/b] (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[/b] (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)[/b] (*)
Bananas![/b] (1971) (Goofball all the way. Dated, but occasionally classic early 70s humor)
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story[/b] (1971) (TV) (*)
Take the Money and Run[/b] (1969) (*)
What's Up, Tiger Lily?[/b] (1966) (Ehh - for completists. A bit long for the humor involved. Think an overly-long MST3K sketch)
Jade Scorpion is probably the worst thing Woody's done
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.
deconstructing harry i didn't mind either...
This is an AVI file. How do I see this on my Mac? Real Player isn't working, either. Is there a good, free file converter for QuickTime?
or install Perian, which allows Quicktime to play more file formats: http://perian.org/