What do y'all think of Woody Allen?

johnny_ultimate

So just watched the Purple Rose of Cairo there. What a marvellous film it is - a close to perfect reflection on the escapism of movies versus the harsh nature of reality. It's an intelligent, almost philosphical film filled with humour and heart.

Then last week I rewatched Annie Hall. I didn't really 'get it' the first time I watched it - thought it paled in comparison to Manhattan in particular. But this time it thouroughly impressed me. It's laugh out loud funny (the subtitle sequence, the sneeze, the cinema queue), while still being a realistic take on relationship. Plus it's full of some of the most memorable quotes ever. Two examples:

Alvy Singer: I'm so tired of spending evenings making fake insights with people who work for "Dysentery."
Robin: "Commentary."
Alvy Singer: Oh really? I had heard that "Commentary" and "Dissent" had merged and formed "Dysentery."

Annie Hall: So you wanna go into the movie or what?
Alvy Singer: No, I can't go into a movie that's already started, because I'm anal.
Annie Hall: That's a polite word for what you are.

And then there's Hannah and Her Sisters, Manhattan, Sweet and Lowdown, Sleeper, Crimes and Misdeamenors and more... Sure there are some weak ones, but I think his hit to miss ratio is quite high considering the amount of films he has made (well, maybe not recently. The new stuff is hardly up to his earlier quality). But still with the possible exception of Mighty Aphrodite (lousy Mira Sorvino :mad: ) there has never been a Woody Allen film Ive strongly disliked (note: I have yet to see Everyone Says I Love You, and have no strong desire to do so)

However, I also know that for many he is the most hated man for many film fans. The massive hatred some non-fans have has always made me curious to just why he is so disliked. Some of the criticisms I can accept - his nervous disposition can be distracting (although I think it works perfectly in some of his films), and I don't think I'd argue if someone called him pretentious. I do find his upper class New Yorker films a little hard to relate too, although I can still appreciate his films.

So Woody Allen: do you love or loathe the man, and why?

monkeyfudge

I'm a big Woody fan.

But I think Crimes and Misdemeanors is the last truly great piece of work that he's done... It's a brilliant piece of cinema.

Out of the recent ones I did think Match Point was pretty damn good.

I wouldn't dismiss Everyone Says I Love You by the way. It's a good little film.

Small Time Crooks is probably the weakest thing that he's done... it was incredibly patchy and not particularly funny even though it was trying hard to be.

Curse of the Jade Scorpion that came after it was slightly better, but still not a great film.

I never got around to seeing Scoop unfortunately... as I don't think it was even released here, which is an absolute shame.

And by the way.. I've yet to meet a woman who likes Woody Allen films.

johnny_ultimate

monkeyfudge wrote:

Small Time Crooks is probably the weakest thing that he's done... it was incredibly patchy and not particularly funny even though it was trying hard to be.

Curse of the Jade Scorpion that came after it was slightly better, but still not a great film.

Ugh forgot Small Time Crooks. Think I blocked that out of my memory. I was enjoying the heist movie at the start, than that whole bakery twist came along and it all went to s**t. Tracey Ullman was dreadful.

Enjoyed Jade Scorpion. Kind of forgettable, but it was an enjoyable little caper. It was one of the first of his I saw actually (after Broadway Danny Rose if I remember correctly) so maybe wouldnt stand up to repeat viewings.

I agree Match Point was good, but I didn't like Rhys Meyers and found the detective sections laughably forced. But still well worth a watch. I think the problem with his new films is that they dont quite live up to their potential. Melinda & Melinda for example had a great premise, but I don't think it was a great film. Again, enjoyable but not just up to classic Allen standards.

monkeyfudge

Yeah... Melinda and Melinda was very good with some brilliant performances in it... but it had a sort of lacklustre ending.


Have you seen Shadows and Fog? That's a really good one. Even if it does have Madonna in it.

Earthhorse

Perhaps it's just the movies I've seen but I tend to think of Allen's work as pieces laced with brilliance rather than being brilliant right the way through. Annie Hall is probably the most acclaimed piece of his I've seen and I still wasn't bowled over entirely by it. Some great scenes sure but also a movie I found difficult to warm to.

By in large I think people dismiss him as pretentious, intellectual and what have you. People really aren't willing to give anything different a chance which is really less to do with Allen and more to do with people's close-mindedness. Having said that, the nervous persona he created can be off putting (but not to the extent where you shouldn't give a few of his films a look in).

I think it's in Everyone Says I Love You (a pretty mediocre film) where Woody finds out his daughter is dating a gondolier but that his real calling is to be a poet.

Scoffs Allen, "Gondolier? You know what that rhymes with? No lira."

Brilliant! You just won't get that anywhere else. I also recommend his collected prose; so funny I had to put it down at times because I thought I was going to be sick with laughter.

AJ2012

I love Woddy Allen. Ok, so his recent ouput hasn't been great but he has made some fantastic films. Crimes and Misdemeanors is probably my favourite. But one that I think is very underrated is Manhattan Murder Mystery - I found it consistently laugh out loud funny.

devils_reject

He's a short arse!!

Earthhorse

monkeyfudge wrote:

And by the way.. I've yet to meet a woman who likes Woody Allen films.

Meant to say in my first post a girl I know e-mailed me to tell me she'd been to see Scoop! with her mom and that it was great. So that's one.

Also meant to say I think Match Point is the best of his recent works. I wish he'd do serious stuff more often. Sometimes it feels like he's under an obligation to be funny and it just doesn't work.

nacho libre

I love his humour. Scoop has some great dark humour in it. Go watch it.