Woody Allen

[bkimball]

If you've seen Sleeper, Love and Death is like that but actually entertaining. Allen takes the concept of a period piece and adds some decent satire and zaniness all the while poking fun and paying homage to his favorite directors at the same time. It's quite brilliant.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

If you've seen Sleeper, Love and Death is like that but actually entertaining. Allen takes the concept of a period piece and adds some decent satire and zaniness all the while poking fun and paying homage to his favorite directors at the same time. It's quite brilliant.

Sleeper is brilliant. Woody Allen as a robot, and full of great lines and slapstick. Hell, even the opening is funny when the remove the aluminum from his face! Honestly, that one might be my favorite one.

[lord_clyde]

If you've seen Sleeper, Love and Death is like that but actually entertaining. Allen takes the concept of a period piece and adds some decent satire and zaniness all the while poking fun and paying homage to his favorite directors at the same time. It's quite brilliant.

If you don't think Sleeper is entertaining you must be disappointed constantly.

[Tribe]

From Defamer:

In 1997, preeminent American auteur Woody Allen gave the world a collective case of the nauseous willies by marrying Soon-Yi Previn, Mia Farrow's adopted daughter, 35 years his junior. Even a decade later, his decision continues to be the source of much heated debate--particularly among a pair of Wisconsin inmates, who came to fisticuffs in a mealtime exchange about the Scoop director's controversial personal life:

According to a criminal complaint filed Monday in Ozaukee County Circuit Court, the fight began about 5:30 p.m. July 9 during mealtime when James F. Lala, 31, of Grafton asked fellow inmate Corey T. Wilson, 36, of Menomonee Falls what he thought of Allen's marriage in 1997 to Soon-Yi Previn, an adopted daughter of Allen's longtime companion, Mia Farrow.

"Wilson told Lala that he thought that was perverted," the complaint says. "Wilson stated he continued to eat his meal when Lala came up to him and punched him in the face," and the two began to fight.

Lala, who was imprisoned in 1998 for having sex with a 15-year-old girl, was charged a year ago in May with 20 felony counts of possessing child pornography after investigators said they found 6,000 such images on his home computer.

Sadly, Lala opted to forfeit what could have been a lively debate on the moral obligations of parental figures not to sleep with and/or marry the children in their care, opting instead to settle the dispute with brute force. It's a story that quickly made the Ozaukee County Jail rounds, where inmates are now wary of being shived in the neck should they not give the kiddie-porn enthusiast the answers he wants to hear regarding whether or not Roman Polanski should be allowed to return to the U.S.

[Person]

Full Dick Cavett interview with Woody from 1971.

[Antoine Doinel]

Woody Allen interviews Billy Graham.

Deconstructing the fashion in Allen's UK films.

[Dylan]

From YouTube:

1967 skit with Woody and a young Candice Bergen

Live 1965 taping of The Moose

1967 CBC segment (absolutely wonderful!)

June 2007: Woody accepting the doctor honoris causa at Pompeu Fabra University

[sevenarts]

From YouTube:

Thanks for all those, some great stuff there. I've been on a real Woody Allen run lately, and have started watching through his entire filmography in chronological order -- I just got up to Radio Days. (You can see my thoughts on all the films between A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy and that one on my blog, and I'll continue posting about each new one I watch. Next up: King Lear!!)

What's most amazing is how consistent he was in the period between Love and Death and where I'm up to now. With the possible exception of Interiors, there's not a bad film in there, and there are quite a few total masterpieces. Even Interiors, the only one from this period that I'd call less than successful, isn't all bad, and there's quite a lot to like even in that film, whether it's the beautiful visuals and Bergman-esque character arrangements, or the stellar performance of Maureen Stapleton, or some of the incisive dialogues. And with most of the others, I can hardly find a bad thing to say. Hannah, Radio Days, Broadway Danny Rose, Stardust Memories and Annie Hall are all masterpieces, perfectly balancing humor and poignancy and filled with complex insights on these characters and their situations. The others from this time are only a small tier below. All these films are, to one degree or another, concerned with memory and its links to the present, which gives him a bit more common ground with his one-time-only collaborator Godard than would otherwise be expected. I really look forward to tackling Woody's next period after the Godard collab, since a whole batch of more "serious" films seem to be next in the offing.

I also recently listened to his Stand Up Comic album, which is great fun -- anyone who's seen the earlier films before listening to this will surely recognize that a lot of this material later found its way into the films. Great stuff, and you can see how much of his stand-up persona was brought into his film persona without much adaptation, at least pre-Annie Hall.

[Magic Hate Ball]

I watched Bananas last week. A very good example of early, play-it-loose Allen. I almost fell out of my chair at the little scene where he's on the sidewalk and backs up the car. "Perfect!"

I watched What's Up Tiger Lily?, which is basically his first movie (I'm not too clear on What's New Pussycat?). Not an amazing movie by any means, but it has some good gags (IF YOU READING THIS...), and without it we probably wouldn't have Mystery Science Theater 3000.

[exte]

I watched Bananas last week. A very good example of early, play-it-loose Allen. I almost fell out of my chair at the little scene where he's on the sidewalk and backs up the car. "Perfect!"

I remember sitting in my dorm room during film school, and this came on TCM, without interruption of course, and I sat there thinking what the fuck is this!? No one talks about this! All they say is Annie Hall, Annie Hall.... so then I went through almost his entire catalog. Anyway, the scene you mentioned I thought was the funniest, or at least so I remember... It's great seeing Allen so young and vibrant, with the wild hair.

[Highway 61]

Yet another book of Woody interviews has been published, upping the tally to four. It's called Conversations with Woody Allen, His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking and written by Eric Lax, whose authored a couple of books about Woody before. I picked it up today, and though I'm no where near finishing it, I'd say this is the best book on the man so far. The Bjorkman book is definitely a better introduction to his work, but if you're already a well-versed fan, the interviews in Lax's book are much more comprehensive and focused. I've also never read Woody relay anecdotes from his personal life so casually. Lax and Allen have been friends for nearly forty years, and the openness of the conversation is a welcomed refresher from Allen's usual shyness.

[Magic Hate Ball]

I've just seen Play It Again, Sam. Hysterically funny, I haven't laughed this hard in weeks. "Go talk to her." "One two one two one two." "Say something meaningful." "Three four three four three four."

[devlinnn]

Lordy, does he have the life.

Can't blame Woody for the, ahem....pant tent here. Those shoes are bliss.

[tavernier]

From the neck down, she's perfect.

[Dylan]

Happy birthday Woody!

[Cold Bishop]

From the neck down, she's perfect.

I can't help but ask what your good idea of a pretty face is?

[Antoine Doinel]

Woody is coming back to New York. From IMDB:

Allen Returns to New York

Woody Allen is abandoning his globe-trotting film making exercise to direct a new movie in his native New York. After shooting exclusively in Manhattan for all his career, Allen turned his back on the Big Apple to make a string of films in Europe - starting with 2005 release Match Point. But he is ready to return and will begin shooting his first movie back in New York in the New Year. It's rumored Allen lost his patience with Europe after Spaniards protested about government grants which aided the production of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which stars Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson and was shot in Barcelona in the summer. But Allen says, "There were people in Barcelona who took issue. I don't really know what those issues were. That's always very removed from me."

The font of Woody Allen.

Larry David ( ) and Evan Rachel Wood are lined up for Woody's next film.

[domino harvey]

[devlinnn]

...and one dream comes true. With the finest comic and writer of the past 15 years working with him in a major role, here's hoping Woody can be inspired enough to add more bite, honesty, wit and backbone to his own writing, that has been sadly lacking since Melinda and Melinda. Larry David, more than anyone else, would be the one to say, 'Hey Woody, c'mon, this passage here, right here, that's lazy bullshit. You're better than this. Re-write, make it work.'

Actually, even better, here's hoping they are writing together.

[domino harvey]

Larry David, more than anyone else, would be the one to say, 'Hey Woody, c'mon, this passage here, right here, that's lazy bullshit. You're better than this. Re-write, make it work.'

I'm fairly certainly that Larry David, like anyone who works with Allen, is too scared and in awe to do anything of the sort

[devlinnn]

Larry David, more than anyone else, would be the one to say, 'Hey Woody, c'mon, this passage here, right here, that's lazy bullshit. You're better than this. Re-write, make it work.'

I'm fairly certainly that Larry David, like anyone who works with Allen, is too scared and in awe to do anything of the sort

On artistic merits, Larry David's bullshit detector is more attuned than anyone else working in the US, and I'm sure he's not scared or in awe of Woody to push harder, if the need arises.

To dream a little more, I'm more excited by the prospect that David can work all this in to the next series of Curb, and be back living in NY while working on the film and have Woody play the 'real' Woody throughout the ten episodes. Someone get Larry on the phone - THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE.

[Highway 61]

These pretzels are making me thirsty!

How I've dreamed this would happen! Some people have sexual fantasies; I have Woody Allen, Larry David team up fantasies. Christ, I am a nerd.

[v_konigsberg]

I recently obtained King Lear- have any one seen it yet? I would like a kind of review, because it seems to be boring.
Is it notorious woody allens appearance?

[domino harvey]

I recently obtained King Lear- have any one seen it yet? I would like a kind of review, because it seems to be boring.
Is it notorious woody allens appearance?

#-o
Woody Allen is in it for like twenty seconds at the very end. It's an amazing film though

[justeleblanc]

I recently obtained King Lear- have any one seen it yet? I would like a kind of review, because it seems to be boring.
Is it notorious woody allens appearance?

Wow.

If I were you I would hold off until you were a bit more familiar with Jean-Luc Godard, especially his work after Tout va bien. King Lear is a pretty terrific film, and kudos for really pushing through what I assume is a complete Woody Allen agenda, but just know that Woody is in it for about a nanosecond.