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Take The Money And Run |
You've got to love
Take The Money & Run for it's sheer dumbness. Woody plays Virgil
Starkwell - an incompetent habitual criminal in this film which is
presented as a documentary on his life. The scene in the bank where the
teller can't read Virgil's note saying he has a gun is hilarious, or
when he's trying to escape from prison with a gun carved out of soap
and it starts to rain. Or how about Virgil trying to join a musical
parade playing the cello. This is one of my favourite Woody Allen films
because it's got a barrel-load of laughs and it's just so absurd. |
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Sleeper |
I still like this
film even though it's a little dated. Once you have a taste for the
more cerebral comedies, and indeed dramas, from Woody Allen it's hard
to return to the earlier goofball films and approach them in the same
way, but this film still has enough scenes of carefree lunacy to be
enjoyable. The picture you see above, for example, where Woody as Miles
Monroe, disguises himself as a servant robot leads to all sorts of
hilarity, and the scene where he skuds across the lake in a giant
inflatable wet suit is hilarious. One of Woody's funniest films. |
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Annie Hall |
This is the film
that truly broke Woody Allen through to the mainstream audience and it
was heavily nominated at the Oscars. Diane Keaton is the titular
character and Woody plays Alvy Singer who falls in love with her. It's
tempting, as it is a lot of the time with Woody's films, to believe
that the relationship up there on screen between Keaton and Allen
mirrored their relationship off-screen. We'll never know for sure, but
this film was the start of that kind of speculation, and they do say
write about what you know. The onscreen pairing of Allen and Keaton is a delight to watch either way. |
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Manhattan |
Diane Keaton again
and this is the film where the analysis of relationships starts off for
real. Woody stars as Isaac Davis, a recent divorcee who's wife left him
for another woman, and this irks him no end. He falls for a teenage
student and he's depressed about that aswell, because he knows it
can't last. It's a bittersweet film about love and regret, with some
snappy dialogue between Allen and Keaton. The
cinematography by Gordon Willis is sumptuous to behold and the Gershwin
score is spot on. |
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Stardust Memories |
Woody Allen does
Federico Fellini. Allen plays Sandy Bates, a film director attending a
festival to honour his work. During the course of his stay he
reconsiders the value of his films and re-examines his past
relationships. He's constantly irritated by people telling him his
earlier, funnier films were much better - again something the real
Woody Allen can relate to. Some aliens turn up at
one point, and no matter if you think the rest of the film is
pretentious, you've got to admire Woody for that. I think this film's a lot better than it's generally given credit for. |
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Hannah & Her Sisters |
One of Woody's more
financially successful films with some good performances. Max Von Sydow
as Barbera Hershey's husband puts on a good show but once again it's
Woody himself who has the best part as Mickey Sachs, and I would say it
is one of his funniest performances. He plays a hypochondriac obsessed with
death and disease. He also delivers most of the best lines. The film
takes place over the course of a year with the film being book-ended
with two thanksgiving dinners, when the three sisters of the title all
get together with the rest of the family and friends. |
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Crimes & Misdemeanors |
This is my favourite
Woody Allen film. Martin Landau should have won an Oscar for his role as the
opthalmologist who has his mistress killed by his gangster brother to
stop her from telling his wife about their affair, and then has to live
with the guilt of what he's done. Meanwhile across town Alan Alda stars
as a pompous film director and Woody himself plays Clifford Stern, a
documentary filmmaker hired to make a film about him even though he
despises the man and loathes his films. Woody is hilarious in this film
and there's more one-liners than a dozen regular comedies. |
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Husbands & Wives |
This is the last
Woody Allen film you'll ever see Mia Farrow in; I can say that with
some confidence, because this is just before the whole Mia Farrow sex
abuse allegations hit the headlines. As far as the film goes there are
some interesting editing techniques on display here and the film itself
is a fascinating document of the dissolution of a marriage.When their
friends anounce they are splitting up after decades of apparently happy
marriage Gabe Roth and his wife (Woody and Mia) begin to look for love
elsewhere, and Gabe, a college lecturer, falls for a much younger
student of his (Juliette Lewis). |
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Manhattan Murder Mystery |
Woody and Diane
Keaton star as Larry and Carol Lipton, living in an apartment in New
York (of course) next to a nice old man - or is he? Carol is convinced
there's something sinister about the old man and that he has actually
murdered his wife. They decide to investigate with some very amusing
results. For my money Woody Allen and Diane Keaton are the perfect
comedy couple, and Diane Keaton makes a very welcome return to
Woodyland. The direction is very polished and the final scenes may seem
familiar to the older film buffs - it's The Lady From Shanghai. |
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Deconstructing Harry |
This is a funny film which is
absolutely packed with famous faces and stars popping up all over the
place - Billy Crystal, Tobey Maguire, Robin Williams, Demi Moore - the
list goes on. I liked the fact that Bob Balaban turned up for a while.
Woody stars as Harry Block, a writer who is struggling with a new book,
and is incorporating people from his past to help him along. The
trouble is his fictionalised characters are not to the real people's
liking as Harry finds out on a journey with Balaban and a hooker to his
old alma mater. Harry's conversations with the Devil are very witty.
Great fun. |
