Woody Allen fans unite

[JohnB_Toronto]

name='Chinaski']Word!

What he said ....



I just watched "Wild Man Blues" earlier this week. It's brilliant and, of course, a total departure from his feature films.

[Bernardo]

Just spotted this thread. As a fan of Woody Allen and also a supporter of independent cinemas I went to the Riverside (The Riverside Theatre Woodbridge, Restaurant Cinema & Bar ) to watch Midnight in Paris (2011) - IMDb
It was refreshing to hear laughing out loud in a cinema at the typical Allen asides. Complete with Sidney Bechet and Hot Club de Paris style syncopated music it had Woody Allen's fingerprints all over it. I think I will purchase a copy of the film as the dialogue is fast and witty but typical of the style slightly understated so a second listen is required and also another chance to see a homage to such a beautiful city.
Does Woody really believe that Americans abroad are such Philistines?

Also starred Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemmingway, Cole Porter, Pablo Piccasso, etc. It provided an entertaining night out, a bit of fantasy, a bit of romance, and is much deeper than the surface poke at Americans in a cultural environment. Plus the lead, I suspect, is a Woody Allen substitute, tousled hair included, who delivered his lines in a recognisable Woody style.

[narabdela]

Would love to here(sic) which your favorite Allen movies are. I start with Match Point

Match Point?

Match Point is a crime against cinema! It is epic ubertosh. Most Brits cringe at the very mention of it.









I'm an Allen fanboy btw.

[TomDaws]

My own favourite is Love and Death, but I think Match Point gets a rough deal from some quarters. Personally I found the much lauded Vicky Christina Barcelona a greater disappointment. IncidentallyI was an usher at the Cinecenta in the West End when Annie Hall came out - it played there for about a year and I never tired of watching it..if only to see the different reactions to different jokes from each audience.

[CaptainWaggett]

I think I'd have liked Match Point a lot better if it had been set anywhere but London. As it was, I just cringed at the laughable dialogue ('I was raised in Belgravia' indeed). You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger wasn't much cop either though he did at least address the ludicrousness of a 60 year old bloke with a 20 year old girlfriend in this one.

[cassidy]

Of his films I love "Play it again Sam" but his cabaret monologues are also very good. I have treasured LP's bought during the 60's which are hilarious.

[CaptainWaggett]

Of his films I love "Play it again Sam" but his cabaret monologues are also very good. I have treasured LP's bought during the 60's which are hilarious.

I first came across Woody Allen (and many others) through listening to Frank Muir Goes Into...in the 70s. Possibly my memory cheats here, but I remember the monologue about the moose at the fancy dress party turning up several times a series.

[Bernardo]

Of his films I love "Play it again Sam" but his cabaret monologues are also very good. I have treasured LP's bought during the 60's which are hilarious.

Yes I have vinyl somewhere upstairs stacked with Bob Newhart and Tom Lehrer (forgive spelling if I have got the names wrong).
What was the title of that very very non PC film, Newhart was a bemused US President? I doubt whether anyone would dare to broadcast it.

[dremble wedge]

What was the title of that very very non PC film, Newhart was a bemused US President? I doubt whether anyone would dare to broadcast it.

First Family?

Re Woody, I'm one of the "early, funny" brigade.

[AdrianTurner]

I think I'd have liked Match Point a lot better if it had been set anywhere but London. As it was, I just cringed at the laughable dialogue ('I was raised in Belgravia' indeed).

What's wrong with Belgravia? Would you have preferred Dalston or Hackney, perhaps? I'm sure New Yorkers feel much the same about how their city is portrayed. Judging by what I have seen, New York, mostly, is an ugly overcrowded slum and so is London, and Sydney, and Paris and Rome, and really any city in the world until you romanticise its fashionable centre in movies.

Oh, I also happen to love the intricate plotting of Match Point and I recently discovered Scoop, a lovely picture that had an added frisson for me in being partly shot at Haseley Court, a garden I wanted to visit to more than a decade and finally did this summer. And then I saw Scoop and there was that incredible garden. But I'm sure many here would have preferred it was shot on an allotment filled with carrots.

[CaptainWaggett]

What's wrong with Belgravia? Would you have preferred Dalston or Hackney, perhaps? I'm sure New Yorkers feel much the same about how their city is portrayed. Judging by what I have seen, New York, mostly, is an ugly overcrowded slum and so is London, and Sydney, and Paris and Rome, and really any city in the world until you romanticise its fashionable centre in movies.

You misunderstand my point (and make a lot of assumptions ). I've never in my life heard anyone British refer to being 'raised' anywhere. 'Grew up' perhaps but not 'raised'. Just as the long conversation about 'record stores' didn't exactly ring true (or the posh girl calling her parents Momma and Poppa ).

[cassidy]

"The Moose", "The Ant" and the pocket watch that his great grandfather sold him on his deathbed all bring back great funny memories of Woody Allen. Bob Newhart, "When Superman took his outfit to the dry cleaners" and "King Kong " are other gems along with Bill Cosby and "The Rhino"

I first came across Woody Allen (and many others) through listening to Frank Muir Goes Into...in the 70s. Possibly my memory cheats here, but I remember the monologue about the moose at the fancy dress party turning up several times a series.

[gumby1987]

I've yet to really get into Woody Allen. I'm a fan of his early work (What's New Pussycat?, Love and Death, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but I found Annie Hall to be overrated, and really didn't like The Manhattan Murder Mystery. One I'm being told about to check out is Bananas. Will pick it up sometime....

[Merton Park]

The PBS channel in America have recently shown a four hour, two part interview with WA covering his complete career. From 17 year old writer to Midnight in Paris. Here's hoping the new Sky PBS channel will show it in the UK.

[TomDaws]

As someone who's liked so much of Allen's work, I was amazed how much I disliked Midnight In Paris. A Hollywood screenwriter (yawn) travels through time (yawn) and all the famous people he meets are unaccountably interested in the novel he's writing. And not a laugh to be had. Well, that was my opinion anyway - I know that some people love the film. Maybe I just prefer the ones that Woody himself appears in.