Woody Allen: Yea or Nay?
- Hugo
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I think he's been an incredibly patchy director. Some of the slapstick and silliness of his earlier movies are a bit too obvious. His Bergman-esque films - Interiors et al. - don't work. And some of his later movies are out of touch with the world and sloppily written. That said, he's also made some fantastic stuff, like Annie Hall and Manhattan. He's been so prolific that if only a quarter of his movies stand up to scrutiny in the end, he's still going to be one of the greatest directors of his generation.
Hugo wrote:I think he's been an incredibly patchy director. Some of the slapstick and silliness of his earlier movies are a bit too obvious. His Bergman-esque films - Interiors et al. - don't work. And some of his later movies are out of touch with the world and sloppily written. That said, he's also made some fantastic stuff, like Annie Hall and Manhattan. He's been so prolific that if only a quarter of his movies stand up to scrutiny in the end, he's still going to be one of the greatest directors of his generation.
That makes a lot of sense.
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*THE WASHINGTON MACHINE* wrote:Hugo wrote:I think he's been an incredibly patchy director. Some of the slapstick and silliness of his earlier movies are a bit too obvious. His Bergman-esque films - Interiors et al. - don't work. And some of his later movies are out of touch with the world and sloppily written. That said, he's also made some fantastic stuff, like Annie Hall and Manhattan. He's been so prolific that if only a quarter of his movies stand up to scrutiny in the end, he's still going to be one of the greatest directors of his generation.
That makes a lot of sense.
The fact that he's a writer-director makes Hugo's last sentence even more appropriate. You might be able to name some consistently better directors, or some more dependable writers (though perhaps not, considering the volume of his work). But damned few can compete with Allen in both categories, and fewer still have pulled it off in such quantity.
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- The Obliging Fairy
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geoffcowgill wrote:I just saw Scoop last night. It's complete fluff, but it is quite a bit better than any of his comedies have been for a long time. The tone is unforced; the jokes are cheezy, but breezy and fun. I think with this and Match Point the man may be finding his sea legs again.
Funny but I watched Scoop last night and I was pretty annoyed by it. I personally thought the jokes misfired throughout. He finally leaves Manhattan to film somewhere else and then imbues the film with cliche upon cliche about the English; tea and crumpets, stately homes, driving on the wrong side of the road, for gawd's sakes? I'd have expected something less condescending from someone I've admired for so many years.
I'll vote yes though all the same. We all have bad patches.
my attention span, or thereabouts
- geoffcowgill
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the obliging fairy wrote:geoffcowgill wrote:I just saw Scoop last night. It's complete fluff, but it is quite a bit better than any of his comedies have been for a long time. The tone is unforced; the jokes are cheezy, but breezy and fun. I think with this and Match Point the man may be finding his sea legs again.
Funny but I watched Scoop last night and I was pretty annoyed by it. I personally thought the jokes misfired throughout. He finally leaves Manhattan to film somewhere else and then imbues the film with cliche upon cliche about the English; tea and crumpets, stately homes, driving on the wrong side of the road, for gawd's sakes? I'd have expected something less condescending from someone I've admired for so many years.
I'll vote yes though all the same. We all have bad patches.
Oh, it's no finely crafted satire by any means, just a goofy little movie, tonally a cross between Oedipal Wrecks and Broadway Danny Rose, and as such I thought it was fun. Compared to Anything Else, Hollywood Ending, Mighty Aphrodite, etc. etc., I thought it was enjoyable.
- The Obliging Fairy
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geoffcowgill wrote:Oh, it's no finely crafted satire by any means, just a goofy little movie, tonally a cross between Oedipal Wrecks and Broadway Danny Rose, and as such I thought it was fun. Compared to Anything Else, Hollywood Ending, Mighty Aphrodite, etc. etc., I thought it was enjoyable.
Oedipal Wrecks I don't know, and I loved Broadway Danny Rose. Anything Else I can't recall. Was that the one with her out of Sleepy Hollow in it? Sorry, I'm crap at names. That one was alright though now that I think of it.
Hollywood Ending was a fantastic premise with a weak pay-off, and Mighty Aphrodite I thought pretty special.
The last movie he did that I recall blowing up my skirt was Curse of the Jade Scorpion, though I think I'm pretty much alone in that.
my attention span, or thereabouts
- Maxwell's Golden Pickaxe
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Out of Woody's recent ouput I'd say Anything Else and Scoop are his best. I realise he lays the England cliches on a little heavy with the latter (even more so in the hammy Match Point) but it's gag-o-meter was ringing steadily throughout. It's not getting a cinematic release in Ireland, which is a shame. I think the distributors have given up on Woody.
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