W. Allen against the current paradigm

Regardless of how he is seen, his movies will live on.   It's art vs. artist, and he will always be remembered as a brilliant filmmaker.   

And yes I often enjoy his older work---   Radio Days is a favorite, as well as Crimes & Misdemeanors, Broadway Danny Rose, A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy, Play it Again Sam, and Hannah.

Agree with David.
Naming faves is near impossible, but my most recent re-watches were Manhattan and Radio Days, and I still loved both of those. I fell out of touch somewhere around "Whatever Works" and haven't seen much of his recent work.

Play It Again, Sam, is terrific, one of those films he didn't officially direct...but it's clear he was more than involved in the script. Diane Keaton and Tony Roberts are amazing, and as always, one hilarious situation after another, where there's also a very deep undercurrent, like the absurdity, complexity, and contradiction in relationships. Another example is The Front, about the McCarthy era, directed by Martin Ritt in 1976, but with Allen's full imprint.

Annie Hall with diminishing returns by Zelig. The movies he made after that are either derivative of his older movies and just not good.

Hi,

I don't really know how I feel about his films ...one day things flow really nicely, and then, it feels forced and not funny, and sometimes boring, but there are some bits here and there that are kinda far out, and weird, but you can't help laugh at it, and one of them, I actually had to stop watching, and pause the film, because it was nuts. In the background, and not getting much attention at first is a group of folks, that ... all of a sudden break into a sort of song and dance, as if they were an old fashioned Greek Chorus ... and while a lot of those things are mostly known if you are a theater person, and well versed film person, stuff like that adds a touch that is neat.

The other side of it, is how so many actors want to work with him, and did ... and I'm not sure if it is the freedom to create a character which can be molded by a line, or event in the story, and at that point, I'm not sure that he likes playing the "director" and he allows the actors to flow and almost all of them come off smooth and really good, something that is always far out to watch, specially if you are into theater and film, for the art of it, and the acting, and directing, rather than the entertainment value, at which point I probably would say, that this director is not a good one for you.

But, in the end, he is going to be remembered, as he has been a part of a lot of things in the history of comedy, though not as widely known or appreciated and many times he stayed in the background, unlike some of his films.

He has at least a dozen awards for Best Screenplay, at least 6 or 7 awards for Best Director and even at least one as an actor. Count 4 Academy Awards, 10 Awards in England, 2 Golden Gloves and 1 Grammy. That is not the life of a bad director and writer ... that's a life of incredible ability and talent.

Annie Hall might become his best, as he won Director and Screenplay, but Hannah and Her Sisters and Midnight in Paris also got him awards.

I think his best work is behind him, and he probably should be taking it easy as he is approaching 90 in November ... and maybe have some fun playing a little jazz here and there ... he's well known for that in New York.

^ I don't think so--   his casting is excellent and he always gives his co-stars plenty of camera time and good lines.   Besides, sometimes the director/writer will do the best job in a certain role.

Further, in at least his last ten films he is not included in the cast at all.

As for Mel Brooks, the best thing he ever did was Young Frankenstein and it was Gene Wilder who wrote & starred in that film.   Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, Spaceballs, Silent Movie, Robin Hood:Men in Tights, don't hold up at all.




Edited by Atavachron - 15 hours 2 minutes ago at 00:58

I wonder if the Allen fans here are into an Allen-adjacent director named Henry Jaglom. His work spans roughly the same years; he's a tad younger I think. Very prolific. A similar style of filmaking to Woody but perhaps a bit more romantic drama and a bit less obvious punchline humor. If anyone wants to try him, I think his best films were Always, Someone to Love, Venice Venice, Last Summer in the Hamptons, and Deja Vu. But like Woody, everyone's faves will vary.