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I agree, you either get it or you don't...I think it is an innate trait.
You obviously missed the episode where Will accidentally gives Carlton those speed pills at the dance. Naturally, hilarity ensued. Hilarity that you don't seem to appreciate.
I agree, you either get it or you don't...I think it is an innate trait.
I think it has to do with mainstream American filmmaking and comedy. Everything is insipid, spoonfed, and predictable. That is what most are used to and dissapointed if they don't get it.
Woody Allen movies.......
suck.
/thread
I've actually been think about this the past few months since I made this thread.
I read Woody Allen on Woody Allen and it gives some more insight to his movies. Bananas was worth a chuckle. He was just kind of early whiney emo after Bananas. Especially the whole Annie Hall era. Interiors sucked.
I'm actually doing a paper on antipathy towards Woody Allen in the general population, so this thread was a help.
Anyone else hate or love him?Maybe you just want to punch him in the face. Why? Is it because he hit up a young Diane Keaton?
Last edited by CharlieMac; 03-24-2007 at 10:15 AM.
ive never thought of him to be funny, but scoop is the only movie i've ever seen him in, and that was a decent movie.
He was "moderately" funny.
moderately funny like billy madison was "moderately" funny.
Take The Money And Run was hilarious on massive does of Panama Red at age 15.
Precisely
Maybe not the first, but it's the earliest mockumentary that I know of, off the top of my head.
Many great scenes. As already mentioned, the suds "gun"; playing cello in a marching band; parents being interviewed with fake nose and mustaches; two gangs trying to rob the same bank at the same time.
But still, all in all, Woody Allen is first and foremost an annoyance of the highest order. Don't let his New Yorkness throw you, he's just a hick.
I haven't seen a particularly insightful critique of Woody Allen, and of course no one here is obliged to provide one - but this man has created a great number of cinematic classics, and if he sucks or is overrated, who isn't??
I'll grant that he hasn't been particularly sharp during this decade, but from 1975-2000 he created a metric ton of quality cinema:
Love And Death
Annie Hall
Manhattan
Hannah And Her Sisters
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Husbands And Wives
Deconstructing Harry
I'd be very surprised if you Woody bashers didn't hop on the bandwagon after watching one of the above films. At the very least, you may acknowledge the quality of the work even if it doesn't fit your tastes.
A Woody Allen movie is rich with realistic dialogue, moving character studies, wonderfully on-point satire of the power elite, and timeless cinematography. Good luck finding three directors who can match him.
I totally just saw Woody Allen saying this, all of it, and it was hilarious!
love and death is one of my all time favorites. A lot of great funny lines.
God damn, I typed up a whole response, then my comp went blank. The screen just turned white and I had to shut down. I dont know what that was about.
I've flip-flopped between liking him and thinking he's an asshole with each movie I've seen.
Like I said, Bananas was great. Love and Death was great. Much to Woody's dismay, I liked his early funny works.
However, I can understand why so many people dislike him and his characters in some of his movies. It's really hard to feel for a guy like Isaac Davis in Manhattan. A white, well educated, financially stable, middle aged writer with so many self made problems? One of them being that fact that he is dating a 17 year old girl in high school. Who, he then dumps when when he decides to date his bestfriend's former mistress on the rebound. Then to top that off, he gets dumped by her and tries to win the 17 year old back and stop her from going off to college so he can be with her. Although, it seems the 17 year old girl was the most mature character in the film to be fair.
Speaking of power elite, that's exactly the category he fits into when S ust Memories rolls around. He knows it too, because that seems to be what that movie is about from start to fiinish. How rough it was being a celebrity for him and how no one understood him. Plus, notice how hideous every character is in that movie (due to lighting, character and so on), while he and his women (plural) all manage to be the only ones that look good? I'll admit though, the Fellini influence is funny at times. Especially during the press conferences with everyone's faces.
Lets not forget the teenage fan he sleeps with, and also he is accused of flirting with (Dorie's 13 year old cousin). There's obviously an issue with him and young, girls.
Alvy Singer was a great character in Annie Hall. I know everyone made a big deal about Annie herself, but despite her great character, Alvy takes teh show. Once again, he was a comedian/minor celebrity trying to make it in everyday life, but atleast he had some great, GREAT one-liners in this movie.
Also, what's the deal with minorities in his films. I dont know how NYC and Manhattan REALLY are, but I'm guessing there is more than one black person there. It seems like the only black character he casted in that era was the mover working for him in the movie Manhattan. In bananas, every ethnic character was a joke. I realize he doesnt live in Queens or the Bronx or Harlem, but I assume that Manhattan is a little more diverse.
Interiors was great and touched on a very personal deep subject. I did like the cinenamatography in that movie and those it was more appropiate for a movie like that than Manhattan. The funny thing is thats one of the movies that Woody dislikes and wishes he do over. Every character was so important in that movie.
Last edited by CharlieMac; 03-25-2007 at 09:56 AM.
Oh, people get it. The funny thing is that it seems his characters became predictable after a while. This goes back to the 70's, not just now.
Although, there are a number of literary references he jokes about in his early films that I dont get. I'm an English major too, so it's not that I haven't been around. Those are just writers, satirists, and filmmakers from a different era that he refers to so much.
I still want to know WHY people dislike him though. He sucks is unacceptable and kind of backs up the "people don't get him" claims. With good reason too.
Mighty Aphrodite is one of my favorite films; his casting of Mira Sorvino as "Judy " was brilliance. Manhattan Murder Mystery was a bust, but I think it might be a good starting point for someone who doesn't care for Woody to get a taste. There are fewer characters, milder tempo, more "mainstream" storyline. I liked it, you might too.
eriks,
Your post pretty much hit how I feel about Allen.
I liked it when he was just trying to be silly/funny, with an intellectual bent.
When he tried to do the reverse, his elitism and egoism were increasingly apparent. And for somebody who makes a big deal of how much he likes jazz and basketball, his lack of diversity in his characters (which as far as I know wasn't broken until Melinda and Melinda) was striking.
he's not the best, but I like some of his movies. Everything you wanted to know about sex is funny. Especially the gene wilder doctor part. Mighty Aphrodite is pretty good also. If you don't like a whole lot of dialogue and love the "hollywood"-blow-everything-up-instead-of-having-a-plot type movie, then woody allen ain't for you. He's a one camera guy and isn't very A.D.D. friendly.
im guessing that at least 90% of the posters in this threads idea of a film classic is "the boondock saints."
can't believe the near unanimous hate for woody allen here. his stuff is always interesting and worth checking out. it might not always rise to the level of greatness, but it'll always spur a few interesting thoughts/conversations.
ha. you're probably right. my ex-roommate told me about that movie. he built it up so much, and when i finally saw it, i wanted to laugh. it's a highly overrated movie. it must be an irish thing.
Woody Allen definitely used to be great. The fact that he's been rehashing the exact same jokes for 20 years leaves something to be desired, however.
You sound like the type of bag who enjoys sipping a nice latte at some random coffee shop with your little buddies who wear Castro hats, a Che Guevara t-shirt, chin pubes, and light brown corduroy sport coats with dark brown elbow patches while you all discuss pseudo-intellectual babble about the difference between Truffaut vs. Godard, how the greatest American director is John Cassavettes, what a sellout Cronenberg is for doing History Of Violence.
But you're right, Boondock Saints sucked big time.
"Mighty Aphrodite" was ok, but you can tell by the quality of his subsequent works that Woody spends more time banging his daughter than on his movies.
I'm guessing that your opinions are subscribed.
We could both be wrong.
haha....i have to admit that that was pretty funny
Amazing how often that word comes up in threads where pussyface posts.
...i enjoy Kafka and Jack Kerouc. I listen to Sonic Youth and go to Jim Jarmusch films.
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