For any late-comers to this thread, here's a article rating all of Woody's films, from worst to best. It's something that's been done before, but apparently it's worth doing again and again and again. In the following article, the takedowns of the lesser films do an excellent job of echoing our criticisms here. However, the praise for the better films seems odd, at times, as "outliers" seem to pop up MUCH higher than I'd suspect, but it's still an interesting read (and a nearly error-free one, too): All 47 Woody Allen movies - ranked from worst to best »
Interesting read, although the reviews were a lot more "glass half empty" for the middling films that I would prefer reading. The list also supports the notion that the British hate Woody's British films (which, if I recall, was borne out in our thread). I'm not sure I could live in a country that rates "Alice" over "Match Point" The placement of "Another Woman" is a bit shocking, but it's a favorite of mine so I won't complain. The placement of "Cafe Society" may have something to do with new car smell (or some better analogy). The placement of "Sex Comedy" mystifies me. They sure got the bottom 2 right! EDIT: And I might add, the list has a general bias towards the more serious films (the non-British ones anyway).
Yeah, I debated whether or not to link it - but I was sort of nodding my head in agreement with most of the criticisms. Interestingly, a few friends of mine - none who I knew were even slightly inclined towards Woody all saw the new flick. The first guy said he "really liked" the new movie and a couple I know that saw it absolutely LOVED it.
Part of the problem with this is that some films have to feature in the 40s. Doesn't necessarily make them bad, just not as good as others. That said, I love Shadows and Fog and fine Alice seriously tiresome! The top ten would more or less match mine, though not necessarily in that order.
Maybe it will grow on me - almost all of them do. When pressed for time to pick something to watch on my tablet while I do cardio, I will do a Woody search on Amazon Prime and take whatever they're offering. So I recently rewatched "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Midnight in Paris". "BDR" probably inched up from "excellent" to "great" (how on Earth did Woody never use Sandy Baron again?) and "Paris", which I find generally over-rated by the masses, has grown on me as well (to the point where I borrowed a joke from it for my SHTV location). Can't be long until "Cafe Society" shows up on Amazon, right?
Looks like with new month, "Midnight in Paris" is out on Amazon, "Purple Rose of Cairo" is in, and "BDR" is continuing. And 4 weeks to "A Crisis in Six Scenes". Some photos from "A Crisis". Beware exceptionally mild spoilers. Photos: Amazon's Woody Allen Crisis in Six Scenes »
My enthusiasm was somewhat tempered after watching that - a couple good jokes, but also some misfires, I thought. Only two weeks to go, though...
It passed the "more laughs in the trailer than in the entirety of 'Alice'" litmus test. But seriously, this is the second extract from the haircut scene that made me laugh. A good sign.
The 2017 film starts shooting tomorrow. Be An Extra In Woody Allen's 2017 Film - The Woody Allen Pages » The man is relentless. Does "Cafe Society" make it to Amazon in time to be promoted along with "A Crisis in Six Scenes"? I would assume DVD release would normally come first ... but surely Amazon didn't pay all that cash for business as usual?
I found the bolded bit from Miley Cyrus kind of interesting about the way he works: “What I love about Woody Allen is that he’s never putting anything on. He’s never fake and he’s exactly who he is through and through,” said Cyrus. “For me, I have the highest respect of anyone who is truly themselves. He even runs his set in a way that is truly him. He’s super-resourceful and he’s not over the top. The budget of the movie goes into the project. It doesn’t go into f****** crème brûlée for everybody and a hot tub in your trailer,” she added. “It’s for the project. So the styling, the casting, the location, the sets, it’s all the best. He doesn’t use anything that’s luxury and a waste of money, which I really like. I think every set should be like his.”Miley Cyrus Explains Why She’s in Awe of Woody Allen: “He’s Never Fake” » I knew Woody was economical with his shooting, doing long master takes and so forth, but I'd never thought about things like the catering and so forth being more basic on set.
I tried to watch Curse of The Jade Scorpion and got no more than 5 minutes into and decided to bail (it's on Amazon Prime). Unfunny right from the get-go. This is the only WA movie I shut down before it finished.
You can't earn your Masked Avenger Secret Decoder Ring (C) unless you watch all the films to the end, even the bad ones (or in this case, the worst one). I can't say that I blame you.
I stopped by the set on Thursday, took some photos, and wrote a little about it... I got word in advance that Woody Allen was going to begin shooting his next film in Brooklyn on Thursday, September 15, so I decided to check out the scene. I arrived just before noon and it was very low key, unlike when, say, Law and Order shoots and there are 10 trailers lining the block, etc. The filming was set in a restaurant called Vinegar Hill House, which is tucked away on a small cobble stone street near the DUMBO area of Woody's home borough. The street was mostly residential and there was very little car or foot traffic. I sat down on a stoop opposite of Vinegar Hill House to watch. I was expecting a production assistant or someone to come over and shoo me away but they left me alone. There were 2 cars from the 1950's on the street, and a bunch of extras in period clothing milling about. There were about 10 or so crew members outside on headsets and everyone else, Woody included, inside. In near unison, they would yell "Quiet", then "Rolling", and after several minutes, "Cut". This sequence repeated a few times, then the front door opened and some crew members and Justin Timberlake exited, but who cares? Where's the main man? And then very casually, out strolled Woody by himself, straight to the curb. With hands in his pockets, he looked up the street one way, then the other, taking in a bit of the exceptionally beautiful September day. There he was; Virgil Starkwell, Fielding Mellish, Boris Grushenko, Alvy Singer, Sandy Bates, Leonard Zelig, Danny Rose, Cliff Stern, Harry Block, all of his characters, on and on, standing right there. I'm never star struck, but the no-big-deal nature of the moment was almost surreal. After a short time was taken to rearrange the lights and camera, Woody and other crew went back inside. This time, when they said "rolling", extras were deployed to walk past the front of the restaurant in both directions. Finally, after that scene was captured, Woody emerged talking with a woman I didn't recognize. They stood at the curb for a few moments until a black Mercedes sedan pulled up, Woody got in, and the car drove away. I have no idea how good or bad this movie will eventually be, of course, but as a long time fan it was incredible to get a small glimpse of his modest movie-making process, that's probably been carried out similarly for almost 50 years now. Long may you run, Woody. More photos at the great resource, Woody Allen Pages... Woody Allen 2017 Film: Report From Brooklyn Set With More Justin Timberlake - The Woody Allen Pages »
That was terrific, thank you for sharing! I'll take a guess that the woman in the picture is Woody's sister Letty, but it's hard to tell from that angle.
Agreed, nice to have an SHF member "on set". Petty is certainly a logical guess, but the woman appears taller than Woody, and he appears taller than his sister...
Agreed! And, despite my assertions upthread, perhaps Petty is not a logical guess.* *damned auto-correct feature!! LETTY, with an L!
Well, here's something that slipped out this summer unbeknownst to me. I think our beloved threadmaster should investigate to see whether it's worth watching: It's apparently a legit dvd/bluray release - note the Sony Classical emblem (upper right). Review: Music review: Woody Allen's zany 'Gianni Schicchi' on DVD »
I'm aware of this release because it came up in an ad in my browser (based on my propensity for Woody Allen searches, apparently). Perhaps some opera-loving thread contributor would like to step up on this one ... I'm taking a pass.
"Cafe Society" comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray on October 18th. They are probably laboring over all the extra features right now - they probably have them down at the film lab working in shifts. It also starts streaming on Amazon on 10/18 ... it would be a wonderful gesture to "include with Prime", no?, seeing as Amazon is Woody's new home away from home?
