Woody Allen: Film by Film Thread

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by RayS, Aug 29, 2015.

  1. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Yeah, that credit caught my eye as well. Maybe he's thanking him for all the years that Willie "helped" him in bed, as per "Play It Again, Sam"?
     
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  2. rufus t firefly

    rufus t firefly Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona
    First World problem follows: I have Netflix and Amazon Prime, The Woody Allen selection is pathetic. Reading this thread is driving me a bit crazy !
     
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  3. NightGoatToCairo

    NightGoatToCairo Forum Resident

    Location:
    .
    With Amazon Crime you have an exclusive.
     
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  4. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    Amazon Crime?
    :biglaugh:
     
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  5. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    I wish A RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK could get properly released
    in the USA. It's the only Woody Allen film I haven't seen and don't
    own on hard media.
     
  6. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Regarding Whatever Works:

    How times have changed.
     
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  7. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    The documentary on Woody is on amazon prime video.
     
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  8. PhilBorder

    PhilBorder Senior Member

    Location:
    Sheboygan, WI
    I thought Wonder Wheel was very good across the board, acting, writing, directing. There's a sequence (about an hour in IIRC, with the four principals in the Coney Island apartment) that is as creative and expertly directed and blocked as any I've seen in the last 10 years. yes, it's a long unbroken take but it keeps you engaged in the dynamics of the characters. It's not really 'showy' but it is impressive - I reversed and watched it several times.

    One doesn't often think about Woody and Clint Eastwood, but they both seem to have grown into no nonsense inspired journeymen, who seem to confidently know what they want. Maybe Woody could play an out-of-his-element informer in a new Dirty Harry movie, and Clint could revisit Woody's neurotic New York as Sheriff Coogan....
     
  9. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    The Woody Allen Film Guide Volume Three: 2003-2019 is now out, and the Kindle edition is free to download for a limited time:

    The Woody Allen Film Guide Volume 3: 2003-2019 Is Out, Free On Kindle

    I have been watching a lot of late-period Woody recently. Gave Café Society another spin last night. I really enjoy this film. Beautifully shot, good performances all around, and I like the melancholic, open ending.

    Conversely, I watched Melinda and Melinda the other night and hated it. I’ve seen every film Woody has directed, and this one could be the worst, IMO. I’m usually pretty forgiving of his work, finding worth, or just a few easy laughs, in even the weaker films, but there’s literally nothing in this I enjoyed.
     
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  10. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Good to see that "The Woody Allen Pages" are back after a very long dormant period (2 years maybe?)
     
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  11. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    They have been fairly active since Christmas. It is a very useful site. The downloadable guides are great, also.
     
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  12. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    It was so long between updates that I gave up and deleted the bookmark. The octogenarians recreating scenes from "Annie Hall" was the most recent post forever.
     
  13. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Yeah, that was August 2018. There has been steady activity for the last six months, which is positive news.
     
    RayS likes this.
  14. mike s in nyc

    mike s in nyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    new york, NY
    I posted this yesterday in the other woody allen thread, didn't know about this one..

    I'm guessing not many here have seen 'a rainy day in new york', especially here in the US.

    Lets just say that (phrasing this carefully) hypothetically, its possible I've seen it... and while it's no 'Annie Hall' or "Broadway Danny Rose" or "Crimes and Misdemeanors", it was a lot better then his last comedies, 'cafe society' and 'magic in the moonlight', both of which felt somewhat forced and flat. Quite enjoyable, actually, and all the leads do a great job. Yes, its got the lead character doing a kind of 'woody dialogue' that is strange at first (hearing a 21 year old in the modern era pine for an '(irving) berlin ballad' for example) but somehow by the end of the film, it works, in a way that many of his more recent films don't. Great (tho small) role for the great actress Cherry Jones near the end of the film, too. wait for it...
     
  15. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    I’ve seen the film twice now. There are certainly flaws, but I enjoyed it overall. Wanting a divorce over a bad laugh sounds like a silly joke ... but it really pays off. For anyone who has seen the entirety of Woody’s canon, there’s not a lot here that doesn’t derive from another one of his film (including “To Rome With Love”).
     
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  16. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    I shouldn't look a gift horse, or a free book, in the mouth, and I appreciate the passion, but man oh man this book needed to be edited before it was released. It's loaded with typos, grammatical errors and awkward syntax. These distract a great deal from the information the author is trying to bring across.
     
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  17. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    I noticed the same. Clearly, he’s an enthusiastic amateur, not cut out for long-format writing. I’ve no idea of his personal circumstances, but perhaps he doesn’t know anyone capable of casting a critical eye over his work. Such are the pitfalls of self-publishing. There’s a lot of good information in there, though, so we should be thankful for that.
     
    RayS likes this.
  18. NightGoatToCairo

    NightGoatToCairo Forum Resident

    Location:
    .
  19. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
  20. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Shame they felt the need to spend half the article retreading the same old accusations. Regardless, I’m looking forward to this new film, although I likely won’t see it until the BD is released.

    In other news, we watched Wild Man Blues the other night. That film is like Spinal Tap with classier hotels. Hilarious stuff. I love the bit where he tells an overzealous fan, “I have to go, my mother is on a ventilator.”
     
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  21. mike s in nyc

    mike s in nyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    new york, NY
    you say 'until the BD is released- what's the "BD"? wondering if it'll be possible to see rivkin's festival here in the US, given what happened with 'rainy day in ny'
     
  22. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Standard abbreviation for Blu-ray Disc.

    I wouldn’t hold my breath for a Region A BD of Rifkin’s Festival, if I were you. Serious collectors of Woody Allen need to be region-free.
     
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  23. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    Yup. I just got Rainy Day off ebay on a region-free BluRay within the last month. I believe it's Danish-made. When I pop it in my player it asks which language for subtitles I want (of four Scandinavian choices), but once I start playing I can turn off the subtitles. It was $22.45 delivered, which seems reasonable to me.

    Sadly, I think I'd put the film in probably the 45-50 ranking of his work, but I have much higher hopes for Rifkin!
     
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  24. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    I have the German BD of Rainy Day; similar deal, it plays without forced subs. I believe we already agreed on its shortcomings. Like you, I would rate it toward the bottom end of his filmography.
     
  25. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    They say Spain is pretty, though I've never been.

    [​IMG]
     
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