A first glance, your list aligns fairly closely with my taste, with one exception - Wonder Wheel. I'd swap it with Rifkin's Festival, which I think is pretty awful.
I like "Irrational Man" a lot more than the average fan. I feel it has a very interesting premise, and Phoenix is really good. The climax diminishes the film, IMO. An ending closer to "Crimes and Misdemeanors" would have worked much better, IMO (but then again that might be my favorite ending in film history, so that's a high bar). My rewatch a couple of nights ago (it IS becoming a trend) was "Stardust Memories". I can put my finger on why I don't rate this film higher - the three romantic subplots pale in comparison to the ones in "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan". The "crazy" girlfriend (who is awesome to be with 2 days out of 30) doesn't come across as all that intriguing to me. And the sequence - intended or not - that seems to reveal an eating disorder left me concerned for the actress more than anything else. The subplot with the "stable" girlfriend is hardly developed at all. The would-be romance with the musician is the only subplot that holds my interest. I like the parts of the film that comment on stardom and artistry much more.
I can't ignore this any longer. In Small Time Crooks, what's Frenchy's "piece of velvet and a pet mouse" joke in reference to?
I just did some Google research - it's actually a reference to the Lennie character in Of Mice and Men.
Hi everyone, I started my Woody Allen journey some years ago with „Hannah and her Sisters“. I thought it was an incredible movie, but I unfortunately didn’t have the time to discover more of his work. It wasn’t until last December that I watched another film by him. I watched „Annie Hall“ for the first time! Immediately I was of the opinion that it is one of the greatest movie of all time. Since then I am on a heavy Woody Allen binge! These are the movies I watched so far in chronological order: Bananas Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) Sleeper Love and Death Annie Hall Manhattan Zelig Hannah and her Sisters
Welcome to the thread! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts as you progress through his filmography! Here’s a treat for you (note: video quality ain’t great) Here’s the entirety of his 1969 TV special, which is where this comes from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfY_xwSTztA
You've been overdoing it with the good ones, you need to mix it up with a bad one. "Hollywood Ending"!
Let’s not scare him away, Ray! I’d say pick something Woody isn’t in, as all you appear to have seen are films with him so far. Try something later that’s less regarded and see if you can detect Woody’s “fingerprints” on it. That boxset you just got has “Sweet and Lowdown” - that’s very good. Or you could try a 2010s film like “Magic in the Moonlight,” “You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger,” “Cassandra’s Dream,” “An Irrational Man” - something like that. They aren’t great; aren’t terrible. Btw, I’m just assuming you’ll watch them all at some point.
There are some real dogs in there; don’t let them scare you away. My overall list was just posted a couple weeks ago, along with our OP and some others on the previous couple of pages. I agree with him that you don’t want to see ALL of the best ones first, although many are just as fine on repeat viewings.
Thanks! Look closely and you’ll see mine is signed (a lifetime highlight for me)! Another highlight was getting Woody to sign a couple things (the story precedes that post by a few). Item #2.
A (barely) tangential point to share on this Sunday morning: Like Woody, I watch a lot of NBA. The Orlando Magic are the home of both Wagner brothers (Mo and Franz), and after many announcers initially struggled with the pronunciation of their last name (Americanizing it), they pretty much all get it right now. And every time they say "Wagner" (which is quite often since two guys on the team have that last name!), I can't but help respond "Wagner, Max, Wagner".
I had to think about two scenes from „Annie Hall“ when I read this post: Alvy talking about his experience in a record store Alvy watching a Knicks game on TV
There are 6 recent films I haven't seen, and many of these are being judged on the first watch, but this feels about right for the top half of his films. Some films have a great idea that goes nowhere (Melinda and Melinda, Hollywood Ending) and some are a bit too obvious in his attempt to bait the prudes (Vicky, Whatever Works.) Manhattan used to be my #1, then I realized how terrible it would be for an older man to tell a 17 year old to hold off for him while she is away. Gack. He also has quite a few BJ references strewn about (Celebrity, Deconstructing, Scoop) that feel a bit TMI. Otherwise, I tend to go for his light hearted older stuff, some of his serious films I simply don't remember what the plot was (Alice, September, Interiors, Cassandra's Dream.) 1) Annie Hall - his masterpiece. 2) Love and Death - Russian literature spoofs are funny!!? 3) The Purple Rose of Cairo - his best love letter. 4) Sleeper - grew up with this one. 5) Crimes and Misdemeanors - intelligent film, later remade as Match Point. 6) Play it Again Sam - funny film for noir buffs. 7) Take the Money and Run - hilarious first film. 8) Zelig - an influential diversion. 9) Bullets Over Broadway - fun and funny. Tilly is awesome. 10) Match Point - his first true thriller. 11) Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex - wacky fun. 12) Manhattan - great looking, but.... 13) Mighty Aphrodite - Mira is fantastic, funny film. 14) You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - his most underrated, and a moment he genuinely spoofed himself. 15) Sweet and Lowdown - great character study. 16) Blue Jasmine - another great character study. 17) Radio Days - a good love letter. 18) Deconstructing Harry - him taking on himself, good but mean. 19) Hannah and Her Sisters - a lot of soap opera drama, but good. 20) Midnight in Paris - a lesser love letter, but it looks nice. 21) Bananas - I can hardly ever get through it, the least of his early comedies. 22) Broadway Danny Rose - fun but forgettable. 23) Curse of the Jade Scorpion - nice looking homage, not all that funny though. 24) Manhattan Murder Mystery - the Keaton factor. 25) Anything Else - Woody's attempt at a teen film, kind of odd.
