Woody Allen Films

[buckeyemike]

The only Woody Allen film I've liked in recent years is "Small Time Crooks".

 

That's the one with Tracey Ullman as his wife, and Woody is a thief who has Tracey's character rent a storefront for a cookie business next to a bank, so Woody and his cohorts can rob it by breaking in through the wall.

 

But, it turns out that Tracey's cookie business is a success, and they become rich that way.

 

I thought it was his best movie in the 90s...easily.

[GoodBye]

Were you not dying at the very last scene?? I am a firm believer that the key to great comedy is the delivery....and his delivery in that brief and final scene was spot-on! It took what was a good-but-not-great film and turned it into one that I found very enjoyable since it was worth the ride to get to that point.

 

I'm really glad that you guys are so well-versed on his stuff....as well as the Fellini stuff, too. I've been in need of some good comedies lately, so I'll probably tap into some of woody's goofier films first, then touch upon the more dramatic.

 

I'm excited

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Yeah, that scene was a great way to end the movie. Brilliant!

[ajzepp]

Just finished watching, "Take the Money and Run"....

 

I enjoyed it very much! I enjoyed this lovely lady, too

 

Overally a funny, witty, entertaining flick. Thumbs up!

[Kelly the Dog]

I'll chip in my two cents on this thread...

 

For me, Annie Hall was the film that made me want to enter the movie business, so I always have a soft spot for it. And I think Manhattan is one of the very best films ever made, considering everything (writing, directing, acting, music, especially cinematography, shot composition, editing, humor and drama, etc.) Woody clearly lost it in the last 10-15 years although he has his flashes. Broadway Danny Rose and Zelig, although not great movies, are enormously fun to watch, IMO.

 

Kieslowski is easily one of my five favorite directors, and Red one of my very favorite films. I liked Blue, and somewhat liked White, but Red blew me away. Incredibly shot, directed, designed and composed. The Double Life of Veronique is extremely interesting and The Decalogue is one of the greater cinematic achievements in history, although it's somewhat tough and taxing. But if you're willing to do the work and spend the time, it's awesome.

 

If you want to try obscure indie directors like Jarmusch, try Hal Hartley. "Trust" is a total gem of a movie (although I think its star, Adrienne Shelly, was just found murdered.

[ajzepp]

I'll chip in my two cents on this thread...

 

For me, Annie Hall was the film that made me want to enter the movie business, so I always have a soft spot for it. And I think Manhattan is one of the very best films ever made, considering everything (writing, directing, acting, music, especially cinematography, shot composition, editing, humor and drama, etc.) Woody clearly lost it in the last 10-15 years although he has his flashes. Broadway Danny Rose and Zelig, although not great movies, are enormously fun to watch, IMO.

 

Kieslowski is easily one of my five favorite directors, and Red one of my very favorite films. I liked Blue, and somewhat liked White, but Red blew me away. Incredibly shot, directed, designed and composed. The Double Life of Veronique is extremely interesting and The Decalogue is one of the greater cinematic achievements in history, although it's somewhat tough and taxing. But if you're willing to do the work and spend the time, it's awesome.

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I'm more than willing to do the work and the time....I love this medium! Anything I hear about that is good, i want to see it.

 

I think I'll add either Bananas or Manhattan to the top of my Netflix queue for next week....I want to see a few more of Woody's films before I take a break from them.

[Kelly the Dog]

I'm more than willing to do the work and the time....I love this medium!  Anything I hear about that is good, i want to see it.

 

I think I'll add either Bananas or Manhattan to the top of my Netflix queue for next week....I want to see a few more of Woody's films before I take a break from them.

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Decalogue is ten movies, each one loosely based on a commandment, although some are not full feature length. I added a little edit to the post you referenced. See Hal Hartley's "Trust" and others if you want a good obscure funny low budgte indie director, although he's not for everyone.

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1036390-trust/

[ajzepp]

Decalogue is ten movies, each one loosely based on a commandment, although some are not full feature length. I added a little edit to the post you referenced. See Hal Hartley's "Trust" and others if you want a good obscure funny indie director.

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1036390-trust/

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How funny....when I moved to Atlanta in 1999, I was staying with family initially and had access to cable for the first time in years. I noticed that there was an IFC channel, and the first thing I ever watched was "Trust". I thought it was one of the best movies I'd seen in a long while, but nobody I told about had ever seen it, nor did they have much interest in seeing it Most of the people I know just want to see whatever is hot at the box office, so it's cool that there are folks around here who understand where the really good stuff can be found!

 

Thanks for the other rec's....I just watched Altman's 'Short Cuts' the other day, I'm dabbling in Woody Allen currently, so I'll have to pick one of these other filmmakers that you guys have recommended next.

[Kelly the Dog]

How funny....when I moved to Atlanta in 1999, I was staying with family initially and had access to cable for the first time in years. I noticed that there was an IFC channel, and the first thing I ever watched was "Trust". I thought it was one of the best movies I'd seen in a long while, but nobody I told about had ever seen it, nor did they have much interest in seeing it      Most of the people I know just want to see whatever is hot at the box office, so it's cool that there are folks around here who understand where the really good stuff can be found! 

 

Thanks for the other rec's....I just watched Altman's 'Short Cuts' the other day, I'm dabbling in Woody Allen currently, so I'll have to pick one of these other filmmakers that you guys have recommended next.

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Cool. Sounds like you have good and varied taste. Early Altman flix are terrific, too. "California Split" is my favorite gambling movie.

[ajzepp]

Cool. Sounds like you have good and varied taste. Early Altman flix are terrific, too. "California Split" is my favorite gambling movie.

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My tastes have definitely evolved and matured over the past ten years or so....I've grown to really hate feeling excited over a film, only to realize that it was done half-assed and to just make a buck off people. That started happening too damn often, which sort of resulted in me seeking out better quality stuff.

 

There are so many great resources out there now, though, including folks like yourself and the others who take part in these sort of threads, that it's much easier to find these smaller gems.

 

One of the films I recommend all the time to folks is 'The Station Agent'. I have yet to come across anyone who's said, "oh yeah, I've seen that!". But I keep recommending it, cause I thought it was a great little movie about friendship and loss...everyone I know who's seen it has loved it. I think when people take a chance on an Indy film they've never heard of, and end up loving it, that does wonders for them

[Kelly the Dog]

My tastes have definitely evolved and matured over the past ten years or so....I've grown to really hate feeling excited over a film, only to realize that it was done half-assed and to just make a buck off people. That started happening too damn often, which sort of resulted in me seeking out better quality stuff.

 

There are so many great resources out there now, though, including folks like yourself and the others who take part in these sort of threads, that it's much easier to find these smaller gems.

 

One of the films I recommend all the time to folks is 'The Station Agent'. I have yet to come across anyone who's said, "oh yeah, I've seen that!".  But I keep recommending it, cause I thought it was a great little movie about friendship and loss...everyone I know who's seen it has loved it. I think when people take a chance on an Indy film they've never heard of, and end up loving it, that does wonders for them

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"The Station Agent" I really enjoyed, too.

 

It's pretty easy, IMO, to find the good ones these days with all the outlets like you said. Rottentomatoes.com, however commercialized it's become, is a terrific source to weed out the good from the bad. While no one critic is always right, and most of them are total snobs, the grouping of them like RT does is an excellent barometer. If it's 85-90% you can pretty much count on the film being pretty decent. Granted, there are always exceptions.

 

One obvious way to tell if a film sucks is to just see who they use in the films ads for their quotes. Don't read the quote, it is meaningless, just where the quote is from. If the quote is from anyone from a local TV station or FOX TV or CBS or something, run for the hills. If it's from Larry King or Rex Reed or some other shill that likes everything the film probably sucks. If it's from Time Magazine or the LA Times or some other somewhat substantial rag, then at least look around for other articles about it. If the quote is not from a legitimate film critic, regardless of whether that critic sucks or not, all it means is that the studio could not find one serious person who said anything good about it.

 

Also, I always buy a ticket to an indie movie at the multiplex and then go in and see anything I want, especially if it is an indie film I've already seen and liked. That way, even though I'm seeing something else, even a studio film, the indie film gets the money, or my money at least.

 

If more people did this, however sinister it is, the quality of films would increase dramatically. Contrary to populist belief, these jokers who greenlight or turn down film projects in Hollywood don't honestly want to make crappy movies, they almost all want to make good or great movies. And a lot of them have pretty good taste. But they will always choose what they think will make money, whether they like it or not, because otherwise they may lose their million dollar a year jobs. So anything that makes them believe the little guy is better than the blockbuster helps.

 

One I Netflixed recently that I really liked was "The War Within".

[ajzepp]

"The Station Agent" I really enjoyed, too.

 

It's pretty easy, IMO, to find the good ones these days with all the outlets like you said. Rottentomatoes.com, however commercialized it's become, is a terrific source to weed out the good from the bad. While no one critic is always right, and most of them are total snobs, the grouping of them like RT does is an excellent barometer. If it's 85-90% you can pretty much count on the film being pretty decent. Granted, there are always exceptions.

 

One obvious way to tell if a film sucks is to just see who they use in the films ads for their quotes. Don't read the quote, it is meaningless, just where the quote is from. If the quote is from anyone from a local TV station or FOX TV or CBS or something, run for the hills. If it's from Larry King or Rex Reed or some other shill that likes everything the film probably sucks. If it's from Time Magazine or the LA Times or some other somewhat substantial rag, then at least look around for other articles about it. If the quote is not from a legitimate film critic, regardless of whether that critic sucks or not, all it means is that the studio could not find one serious person who said anything good about it.

 

Also, I always buy a ticket to an indie movie at the multiplex and then go in and see anything I want, especially if it is an indie film I've already seen and liked. That way, even though I'm seeing something else, even a studio film, the indie film gets the money, or my money at least.

 

If more people did this, however sinister it is, the quality of films would increase dramatically. Contrary to populist belief, these jokers who greenlight or turn down film projects in Hollywood don't honestly want to make crappy movies, they almost all want to make good or great movies. And a lot of them have pretty good taste. But they will always choose what they think will make money, whether they like it or not, because otherwise they may lose their million dollar a year jobs. So anything that makes them believe the little guy is better than the blockbuster helps.

 

One I Netflixed recently that I really liked was "The War Within".

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That's pretty clever about the ticket thing....my brother is the GM of a Regal theater, so I don't often pay for movies, but when I do I'll try and follow your lead with that. My brother loves movies, but thinks most of what comes out of Hollywood nowadays is crap. Once in a while he'll be really excited about something that is just superb, but mostly he's into the Indy film scene. He always pushes to get a smaller film some run time at his theater, but like you said, money is the name of the game.

 

I agree totally about rottentomatoes....once in a while there will be a guilty pleasure film that the critics hated and that had like a 20% rotten rating, but that I'll still enjoy. But it's pretty rare that the opposite will happen, where a film will have a >80% fresh rating and I won't like it. I love that site. I actually use their release date schedule at least once or twice per month to help fill my netflix queue with new releases for the month.

 

I just read the description and a few brief reviews for 'California S;lit'....that looks like a film I'd really enjoy, so it's right behind '24' I'll definitley check out 'The War Within', too!

[Fan in San Diego]

I dislike Woody Allen films. It's mostly him drivelling on with that monotinous tone in his voice. I'd rather have my eyes gouged out than watch his films.

[ajzepp]

I dislike Woody Allen films. It's mostly him drivelling on with that monotinous tone in his voice. I'd rather have my eyes gouged out than watch his films.

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That's how I THOUGHT I'd feel about his stuff, but at least some of them I've really enjoyed. I think it's pretty clear when a screenwriter is THINKING when he puts together a script. That sounds like a silly point, but dialogue can make or break a film, IMO. Take Mel Brooks for example. His films are LOADED with slapstick....silly faces, people falling, etc. But what truly makes his films great, IMO, is the the writing. He's a thinker and he's brilliant.....often times cutting edge. That's what I want out of my movies. I don't want to feel like my intelligence is being insulted. If a writer uses simplistic dialogue, then let it be purposeful. That's something I've really taken notice of as I've gotten older.

 

You know what really amazes me? Sometimes a film is almost entirely dialogue driven. Take "Before Sunrise" for example. I'm not crazy about "chick flicks", but a well done romance film can be very enjoyable. I sat there and watched 'Sunrise' in amazement. All you had were two strong actors, a beautiful backdrop, and lots of great and engaging dialogue. I thought it was brilliant!

[Fan in San Diego]

   That's how I THOUGHT I'd feel about his stuff, but at least some of them I've really enjoyed. I think it's pretty clear when a screenwriter is THINKING when he puts together a script. That sounds like a silly point, but dialogue can make or break a film, IMO. Take Mel Brooks for example. His films are LOADED with slapstick....silly faces, people falling, etc. But what truly makes his films great, IMO, is the the writing. He's a thinker and he's brilliant.....often times cutting edge. That's what I want out of my movies. I don't want to feel like my intelligence is being insulted. If a writer uses simplistic dialogue, then let it be purposeful. That's something I've really taken notice of as I've gotten older.

 

You know what really amazes me? Sometimes a film is almost entirely dialogue driven. Take "Before Sunrise" for example. I'm not crazy about "chick flicks", but a well done romance film can be very enjoyable. I sat there and watched 'Sunrise' in amazement. All you had were two strong actors, a beautiful backdrop, and lots of great and engaging dialogue. I thought it was brilliant!

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I know a superb dialogue can make or break a film, but usually Woody is just droning on a about neurotic nuance that anybody would give 3 seconds to solve but creates a mid life crisis for Woody. Just can't stand that kind of droning.

 

Mel Brooks is a god in film making with his movies, the dialogue is loaded with great quotes, ex. that Frankenstein one with Marty Feldman, when he says walk this way, is classic, or I thought your hump was on the other side before ? Great stuff.

Woody Allen is not in the same universe as Mel Brooks. He can't hold Mel's jockstrap.

[stuckincincy]

I know a superb dialogue can make or break a film, but usually Woody is just droning on a about neurotic nuance that anybody would give 3 seconds to solve but creates a mid life crisis for Woody. Just can't stand that kind of droning.

 

 

860532[/snapback]

 

You might like "Broadway Danny Rose".