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I love it
OMG! Everything you always wanted to know about Woody – and more
excellent documentary that i believe is a very fair interpretation of his life and times and great movies.
My spouse and I are big Woody Allen fans and this is the best documentary available- what can I say.
A protracted and intimate glimpse into a reclusive and highly influential comic genius. The show offers an in depth forum for Woody Allen to talk about his life while also taking a very detailed look at his long career, including facets never before shown. Controversy isn’t necessarily glossed over, but Allen’s side is understandably favored. No matter your personal feelings about the subject matter, this is a worthwhile reminder of the significance of Woody Allen’s contributions to comedy, cinema and popular culture.
Can someone help me as my English is not good enough to understand what drink he gave up for health reasons, in the 12 questions. Thank you.
Well done; inspiring and informative.
The documentary was great . I saw it previously on TV, but the sound on this DVD was flawed & I could not hear half of it.
Great portrait of a genius. The sheer amount of material Allen has produced, year after year, is staggering. Honest, funny, very entertaining.
Documentary director Robert Weide gives us an uncommonly intimate view of reclusive director Woody Allen. Despite recent horrific allegations and Allen’s marriage to Soon-Yi Previn that have played-out in the tabloids, this thorough documentary presents what I believe is an honest look at, frankly, one of the greatest living directors. Extra kudos go to Weide for his recent essay standing-up for Allen and presenting the facts of Allen’s past – when most people are willing to believe the salacious worst. We – and history – would be fortunate indeed if Weide were to produce documentaries on every great director.
After watching Woody’s films for four decades it was nice to learn a little about their creation. I was delighted to hear him bad-mouth his film \\”Manhattan\\”. I never understood why this film was so popular. There was nothing special about it. His attitude toward it, and the reception by the public and press, helped me understand `Stardust Memories’. I didn’t think `Stardust’ was a bad film. But I did think, with many others, that it was a little offensive – as if he were portraying us as a bunch of shallow-minded morons that go gagas over social success but can’t recognize a quality work of art. Then again, its an accurate description of what the social world looks like from the artist’s perspective. So I came up with a thought experiment. How would I list the top ten Woody Allen films? Here is what I decided: 1.) Hannah and Her Sisters 2.) Crimes and Misdemeanors 3.) VickyCristina Barcelona 4.) Zelig 5.) Love and Death 6.) Annie Hall 7.) Midnight in Paris 8.) Stardust Memories 9.) Melinda & Melinda 10.) The Purple Rose of Cairo If you’re as big a fan as I am you’ll know that this is not an easy task. There are so many great films. And as one interviewee said in this documentary, even his clunkers have something interesting in them. So watch them all. Make your own list. And try not to include `Manhattan’.
Very entertaining documentary showing highlights of Woody Allen´s life since childhood.
Family and actor friends talk about him,
All in all, fun to watch
If you’re a Woody Allen fan (and even if you’re not), you can’t miss this funny and insightful chronological look at Woody’s movies and insights from him and of those around him. A great peak under the covers, you won’t watch another of his movies without thinking of this documentary.
Following the progression of his views on life through his personal experiences, writing, and film. Even though lengthy…. I found it totally fascinating !
I knew Woody Allen was a genius, but I had no idea! This two-part odyssee through the life of this reclusive-yet-worldly artist explains so, so much.
I love this Woody Allen DVD. I have watched it twice. It is filled with great scenes from his movies
Frank self-portrait of the usually reclusive Allen is surprisingly revealing and insightful. Allen uses no artifice in discussing his life and art very unpretentiously
Woody Allen is creature of lucky breaks,fulfilling all his childhood dreams:what he wanted to be he became, comedian, actor,movie director.The calor gas of his his early talent was comedy sketches.We see him using the same Olympia typewriter to write his ideas for films on he used as a 16 year old writing comic one-liners.He does cut and paste on his writing using staples(no computers for him).A creature of habit,he also plays jazz on clarinet every Monday night.The films of his that show how the writer of comedy sketches tacked together turned into the full-blown cineaste are Manhattan,Annie Hall,Stardust Memories,Hannah and Her Sisters,Crimes and Misdemeanours, Husbands and Wives.In these films he explored the inner life of his characters.After the Farrow-Soon-Yi saga,the elephant in the room,his films seem to diminish in quality,where he flies back to comedy.His career never recovered
possibly due to a karmic breakdown.There is a parallel universe in Allen’s world.He would like to play down,shy away from this what may have been catastrophe in his personal life.It seems his escape into fantasy selves is pulverised by the enormous shock of reality.It is true Farrow was his muse for 10 years(1982-1992),just has Keaton had been earlier and Johannson was to be later,that they never married and lived in separate apartments,they adopted 2 children and had one child,that Soon-Yi was not adopted by him and never regarded him as a fatherfigure, was 21 when they had the affair;but it is hard to go over the accusation of child abuse.You notice too in his later films he usually is not in them(as the comic,nerd) but gets younger actors to play the parts.Witness hislate great successful film Midnight in Paris.Allen has simply denied the effect of becoming world famous for a scandal, his bland exterior has become internalised.He’s likeable,amusing,self-deprecating,humble,remained both productive and married to Soon-Yi,and he is obviously dependent upon her.Their marriage has lasted.Should we give Allen a break and see what happens?Is he great once reality sets in?I must say I liked this film even though it skirts a difficult area. I love Woody Allen as a film maker,this documentary is good for what it shows of great scenes from his films,the visit to childhood haunts,and the people like managers, who saw his great potential and stuck with him.He’s like the Casanova of film auteurs applying the quantity theory of creativity to a large body of work,a few duffers,some really good ones,the angel’s share went to the gods.
The 3* reviews have my respect. If anything, they’re too forgiving. This is a perfect example of deciding to praise a popular figure as his life nears its end and then hunting for things to remember about him. And anything will do. Thus, an actress shares her insight that he’s not cut from standard cloth, that he’s a bit wierd in some respects and then she signs off. Similar observations abound as other witnesses step forward to offer makeweight platitudes to provide the necessary filler and chew up time. We’re shown his portable typewriter and get a lesson in cutting and pasting without a computer, as W.A. gets out a scissors and stapler and devotes a minute or two to scissoring and stapling (!) with a running explanation, and then the camera lingers over the scissored fragment stapled to the larger paper, as though to dazzle and instruct us in this whizbang technique nobody else could have thought of, but in fact bores us to death. There are endless variations on feeding us this kind of pablum and I was seized by the odd feeling that the project regards its audience as lobotomized, with geriatric witnesses struggling to compose elementary sentences and everyone certain the complete package will get by through sentimental slopping around. Allen himself, seat belted in the back of a limo, seems baffled and over his head as he searches for platitudes to offer. There are a few brief, diverting TV clips from the 1950s and 1960s, but it’s a weary trudge overall, with the flow of tributes crippled by a jet-lag kind of shallowness and a knowing estimate of what the audience came to see and the warm, vacuous glow they will be satisfied with.
it is a bit boring with all the reverence payed to him by his actors. This is the sort of thing that one sees as the ‘extra’ on a dvd release
I give it 3 stars because the clips of his childhood/Brooklyn and his own contributions are very interesting from a biographical perspective. The latter seem genuinely humble and if they are it seems he is the only one who has an objective opinion on his art and filmaking
…that I have not already come across in the numerous Allen biographies and interviews that I’ve read over the years. Nevertheless, here are some of my biggest take-aways:
-This is the first time I’ve seen Allen’s sister, Letty, interviewed at length. It’s kind of hard to believe they have common parents. There is absolutely nothing eccentric about her.
-Over the years I have heard many people complain about how bland Allen is, a conclusion they reached after watching various interviews with Allen (especially the ones conducted for the documentary \\”Wild Man Blues\\”). I used to have the same impression. Until this documentary came along. I finally realized that there is really nothing particularly bland about him. He just isn’t what you expect. You expect him to be like his characters in the movies (highly animated and neurotic); and compared to them, he is relatively bland. But if you forget about the comparisons, Allen comes across as relatively normal. Not bland, just normal.
-The Soon-Yi so-called scandal continues to this day to totally and completely mystify me. To this day, no one has been able to explain to me what Allen did wrong. I’ve discussed this with dozens of people over the past 20 years, and most people can’t even get the basic facts right. They think that Soon-Yi was Allen’s adopted daughter (she wasn’t), or that Allen lived at Mia’s with Soon-Yi and the other kids (he never spent one overnight), or that Mia and Allen were still as involved with each other as they ever were (they weren’t), or that Soon-Yi was a minor when her relationship with Allen began (she was already in her 20’s), or that Soon-Yi was mildly retarded (she went on to receive her Masters Degree from Columbia University, for Pete’s sake) and on and on with the factual inaccuracies. And whenever I correct the people that don’t have the facts right, it never seems to make a difference. Evidently, they never could stand the agnostic little weirdo from the very beginning, and this was their big chance to bash him. But at any rate, in my lifetime, I have never witnessed a celebrity receive such an incredible bashing for…what is it that he did wrong? I still don’t know to this day. I do know this much, though: In order to apparently get even with Allen, Mia deliberately made up lies about Allen molesting their adopted daughter, Dylan, and had the unmitigated gall to go to the police with that pack of lies. After a thorough investigation, Allen was exonerated. And what happened to Mia after that? I thought that people that falsely accuse others of child molesting were supposed to go to jail. She got off without even a wrist slap, and Allen ended up picking up her attorneys fees for the entire mess across the board for the sum of several million dollars. And then later on Mia wrote an autobiography trashing Allen. Talk about getting away with murder.
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But at any rate, for those that haven’t read many of the Allen bios and interviews, this documentary is a great place to start and a terrific overview of his life and career. For me, the only new stuff in this documentary was the clips from his television appearances early on in his career (50’s, 60’s, early 70’s), which I enjoyed tremendously. (Those that are unaware of Allen’s pre-filmmaking career as a stand up comedian are in for a real treat.)
Very good piece of work. Highly recommended.
I enjoyed this very much more than I expected to. Although I’ve seen many of his movies, and although I share his great love of New York City, I’ve never been an Allen fan (I’m not a whole lot younger than he is, so I’ve known of him in his various careers almost from the beginning), and I’ve actively despised him since he did what he did to Mia Farrow and her children.
I still don’t think he’s the moviemaking genius his fans see and this production promotes, and it really does make out like his abominable conduct 20 years ago was just media hysteria, which is appalling. But this is a fascinating and almost always entertaining production, and the 3+ hours flew by.
The few parts that were nearly unbearable did not involve Allen himself but two of the other talking heads who sing his praises (Allen himself comes across as relatively humble, which may or may not be genuine): One is the famous movie critic Richard Schickel, who appears periodically throughout both episodes; his worship of Allen is so creepy that it seriously undermines not only his credibility as a critic but any pretense of objectivity this production has. The second is an extremely smug and obnoxious woman named Annette Insdorf, who is identified as a Film Professor at Columbia University; but (Thank God) she makes only one appearance in each episode, and only for a few minutes at the beginning. She’s more obnoxious than Schickel but less creepy.
Allen fans don’t have to be encouraged to watch this paean to and whitewashing of their hero; but even some, like me, who are not fans at all may be entertained.
I´m from Argentina and since it´s far from US, I´ve always received all my items on time and in perfect conditions. I have no complains at all. Great and quick service.
If you’re a Woody Allen fan, this documentary is a must have. There’s lots of great information about his life and career. The DVD is entertaining and very funny in parts. I highly recommend it.
If you like Woody Allen, is a MUST see movie.
Is a great documentary where Allen really talks about himself and his personal life.
Woody usually keeps to himself, so it’s nice to actually see him talk about his life and his work. He’s one of the greatest directors of all time, so it’s very inspiring and revealing as well.
Some great clips and interviews–a well-made doc.
Excellent as an intro to Woody’s work or for die-hard Woody Allen fans.
Woody Allen is almost certainly the greatest modern filmaker. This DVD, based mainly on Woody’s words is a excellant doorway into the man and artist.. I found it entertaining and absorbing.. If you like any of Woody’s films or are a devoted fan this title is a must have.
I really enjoyed hearing the story of his life, he’s an interesting man. I thought at first that 2 pts may be a little much but it is a story told well & I could have listened longer.
I love the documentary, but I wish it had spanish subtitles. I think its very complete because it introduces Woody Allens life, his personality and how all of this influence in his creativity process
Hi Folks,
enough has been said about this superlative work on Woody Allen and I wanted to weigh in to say if you want it on Blu Ray amazon UK has it and its region free. I just had my copy delivered and it works fine over here and it also has several splendid bonus features so If you want to know how to make a five star documentary even better…. there you go. The bonus feature of Woody’s trip to Brooklyn merited the purchase alone!
This documentary features interviews with many actors who were featured in his movies. They tell what working with him is like. Allen responds to their comments as only he can. In the process, the viewer is able to remember the highlights of one of our greatest filmmakers on two DVDs. Don’t miss it.
If you are a fan or even just a general appreciator you will enjoy hanging out with Woody in this doc as much as one of his better movies. Even with two discs this is a tight doc with no filler. Woody doesn’t disappoint and you come out liking him even more than when you went in, which says a lot. Great stuff, don’t let yourself put off watching it like I did.
Great book about Woody Allen . I’m a big
fan of his . Pure genius . Never gives up, always working
on new projects !
A very good documentary on Woody Allen’s life and film career. The most interesting part is part 1 of course, the rise of Woody Allen from a teenager who sent jokes into the newspaper into a comedy writer who passed his jokes on to many famous comedians of the 50s including Mort Saul. He wrote for Your Show of Shows and other TV shows. Finally he turns to stand up comedy and writing screenplays such as What’s Up Pussycat?. The films are big hits but are terrible and finally he works out a deal in which he makes his own films but has full control. That leads to his heyday in the 1970s in which he does his best work. This period ends with Stardust Memories, a film that is talked of in length and said to be not very good. I personally like it and the documentary uses clips from this movie more than any other.
Part 2 has a different structure. Instead of chronological, it introduces the present first, films such as Midnight in Paris are covered first and other recent films. Woody Allen is making films in Europe instead of New York City and some have become very popular. After covering this period the documentary goes back to the 1980s when Woody made films with Mia Farrow. She is treated respectfully and commentators including Woody Allen are full of praise for her. Then the big bogey in the room drops, the scandal when Mia Farrow discovered nude photographs of Soon Yi in his apartment. Woody claims it must have been a Freudian slip and says it was good fortune as it lead him to his current wife. What is not mentioned is the sexual abuse charges against Dylan and when talking about the children, a friend says he had 2 children with Mia not 3. I felt bad that Moses was left out. It is mentioned that Woody was never allowed to see the children but doesn’t mention why the court barred him from seeing the kids. The movie Husbands and Wives was finished during the crisis and it affected Bullets Over Broadway. Later movies such as Mighty Aphrodite are covered. The documentary sums up that he is happy now and has two children with Soon Yi. I’m not sure if they could have handled the crisis any other way with Woody’s cooperation but it is a shame that the situation isn’t dealt with and stays unexamined. Soon Yi and their children are only shown in photographs and not interviewed.are covered. The documentary sums up that he is happy now and has two children with Soon Yi. I’m not sure if they could have handled the crisis any other way with Woody’s cooperation but it is a shame that the situation isn’t dealt with and stays unexamined. Soon Yi and their children are only shown in photographs and not interviewed.
I am pretty sceptical about most things but this documentary is totally charming. I have not seen all of Allens movies, now perhaps I wil – but this is a triumph!
This was incredible. I’ve been waiting and wondering when there was ever going to be a comprehensive documentary on Woody Allen’s work and this is it! His body of work spans 40 years and I’ve never fully known how he got started or how he got into the next thing and so forth. This documentary is jampacked with goodies and information that starts from the beginning and takes you on his journey of filmmaking and his process. It ends just after Midnight in Paris which is considered his most successful film financially.
I’ve always been a Woody Allen fan and have probably seen about 90% of his films. I love his style, his humor and his look into the human condition. He makes real films that have a kind of documentary quality to them as if you’re eavesdropping on someone’s life. He meticulously shoots the greatest exterior shots whether that be in New York, Spain or France.
Even Mariel Hemingway says yeah sure he’s made some clunkers, but even in those films you still pull something poignant out of them. Woody Allen is such an elusive character that you only hear about the rumors of his life or his filmmaking process. In this documentary he actually talks throughout it and reveals his process. These discs are packed with great goodies and information ranging from interviews with his longtime crew to the actors that have had the privilege of working for him.
This isn’t just a great documentary for a Woody Allen fan, but it’s also a great set for those who are filmmakers themselves whether struggling or working in the business. His ways are much different than typical Hollywood and his method has worked just fine for him 40+years. He’s not interested in whether someone likes him or doesn’t or like his films or doesn’t. He simply enjoys making his movies and the rest is just icing on the cake. He doesn’t get involved in all the hoopla surrounding it.
It is long, but I’m not complaining because it’s all fascinating and watchable. In fact, when I started watching disc 2 I thought I’d watch pieces of it and watch the rest at a later time. I couldn’t do that as I found it too entertaining and I was fixated on it so much I ended up just watching the rest of the thing.d watchable. In fact, when I started watching disc 2 I thought I’d watch pieces of it and watch the rest at a later time. I couldn’t do that as I found it too entertaining and I was fixated on it so much I ended up just watching the rest of the thing.
I was very excited to see this comprehensive look over the career of Woody Allen. I have long been a fan of his work and even on the far off shores of New Zealand his clever, witty and erudite skills have wowed audiences for many years. The documentary was a wonderful opportunity to hear him speak about his movie making, to hear others, who had worked with him, share their insights and to see clips of movies I have not seen for a long time or in fact probably never have seen as they were earlier in his career. Fantastic to watch and I will be watching it all again! Thanks
Been a Woody Allen fan all of my adult life — over the years always purchasing his films, etc. books he authored…. My recent purchase of the Woody Allen Documentary was a terrific purchase…. I love the guy and followed him for years and yet the ‘documentary’ provided new stuff for me — the purchase from Amazon was perfect — they make it all so simple and easy – and I will continue to make purchases from Amazon —- Totally recommend the DVD featured for all Woody fans, and there are millions — and by all means recommend going through Amazon –
I watched the recent PBS American Masters documentary on Woody Allen, Woody Allen: A Documentary, online, and it was surely a disappointment. It covered, in its three and a half hours, many of his films, his early life and break into show business, but it offered almost nothing of depth- oddly recapitulating the flaws of Barbara Kopple’s 1998 documentary on the same subject, Wild Man Blues. In a sense, the film gives the best representation of the critical cribbing that is killing most film criticism, by having vapid and flat out bad critics opine on subjects they do not understand, but it does little to give one a better understanding of the filmmaker, for the so-called talking head ‘experts’ it relies on are the dense and pretentious film professor Annette Insdorf, the lifeless hack film critic Richard Schickel, the ebulliently vacuous film critic Leonard Maltin, a film critic priest named Robert Lauder, who utters…well, nothing of value about Hannah And Her Sisters, a number of Allen’s co-stars and actors, who burble on cluelessly, and, worst of all, utterly unknown schlock filmmaker and critic, F.X. Feeney, who displays he has absolutely no clue about films, in general, much less Allen’s, in particular. The much better insights into Allen’s life and art come from his non-screen cohorts: comic and talk show host Dick Cavett, managers Jack Rollins and Charles Joffe, cinematographer Gordon Willis, and co-writers Mickey Rose and Marshall Brickman. The only other filmmaker of note to appear on screen is Martin Scorsese and he mostly rambles on about how his New York and Allen’s are like visions from two different worlds. Well, duh, Marty. Exactly how and why is that is never broached by Weide.
Nonetheless, there are worse ways to spend 210 minutes. The problem is, there are almost as many ways to better spend such time. I recommend the latter option, especially with the knowledge that most Allen films are crisp enough that almost three full features of his can be squeezed into that same timeframe. My recommendation? Try Stardust Memories, Another Woman, Crimes And Misdemeanors, and, for dessert, Allen’s truly greatest comedy: Radio Days. You can thank me later.is can be squeezed into that same timeframe. My recommendation? Try Stardust Memories, Another Woman, Crimes And Misdemeanors, and, for dessert, Allen’s truly greatest comedy: Radio Days. You can thank me later.
A comprehensive review of the career and films of Woody Allen which has obviously been lovingly created and benefits from rare access to Woody to hear his thoughts and views and look over his shoulder as he re-visits his childhood homes and the streets wher he grew up. This, the full length television documentary rather than the shorter cinema released version, is more rounded and does access some of Woody’s thoughts and his views on life. Really enjoyed it
I was totally mesmerized by this documentary. Fascinating stories and insights about Woody’s life and his films. I was impressed by Woody’s personal involvement (including visits to his childhood haunts) and by the interviews of a broad range of friends and colleagues who have known and worked with him over the years. The film clips were well chosen and convey the unique characteristics and qualities of each film. I am thankful that this documentary was made; it does justice to Woody’s ongoing contributions to film.
It was great to be in the back of a limo, with Woody being shown[LITTLE TOWN THE REAL NEW YORK, of his childhood & latter years through the greenitch village 60’s stand up comic [archival footage ,whole folk scene ,where bob dylan &woody worked as well as club owners ]Woody the Jazz muscian .The film producers in the flesh instead of the familar holy names in the begining of yet another ,Woody film, seen all of them through the years &am glad to have made those journeys. my cousins,[Barry Otto,BLISS, STRICTLY BALLROOM ,MIRANDA OTTO, LOVE SERENADE, PLUS MANY MORE ] have been in many motion pictures , I appeared[DOING A DYLAN GYPSY GUITAR &HARP ACT ] in a small film ,GYPSY CIRCUS , WENT TO Canne twice ,BERLIN TORONTO & 12 FILM FESTIVALS IN AUSTRALIA IN THE 90’S Igrew up making small films &some weddings/band videos . I always loved Woody ‘s honest approach ,Barry’s friend ,JUDY DAVIS APPEARED IN DECONSTRUCTING HARRY , I WATCHED THIS WITH A FEMMIST FRIEND FROM ART COLLEGE, I WAS RELEASED WITH LAUGTHER FROM STERN TO BOW , WITH A COUPLE OF TIMES ,CORALINE LOOKED SIDEWAYS AT ME , TALKED MY WAY OUT OF IT LATTER OUTSIDE, LETTY ,WOODY’S SISTER IS SO YOUNG &BEAUTIFUL, I WATCHED THIS ON BEYOND 6FT ACROSS PRO ,HD PROJECTOR SCREEN SO THE DETAIL WAS THERE, WOODY KEEP MAKING THEM, I FEEL THERE COULD BE A SCI FI MOVIE COMING
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195 minutes of pure pleasure… it’s much too short. It could easily be twice longer that I would not complain at all. I’m gonna watch it all over again!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary, and it left me wanting more. Wonderful selection of film clips and interviews. I loved seeing the interviews with the\\” behind the scenes\\” people, whose names I have seen many times on the movie credits and can now put a face to the names. I was also pleased that they acknowledged the importance of Mia Farrow’s role in his life and movies. Woody’s words of praise for her, I thought were gallant. Insights into Woody’s thoughts and creative process for his film making were very interesting and has only reinforced my appraisal of him as a genius. I hope to see the fruits of his creative labours for many years to come.
Excellent. Love Woody Allen…It’s a MUST if you are a fan of Woody.Gives details that will keep your interest.
this was a gift for my partner who is a big woody allen fan!
naturally, I had to watch the movie too!
good quality, prompt shipment.
thank you
This documentary actually comes in two parts. Both are excellent and highly recommended. Only Allen would hurry things along on the set in order to make it to a Knicks basketball game on time. If you’re not ready to buy, but are still curious, you can rent the videos on iTunes for $4.00. They also have the bundle containing parts 1-2 for $15.00. Either way, these documentaries are well worth the time to absorb.
I admire Woody Allen as a man of many talents, a writer, comedian, musician and filmmaker. His best films have everything I look for in a comedy (or dramedy, he is especially good in making them) – brilliance, wit, clever writing, hilarious and sinister twist in the plot, amazing performances, authentic feel of the era and great musical score. I admire his respect for the audience: \\”I never write down to them. I always assume that they’re all as smart as I am… if not smarter.\\”
For someone who has been a fan of Allen’s works for many years and seen every movie he was a part of, whether as a writer/ director, star or all of the above, Woody Allen: A Documentary is the next best thing to watching Allen’s films. I was entertained, learned something new about my favorite film-maker, and once again was fascinated with his productive and unique career that has spanned over six decades. The DVDs with Allen’s films don’t usually include a lot of bonus materials, such as making of behind the scenes; so, watching the documentary filled with the clips from many Allen’s films and listening to the interviews with the stars have added to better understanding of the man behind 40 + films many of which belong to the best ever made.
Allen is known as a multi-talented artist – the stand-up comedian, musician, actor and, of course, a film director. But the documentary confirmed what I’ve assumed already – that he considers himself primarily a writer who has been writing for a living since he was 15 and started composing the jokes and one-liners for a local paper making $75 a week – not bad for a teenager back in the 1950s. At the age of 19, he started writing scripts for the most popular television shows of the time. Allen has authored the Broadway plays, the books of prose and non-fiction, and the scripts to every movie he ever made for which he has been awarded 14 Oscar nominations in the category Best Original Screenplay, more than any film-maker ever. I was genially moved when Woody confessed that all these years he’s been using the old typewriter Olympia and he is not going to change it for one of latest and fastest computers with the useful word processing programs. He proudly announced that he is a very fast typist.
For two evenings, in two parts of the documentary, each 1,5 hours long, Allen himself, his younger sister-producer Letty Aronson, his friends, business associates, and the famous, respectable and talented members of the prestigious \\”I’ve acted in Allen’s film(s)\\” actors, gave the grateful audiences the insight into the phenomenon called Woody Allen, his persona, his works, his unique place in the cultural life of America, his origins, influences, his Muses, and his work ethics. Allen came out in the interviews which are more valuable because they are rare as a moving, deprecated, very clever, funny and charming person. I know many would not share my opinion but I am a loyal fan, and the documentary was made for people like me. If you have problems with the certain facts from Allen’s biography you should spend three hours with something else.
Watching the documentary, I was happy to learn that Allen has good genes 🙂 – his father lived to be 100 and his mother died when she was 96 – big chance that Woody would keep writing/directing for many years to come and never lose his wit, sense of humor and incredible talent and lust for life. What is 76 for him? Just a small number. He makes me a happy viewer, always has and I wish him long years of happy and productive life.y moved when Woody confessed that all these years he’s been using the old typewriter Olympia and he is not going to change it for one of latest and fastest computers with the useful word processing programs. He proudly announced that he is a very fast typist. For two evenings, in two parts of the documentary, each 1,5 hours long, Allen himself, his younger sister-producer Letty Aronson, his friends, business associates, and the famous, respectable and talented members of the prestigious \\”I’ve acted in Allen’s film(s)\\” actors, gave the grateful audiences the insight into the phenomenon called Woody Allen, his persona, his works, his unique place in the cultural life of America, his origins, influences, his Muses, and his work ethics. Allen came out in the interviews which are more valuable because they are rare as a moving, deprecated, very clever, funny and charming person. I know many would not share my opinion but I am a loyal fan, and the documentary was made for people like me. If you have problems with the certain facts from Allen’s biography you should spend three hours with something else. Watching the documentary, I was happy to learn that Allen has good genes 🙂 – his father lived to be 100 and his mother died when she was 96 – big chance that Woody would keep writing/directing for many years to come and never lose his wit, sense of humor and incredible talent and lust for life. What is 76 for him? Just a small number. He makes me a happy viewer, always has and I wish him long years of happy and productive life.
This was the perfect time in Woody’s career to do a documentary on him – he still looks wonderful, the picture of health, and he’s sharp and has a lot to say. Maybe at a little slower pace than in the old days, but what he lacks in exuberance, he makes up for in in-the-trenches, sage wisdom. I love his hand-off approach to actors, something I had heard a little about, but it became more clear in this documentary. He’s the opposite of a \\”control freak\\” which I think is neat for someone is his position. I love the way he doesn’t really care if people like his movies, and then, when it is least expected, he makes a \\”Midnight in Paris\\” which is now quietly gaining attention in a way that was not expected – yay! The only thing I REALLY REALLY miss is Woody starring in his movies. I don’t like it when he casts others in \\”his\\” part – because only HE can be HIM. The only actor that works in \\”his spot\\” would be Larry David – that I can buy. But I hope he will consider starring in his movies again – I really miss him, so for now, I will have to be content watching Annie Hall, Play It Again Sam, Manhattan and Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (my favorites) over and over again. I see Annie Hall and Manhattan will be released on Blu-Ray end of Jan 2012 – can’t wait, and wish this documentary and other movies of his would come out on blu-ray. He’s the best – a legend and a genius!!