"Of his many, many films, Manhattan stands out as a work that manages to be both a love letter to one of the great cities and a strikingly personal self-portrait. In the rom-com genre, neither the character nor the film has ever been bettered." Neil Cockburn 1. She's the most completely realised of his female characters, from her ties-and-checks wardrobes to her off-beat remarks. But Annie Hall trumps Manhattan because Diane Keaton - the best female Allen interpreter in her greatest role – is equal to Allen in terms of screen time and dialogue. The chemistry between the two leads has never been bettered and neither has Allen's performance as a lead actor, except perhaps in Manhattan. Christopher Walken's 'driving visions', the 'what he's/she's really thinking' subtitles, Allen asking passers-by about their sex lives. "Annie Hall hits a perfect balance between the anarchic early films and the more introspective works of the eighties, with serious themes but also loads of humour. Makes most of his other works seem lightweight by comparison." Keith Harrisonĭiane Keaton and Woody Allen on the set of the Annie Hall. Allen's script could be applied to Kissinger, Nixon, Obama and hundreds of others in power who are shielded by their respectability from facing up to their crimes. A tense and morally sound film with genuine gravitas.
"Woody jettisons the signature adolescent habits of most of his earlier stuff and gives us an honest indictment of the kind of privilege that commits murder with one hand and receives high honors with the other. It's also the last film that dodges the bitterness of his later work." Kara Manning 3.
Everything about this film feels painterly, wistful and wise, splashed in autumnal hues and capturing, in two hours, the last gasp of romantic, contemporary, artistically vibrant New York. And Allen has written, next to Alvy Singer, his best role for himself as well. Allen's trio of complicated sisters are his most vividly and lovingly written female characters: fallible, but not judged harshly for it – the casting was impeccable.
#Stardust memories vhs movie#
It's a New York that no longer exists, one that still has a bohemian, undeveloped, Top Shop-free SoHo, the musty glory of Pageant Books and Tower Records, and movie theatres where you could actually find a Marx Brothers film. "Manhattan aside, it's Hannah and Her Sisters that most vividly captures a romantic New York to me. "I love the title character, his limitless belief in his clients, his goodness, his charity… What makes the film for me is the look on Danny's face when Nick tells him that he has found a new agent: Woody is never the greatest actor in his films, but this, for me, is his best acting moment." Kevin Finn 4.
The scene in the restaurant where Woody vacillates between losing his change from a 20 as he has to flee the pursuing mobsters or being caught has stayed in my memory for years." Raymond Williams "A masterpiece – Allen and Mia Farrow never better together. I still watch it and and laugh - I quote lines of dialogue as if it were Pete & Dud." Jim Stewart I have a DVD I burnt from a VHS I transferred from Betamax recorded off-air in the 80s. I was an instant fan and bought a bootleg cassette of Allen's standup while on leave in Vung Tau. The army projectionist played the reels out of order, but it didn't seem to matter – there's nothing like a war to turn the absurd into the everyday. "I first saw it at Nui Dat (South Vietnam) in 1970. Its first five minutes include some of the funniest material he ever wrote – and it's endlessly quotable." Wieland Schwanebeck 6. "One of the 'early, funny ones', it features the magnificent Diane Keaton in her greatest comedic performance, and shows how much fun Woody could have with Bergman and Dostoevsky before he began to feed on their sombre bits. Oh, and that long shot of Charlotte Rampling near the end.genius." Tim 7. Stardust Memories, like Celebrity from many years later, presents Woody Allen's view of the public's odd adoration of the famous. Hated by critics at the time of its release, it's nevertheless Woody Allen at the height of his powers – faux-Euro filmmaking at its best. "This much panned work is a tour de force.
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