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booklover
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
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 Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="booklover"] | JLNeib wrote: | I still like Woody Allen. I enjoy the "early funny ones" but I think my favorites are Manhattan and Stardust Memories. I am especially fond of the dry sarcasm and blatant iconoclasm of the latter.
JN |
I saw "Manhattan" years ago and thought it was a crashing bore. I saw no need to care about the characters, outside of Mariel Hemingway's character. This is another one I have to check out again one of these days. |
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JLNeib
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 2:45 am Post subject: |
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| booklover wrote: | | JLNeib wrote: | I still like Woody Allen. I enjoy the "early funny ones" but I think my favorites are Manhattan and Stardust Memories. I am especially fond of the dry sarcasm and blatant iconoclasm of the latter.
JN |
You aren't alone. "Memories" is one of Allen's favorite of all his films, maybe thee favorite. I know he thinks very highly of it. I saw it twice and I still don't get it. But a friend pointed out that much of what happens on screen is what is going through Sandy Bates mind, which would explain why so much of the film doesn't make sense. I mean, our thoughts are generally random and seemingly don't connect with each other, yet they actually do. Correct? |
Your friend's take is a very interesting one, but that is not what I happened to get out of Stardust Memories. I thought it was simply a weary filmmaker, tired of fawning fans and fringe geeks (you know, people like us), who is staggering through the motions while trying to make some sense of his life and work, and also attempting to realize the significance of his work or lack thereof. I thought is was extraordinary work, and very courageous. It is one of my favorite films of its kind and its time.
JN |
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JLNeib
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
Posts: 339
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 2:50 am Post subject: |
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[quote="booklover"] | booklover wrote: | | JLNeib wrote: | I still like Woody Allen. I enjoy the "early funny ones" but I think my favorites are Manhattan and Stardust Memories. I am especially fond of the dry sarcasm and blatant iconoclasm of the latter.
JN |
I saw "Manhattan" years ago and thought it was a crashing bore. I saw no need to care about the characters, outside of Mariel Hemingway's character. This is another one I have to check out again one of these days. |
It just might not be your thing, but Manhattan is one of my five-or-so favorite movies of all time. I love how the Allen character has to cope not only with his integrity but also his inability to grow up emotionally (especially after discovering the woman who is his peer is far less mature than the much younger one that fosters strong feelings of guilt as well as affection). I did not feel all of the characters were necessarily likeable but they were all fascinating and brilliantly conceived. The silver cinematography and swirling Gershwin music assisted immeasurably. It is one of those films I could probably watch once per week.
JN |
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booklover
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
Posts: 400
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| Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="JLNeib"] | booklover wrote: | | booklover wrote: | | JLNeib wrote: | I still like Woody Allen. I enjoy the "early funny ones" but I think my favorites are Manhattan and Stardust Memories. I am especially fond of the dry sarcasm and blatant iconoclasm of the latter.
JN |
I saw "Manhattan" years ago and thought it was a crashing bore. I saw no need to care about the characters, outside of Mariel Hemingway's character. This is another one I have to check out again one of these days. |
It just might not be your thing, but Manhattan is one of my five-or-so favorite movies of all time. I love how the Allen character has to cope not only with his integrity but also his inability to grow up emotionally (especially after discovering the woman who is his peer is far less mature than the much younger one that fosters strong feelings of guilt as well as affection). I did not feel all of the characters were necessarily likeable but they were all fascinating and brilliantly conceived. The silver cinematography and swirling Gershwin music assisted immeasurably. It is one of those films I could probably watch once per week. JN |
To each his own. This is what they mean when they say comedy is subjective. I just don't care for Allen's films where the characters just talk, talk, talk. I much prefer his lighter comedies, like "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Small Time Crooks", where there's action and physical comedy involved. I thought "Manhattan" was beautifully acted and filmed,
but it just left me cold (except for the final scene between Woody and Mariel). |
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uli
Joined: 11 Jul 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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| booklover wrote: | | Woody wasn't dealing with realism; real people in real situations. Now he is. |
Now? You must have missed September and Another Woman - two of his best.
Uli |
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JLNeib
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
Posts: 339
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| Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="booklover"] | JLNeib wrote: | | booklover wrote: | | booklover wrote: | | JLNeib wrote: | I still like Woody Allen. I enjoy the "early funny ones" but I think my favorites are Manhattan and Stardust Memories. I am especially fond of the dry sarcasm and blatant iconoclasm of the latter.
JN |
I saw "Manhattan" years ago and thought it was a crashing bore. I saw no need to care about the characters, outside of Mariel Hemingway's character. This is another one I have to check out again one of these days. |
It just might not be your thing, but Manhattan is one of my five-or-so favorite movies of all time. I love how the Allen character has to cope not only with his integrity but also his inability to grow up emotionally (especially after discovering the woman who is his peer is far less mature than the much younger one that fosters strong feelings of guilt as well as affection). I did not feel all of the characters were necessarily likeable but they were all fascinating and brilliantly conceived. The silver cinematography and swirling Gershwin music assisted immeasurably. It is one of those films I could probably watch once per week. JN |
To each his own. This is what they mean when they say comedy is subjective. I just don't care for Allen's films where the characters just talk, talk, talk. I much prefer his lighter comedies, like "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Small Time Crooks", where there's action and physical comedy involved. I thought "Manhattan" was beautifully acted and filmed,
but it just left me cold (except for the final scene between Woody and Mariel). |
Yeah there is no accounting for personal taste, especially people like us who have about the same frame of reference regarding comedy's history. It's all in whatever entertains the individual. We can stand back and appreciate movies objectively, but still not be entertained by them. I like Danny Rose, etc, also, of course. But Stardust Memories is my favorite.
"You wanna do mankind a service? Tell funnier jokes!" <---great line.
JN |
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booklover
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
Posts: 400
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| Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 11:57 am Post subject: |
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| uli wrote: | | booklover wrote: | | Woody wasn't dealing with realism; real people in real situations. Now he is. |
Now? You must have missed September and Another Woman - two of his best. Uli |
I'll be the first to admit that I'm close minded. I've never seen any of Allen's serious films (unless you count "The Front") nor do I ever intend to anytime soon. Maybe someday. I will see something like "Crimes and MisDemeanors", because Allen is in it and the film does have humorous elements. I'm sure the films you mentioned are excellent, but they just don't interest me. |
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Herman
Joined: 31 Aug 2007
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 6:48 pm Post subject: |
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Just curious, what does everyone think of "Zelig" ? I've always liked it a lot, but find that some people think it's kind of minor and a one joke concept.
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nifwiggl
Site Admin
Joined: 24 Jul 2007
Posts: 302
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| Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Just curious, what does everyone think of "Zelig" ? I've always liked it a lot, but find that some people think it's kind of minor and a one joke concept. |
I've always loved Zelig. The concept is great, I enjoy the gags and story.
I remember driving in Manhattan when it first opened. There was a huge line outside the theatre. We all thought "he's got a hit". I still enjoy it. |
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booklover
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
Posts: 400
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| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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| I've always loved "Zelig". The way they inserted him into all those old film clips was certainly well done, but imagine what Woody could do nowadays, with all the new film technology we have? If he was making the film today, the results would be even more impressive. |
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