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A hilariously madcap debut from the master of neurotic comedy, Woody Allen. The story spoofs various crime and prison films, to tell the tale of the life of a truly incompetent thief (Allen). The film follows his life in documentary-style, as he constantly screws up everything from bank robbing to breaking out of jail.Allen did have a groundbreaking film here. It was the first of its kind of comedy to make fun of the machismo gangster flicks, by casting a short, neurotic nebbish in the part of the usual tough guy role. Some of the funniest scenes in here include Woody's escape from a chain gang, with five other prisoners chained with him; his attempt to play cello in a marching band; and a side-splitting moment in which he tries to rob a bank, using a misspelled note. Allen has done many better works then this, but rarely with as many great sight gags.
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This Woody Allen film is basically just a series of comic vignettes, involving various forms of ways to have sex. Among the best set pieces: A spoof of B-movie horror films (with the outrageously funny image of a giant lactating breast chasing Allen); Gene Wilder as a doctor with a most curious wool fetish; And Allen as a sperm, worrying about his next assignment. Most of it is in the name of bad taste, but still, most of the time, you can't keep yourself from laughing. The laughs don't always come, but when they do they are hysterical.
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Tolstoi and Bergman seem to be the main targets of Woody Allen's satiric look at the Napoleonic wars. Allen is a cowardly soldier, who's in love with his cousin (Diane Keaton) and who unwillingly attempts to assassinate Napoleon. Being that his exploits always turn comically disastrous, it isn't going to be easy to convince Keaton that he loves her or much easier to take out Napoleon.The laughs tend to come and go, but Allen and Keaton make a winning team (as they have in seven films together). Some of the shots at Bergman are delightfully tongue-in-cheek and the settings are quite good. Allen has handled the titled subject many times before and since this film came out. Yet even if it isn't always funny, it's quite interesting.
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A touching, sentimental tribute from Woody Allen to his home town. He plays a well-known comedy writer, who spends his time trying to juggle his various relationships with friends, lovers and his former wife. He's dating a teenage girl (Mariel Hemingway), while contemplating an affair with his best friend's pseudo-intellectual lover (Diane Keaton). Allen's best friend (Michael Murphy) is having problems with his wife (Anne Byrne), but isn't so unsure that perhaps Keaton and Allen should be together. Meanwhile, Allen must deal with the constant gripes of his ex-wife (Meryl Streep), who has taken their son and moved in with a lesbian (Karen Ludwig). He also doesn't like the book Streep is writing about their former life together.One of Allen's sweetest and most poignant works, right after Annie Hall. Allen adds some touches of Charlie Chaplin comedies, with his character in a good-humored-soul-in-the-face-of-disaster situation. Allen and Keaton have perfect chemistry as always (they would not re-team for another 14 years), while Hemingway and Allen's scenes are beautifully well-crafted moments. Gordon Willis' great black-and-white camerawork and the George Gershwin score are two other nice additions to a flawless work. Allen shows that you don't need Chris Farley-slapstick antics or Jim Carrey's manic antic to be funny. The conversations in this are proof of that.
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Definitely one of Allen's weaker efforts, this is a deliberate homage (some would say carbon copy) to Fellini's 8 1/2. Allen plays an acclaimed filmaker, trying to relax and take a break. Unfortunately, he's hounded by agents, lovers, fans and various weirdos. He tries to escape through some really ludicrous fantasies, some of which don't make sense no matter how many times you see this.Sadly, much of this ends up being the usual neurotic bitching, frequent in Allen films. He also tends to copy Fellini a little too closely, although this alone isn't the problem. The problem is he drags out scenes too long, which never go anywhere. And when the film is over, you still have absolutely no idea what the point Allen was trying to make in the first place. The laughs are also too far and few in between (the best is the opening scene spoofing the opening of 8 1/2). If their is any compensation, it's Gordon Willis' impressive B&W cinematography. That's about the only thing that holds your attention.
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Though greeted with ennui by the critics, this imaginative visual romp from Woody Allen looks at one weekend in the lives of three couples. Allen is a zany inventor living in the countryside, whose sexually frustrated wife (Mary Steenburgen) is growing further apart from him. Four people have come to visit them for the weekend. Allen's best friend (Tony Roberts), a womanizing doctor; Roberts' head nurse (Julie Hagarty), who's secretly in love with him; a stuffy, snobbish professor (Jose Ferrer), who treats everyone around him as intellectual midgets; and Ferrer's fiancee (Mia Farrow, in her first film with Allen), to whom both Roberts and Allen are attracted. Various sexual shenanigans ensue.Although it's not perfect Allen, it is still hilarious Allen. The six leads give it their all and come off quite well. The cinematography by Allen's usual cameraman, Gordon Willis, is absolutely beautiful. For you film buffs, you may take fancy to this tribute to Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night.
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Possibly Woody Allen's most searing drama takes a look at the lives and turmoil, surrounding three sisters (Mia Farrow, Diane Wiest and Barbra Hershey) and fellow family members, whose paths keep crossing each other. The complex plot first follows Farrow's husband (Michael Caine), who is in love with Hershey. Hershey is living with an artist (Max Von Sydow). Caine is unhappy in his marriage to Farrow. Farrow's ex-husband (Allen) is worrying about his eventual death (who knew?), while falling in love with his ex-wife's flaky sister (Diane Wiest), who has gone through a series of bad relationships.The story and characters are beautifully interwoven together, and the screenplay is occasionally witty, sometimes downright sobering as we look at the lives of some truly unhappy people. Caine and Wiest earned their Academy Awards, while Hershey should have won one of her own, playing the most frustrated member of the group. Allen's look at love, relationships and New York lifestyles has rarely been more touching and poignant as in this drama.
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