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One of Allen's earliest comedies, this movie is, for all practical purposes, a tribute to the silent screen comics of yesterday. The story follows a man (Allen of course) who has been frozen since 1973, and who wakes up 200 years into the future. The future he wakes up to is George Orwell's worst nightmare come true. Allen gets himself into all sorts of trouble, until he is forced into becoming an unexpected rebel hero, sent to destroy fascist ruled 22nd century America. The results end up being enormously funny!One of the best Allen has ever done, this was the last film of his that used slapstick, instead of his usual "intellectual" humor. The film is low budget, but there is a lot Allen does with this mini-project. His antics on screen bring to mind Buster Keaton in his best days. Diane Keaton, as Allen's futuristic girlfriend, has rarely been better (except in some of the later work she did with Allen). This is the type of film that, even if you're not a fan of Allen's stories, will surely entertain you.
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The first of Allen's films to win an Academy award for best picture, this is most definitely another one of his better films. A semi-autobiographical love story, it follows the relationship of a neurotic New York comedy writer (Woody Allen, doing what he does best) and a midwestern hick (Diane Keaton as the title character), who's aspiring to become a singer.Allen and Keaton's chemistry has never been better. Allen shows his usual neurotic wit about such topics as NYC vs. LA and the romantic relationship between the characters Allen and Keaton's portray. If you wish to start watching Woody Allen films, this is most certainly the film to start with.
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This is one of Allen's lesser works. An unimaginative fantasy, about a shy, spoiled wife (Mia Farrow) of a rich bore (William Hurt). She feels she needs to do something more important with her life, like trying to find her true self. She is also thinking about doing the unthinkable-having an affair with someone other than her husband (OH NO!! NOT THAT!!).The usual Allenisms that Woody puts into his story fall completely flat. Most of the time, the story is extremely predictable and Farrow just isn't any good in the title role. If anything could save this, it's Keye Luke, in one of his last performances, as a self-styled witch doctor. His role is extremely whimsical. It's a rather nice fare-well too. Still, I'd have to say pass this one up.
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On the other hand, this movie is ten times more imaginative than the film I reviewed yesterday, Alice. Once again, Allen's heroine Mia Farrow plays a mousy depression-era housewife, who just loves the movies. She is catching the latest film of her screen idol (Jeff Daniels), when suddenly her idol walks off the screen and into her life. Pandemonium quickly ensues.The wonderful chemistry between Farrow and Daniels, a bittersweet story and a great supporting cast makes this a charming fantasy. The ending might disappoint the people who were rooting for Farrow's character, but other than that, this is one of Allen's most flawless works.
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Woody Allen takes on Franz Kafka in one of his few black-and-white screen works. It's an old fashioned mystery that involves a nebbish (take a guess at who plays him), framed for a murder and chased by blood-thirsty mobs. While on the run, he meets up with an assortment of bizarre characters, including a brothel full of weirdo college students, circus people and hookers.In recent years, it seems Woody has fallen flat on his face. The jokes in here are strained from beginning to end. Plus, the endless cameo appearances make this seem like an episode of The Love Boat. The "nightmarish" cinematography is the only really impressive thing about this whole film. So if you are not a cinematography devotee, save your money for something better.
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One of Allen's most recent works, it also seems to be the most un-Allen like film of his entire career. It involves a Broadway playwright (John Cusack), who gets funding from the mob to help him get his next work off the ground. Among the cast and crew Cusack has hired, there's Dianne Wiest (her Academy-award winning performance), as a Gloria Swanson type has-been, stage actress. Jennifer Tilly, as an annoying mob moll, assigned to a part clearly meant for someone better. Probably the most interesting performance in the film is Chazz Palminteri as a gangster, hit-man, originally sent to watch over Tilly, but who then becomes the man who saves Cusack's play from becoming a complete failure.This is the most ultra-original of movies Allen has done. He introduces characters you'd never find in any other Allen film (such as Palminteri's cold killer). The actors go all out in their roles, most especially Wiest, whose character portrayal is unlike any characterization we've seen her do in previous movies. You'll see what I mean, and more, when you rent this one.
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Allen does Ingmar Bergman, in this touching study of a middle-aged woman (Gena Rowlands), who has kept her emotions about herself bottled up, until recent actions have forced her to open up to the people she truly cares for. Like a lot of Allen's films, this has an all-star cast, the usual Allenisms about life, love and death, and most certainly outstanding performances, such as Rowlands who is no less than brilliant. It's the cold atmosphere of it all that tends to repel and attract you at the same time. And, like Bergman, it's not an incredibly enjoyable experience, but it is an interesting psychological drama, that never lets up on people's emotions. You should at least give it a try.
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