Primary Movers #1

“There's an old joke - two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly. The... the other important joke, for me, is one that's usually attributed to Groucho Marx; but, I think it appears originally in Freud's "Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious," and it goes like this - I'm paraphrasing - "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member." That's the key joke of my adult life, in terms of my relationships with women.”
~ Alvy Singer, "Annie Hall"

Few filmmakers have had as storied a career or as infamous a private life as Woody Allen. He is, for me, the quintessential artist, varied in influences and styles, able to create some of the most fascinating and unique movies over the past thirty years, all the while playing a three fold part as writer/director/actor. My appreciation of his work has grown from a passing laugh at his early sci-fi spoof “Sleeper” to a full fledged infatuation with his films.

His idiosyncratic characters and cerebral style have resulted in his being nominated for more Academy Award nominations for best screenplay than any other writer. He is also tied for fifth place for number of nominations as director. Not only is he a superb writer/director but he also stars in many of his movies and for his performance in Annie Hall was nominated for best actor.

Although working through his prodigious catalogue is a serious investment of time, I have found it well worth my while. I have seen fourteen of his movies and am glad to recommend nearly all of them. There is no doubt that Annie Hall and Manhattan are a top priority for movie lovers. These films defined the romantic comedy genre without falling into many of the sappy traps so often seen today. Both star Mr. Allen and Diane Keaton and take place in Manhattan, their witty dialogue, brilliant acting, flawless camera work and incredible musical scores make it little wonder they are considered some of the best movies of all time. Below is the opening clip from the movie Manhattan, in it you can here Mr. Allen’s sharp wit and self depreciation that has made him famous.



If you are looking for more pure comedy, Sleeper and Bananas are great examples of Mr. Allen’s earlier work. They show signs of his later greatness with their snappy dialogue but also make great use of Mr. Allen’s impressive physical slap-stick comedy.

With the release of Match Point both critics and fans enjoyed a surprisingly dark and thrilling break from his usual fare. One of the few films shot outside of New York, this film follows the lives of London’s elite and is notable for the first appearance of Scarlett Johansson, who has become Mr. Allen's latest muse. If you enjoyed Match Point, Manhattan Murder Mystery is another one of Mr. Allen’s movies which combines his comedic flare with a suspenseful storyline. Other Allen classics include Stardust Memories, Mighty Aphrodite, Hannah and Her Sisters and Melinda and Melinda.

For anyone interested Mr. Allen has also recently released Scoop, his second effort with Ms. Johansson, to mixed reviews.

So next time you are out wandering aimlessly through the isles at the local video rental store, look up one of the aforementioned films, you won’t regret it.