Woody Allen

Started by Pedro, March 20, 2003, 11:46:16 PM

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Gold Trumpet

The reasoning in little love for Woody's last three films, his comedies, is that he really isn't adding anything he has done before. You can see his comic touch in these movies in his early 70s movies and his one liners then all through out his career. And then to see him start working in a structure of factory produced comedies like in the old days of Hollywood is disheartening because he only can do so much, which really, is a reliance on the charm of his one liners. Those don't go far enough though in satisfaction for these films. Instead of Allen forwarding his career, he went into dead stand observance on a structure and style that was cliche 50 years ago. And why does a movie had to disrupt the status quo in order to be meaningful? Because if it doesn't, it has lost all importance because better examples can just be found in earlier works by other people so what's the point on watching these films? I could just as easily read all the one liners shot out by him in print in these films and still get the same pleasure. But if you like these films on a personal basis only, then fine. But when it comes to talk on importance from outside the personal love, then these films achieve very little.

~rougerum

Keener

I agree partly with what you said. I didn't enjoy Small Time Crooks or Curse because they were something fresh or amazing. I enjoyed them because they made me laugh and at the same time had an entertaining story.

What new ground did Christopher Guest break with Best In Show ? Nothing that we didn't already see in Waiting for Guffman and partially in Spinal Tap form. It's still one of my favorite movies (on a personal basis).

I wasn't trying to credit his later work as being something that'll be remembered and studied in 5 years. I just thought they were enjoyable and not as bad as people made out.
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©brad

Quote from: KeenerI agree partly with what you said. I didn't enjoy Small Time Crooks or Curse because they were something fresh or amazing. I enjoyed them because they made me laugh and at the same time had an entertaining story.

What new ground did Christopher Guest break with Best In Show ? Nothing that we didn't already see in Waiting for Guffman and partially in Spinal Tap form. It's still one of my favorite movies (on a personal basis).

I wasn't trying to credit his later work as being something that'll be remembered and studied in 5 years. I just thought they were enjoyable and not as bad as people made out.

thank you.

joeybdot

Manhattan,Annie Hall, Bananas,Sleeper,Sweet and Lowdown,Whats up tigerLily greatest experiment i have ever seen over dubbing a movie by urself and changing it completely.Brilliance!!

Gold Trumpet

Well, obviously your meaningulness lies in personal love for the movies, which I did say was fine and acceptable. I don't really share the same opinion though, but structurally, this films seem even of lesser works when compared to all that Allen has done in comedy and what has been done in other films by other people in this category. Cbr, you should stop disagreeing or agreeing and explain some more on your positions.

~rougerum

Keener

The Gold Trumpet, help me push the car.
Alabama Film Forum
Uniting film lovers and filmmakers of Alabama

©brad

I think Keener pretty much summed it all up for me. arguing on this matter would be like beating a dead horse. it's a difference in opinion, yes? i can be happy and watch a movie like small time crooks because I am a big woody allen fan. Whether his movies are groundbreaking or constantly original, well, I mean who cares? I'm just happy he is still making movies.

Gold Trumpet

I've never called someone anything or said they were this or that. I've always tried to discuss the subject with them instead and if terms couldn't be accepted, then fine. But I've always tried to reason, argue, or debate it out. Cbr, I've honestly given up on you. You are one gigantic fucking idiot. You can't discuss or reason shit. You say if you like this or that and that's it. I say this now here because obviously, you didn't read a single fucking word I said. So go and have fun making minor complaints with people you think have minor opinions because it doesn't matter, you only speak in minor so you trying to make sense of any bad fucking opinion is pointless anyways.

~rougerum

©brad

GT, look I don't want to argue with u because there seems to be too much of it going on around here and its not cool. Let me just say this: first off, you're being childish, and if you have a bone to pick with me do it in a pm. Second off, I'm not a film critic nor do I pretend to be one. Third, maybe I could have a healthy debate with you if I could understand what the hell you were saying. If I copied any one of your random posts and pasted it in Microsoft Word, I think my computer would crash from a bad grammar overload. Trying to discern any sense from your arguments made up of poorly written sentence fragments is near impossible. I bet a linguistic analyst would have a tough time translating your nonsense.
I've tried to avoid responding to your posts, most of which I disagree with, to avoid arguments. I come to xixax.com to enjoy myself, I get enough arguing from parents/girlfriend/friends.

My apologies to everyone else who is subjected to reading this mess. It won't happen again, at least from my end.

Gold Trumpet

Simple question: If my sentences are so bad, how did you possibly understand my last post and not the others?

I have some mistakes, yes, but everyone does here since this place is so informal. You argument of me not making any sense is fucking piss poor because I am able to have discussions and debates with everyone else, except you.

~rougerum

Alexandro

"I'm sort of surprised by this though.. since Bergman was his main influence/inspiration and he made great films up until the day he died, whereas Allen can't really think of something great anymore.[/quote]
"
mmmm....well...Ingmar Bergman is not dead, he's very much alive and about to release a new film from what I've heard...

Allen is the man...he just makes his movies the way he wants year after year...He is an artist completely uncompromised with anything, specially with the kind of thing people expects from artists...

godardian

Quote from: Alexandro"I'm sort of surprised by this though.. since Bergman was his main influence/inspiration and he made great films up until the day he died, whereas Allen can't really think of something great anymore.
"
mmmm....well...Ingmar Bergman is not dead, he's very much alive and about to release a new film from what I've heard...

Allen is the man...he just makes his movies the way he wants year after year...He is an artist completely uncompromised with anything, specially with the kind of thing people expects from artists...[/quote]

I agree, and I'm an Allen fan, but... well, I really disliked Curse of the Jade Scorpion.  Hollywood Ending wasn't a whole lot better, but I thought Scorpion was the worst film of his I've ever seen, and I absolutely include Celebrity and Shadows and Fog (both of which I like) in that assessment.
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

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SoNowThen

I think Celebrity and Deconstructing Harry are two of Allen's best films. I don't know why they're so universally hated.

And I still say I'll take Zelig and Radio Days over everything else. Even Annie Hall and Manhattan.

But I saw Small Time Crooks and just about puked. And then I noticed... produced by Dreamworks... which means he's working for The 'Berg... which can only mean a drop in the quality of his films...
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

modage

lets see. woody allen.  i dont really like him (with a few exceptions), yet i feel compelled to keep seeing his movies for fear of  missing out.  ive seen:

HOLLYWOOD ENDING
SMALL TIME CROOKS
SWEET AND LOWDOWN
CELEBRITY
DECONSTRUCTING HARRY
EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU
MIGHTY APRHODITE
BULLETS OVER BROADWAY
MANHATTAN
ANNIE HALL
EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX...
BANANAS

Loved Annie Hall, Manhattan, Everyone Says I Love You.  Thought Bananas and Sweet and Lowdown were hilarious.  Hated Everything you ever wanted to know about sex..., Small Time Crooks and Celebrity.  Thought everything else was okay.  plan on seeing Whats Up Tiger Lily, Sleeper, Love And Death, Broadway Danny Rose, Hannah and Her Sisters soon.  anyone want to recommend anything? sway me from those?
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MacGuffin

Quote from: themodernage02anyone want to recommend anything?

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