Dining Dead

I just recently decided to bite the bullet and complete my Woody Allen collection by buying his lesser works.

I know, I know...Celebrity is definitely supposed to be among Woody's worst films, but it has been out of print for some time (thereby being sold for ridiculous amounts) and is being reissued by Miramax/Echo Bridge on February 14. The cover art is much better than the original release.

I just thought I would share in case anyone else is a glutton for punishment.

https://www.echobridgeentertainment....elebrity_77629

http://video.barnesandnoble.com/DVD/...usri=celebrity

DonnachaOne

DiCaprio and Theron, front and center; Branagh literally off to the side. But a pretty cover nonetheless. I can't blame them for choosing those three to put on the cover, mind - all three of them are award contenders this year (if not exactly frontrunners).

Peep

Huh? Amazon is selling it for $20 and marketplace resellers have new copies for much less. Will the re-issue be a decent release or a crap knock-off?

dex14

Damnit I've been doing the same thing and just bought this for like $10

MooMooMooMoo

Echo Bridge got a Woody Allen film????!!!!!!!!

foofighters7

I guess they made a deal to get some OOP or low print Miramax titles.

Dining Dead

I was a bit hyberbolic. However, I can't justify paying even as little as $10.00 for a new or like new copy of a film that I'm fairly certain won't be very good.

Woody Allen is among my favorite directors & I've intentionally avoided some of his poorly reviewed films simply because there are just so many other films in this world I want to see.

I'm now just picking up all of his lesser works to be a completist. I've only got 3 to go - Cassandra's Dream, Don't Drink the Water, & Everything You've Always Wanted to Know, which, unfortunately, is OOP.

Living Deadpan

Dear lord, does that mean you own Anything Else? That one's beyond lesser.

MBoyd

Anything Else is absolutely the worst of his output.

Drake

I have seen used copies of this at Newbury Comics for around $3.99.

dex14

Whats the verdict on these EchoBridge DVDs? I've seen a few films I've wanted rereleased by them at very cheap prices. Are they anamorphic or what? I've never seen anyone comment on them.

Dining Dead

I do own it. I have not yet gathered the courage to watch it. However, I have found that a few tall glasses of (insert your choice of alcohol here) helped make Whatever Works and Melinda and Melinda better than I expected.

MooMooMooMoo

I like Anything Else! (Though I also like Christina Ricci - a lot!)

MooMooMooMoo

IMO, that honor belongs to Scoop, the only WA film i have never been able to sit through.

MooMooMooMoo

I LOVE Whatever Works. I consider it in WA's top 10, possibly Top 5.

kenbenobi

Interesting. I actually loved Scoop! I never saw Anything Else or Whatever Works, but I do own both. Melinda & Melinda was OK, but not one of his better films.

MooMooMooMoo

Agree on Melinda.

Living Deadpan

Make it a double feature with Prozac Nation & your ears just may bleed from the shrillness.

Wow. Were these impulse buys?

Dining Dead

As I mentioned before, Woody Allen is one of my favorite writer/directors and has been for quite some. With that in mind, I would like to see/own all of his films and judge each one for myself. Sure, I know that some of his films are considered terrible, but I'd still like to see them and pass my own judgment. If that means I'll spend 90 minutes of my life on a subpar movie, then so be it.

It's like your favorite sports team. You still watch their games and remain a fan even during bad seasons. Woody has had several rough "seasons" but I've still found much to like.

He gave me Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Broadway Danny Rose, Husbands and Wives, et al., so I'll watch everything.

foofighters7

If you look at their website it seems they have a number of decent titles (mostly small films that didn't have a ton of dvds made) from Miramax so for people who couldn't find the originals I guess this could be ok if they are done properly. I just don't know if they have.

Also, 'Anything Else' is his worst film, plain and simple. I LOVE Allen films but this didn't even feel like an Allen film. It felt like the smartest writer from an 'American Pie' movie decided to go out on his own.

I did really like 'Whatever Works'. In fact I can say I have liked all his films to one degree or another Other than 'Anything Else', which If I gave a second chance I might not hate....I still do own it though as I have every Allen film on dvd. What can I say.

MooMooMooMoo

I love Prozac Nation also.................. I bought the Swedish import at a time when there was no USA edition.

MooMooMooMoo

Not sure if I can think of any other director who's quality varies as much as Allen; especially with what I believe is pretty much full artistic control.

While people here seem to have some differences of opinion as to which are which, I think few would disagree there are some masterpieces, some absolute stinkers, & a ton in between

Dining Dead

...and there are very few with the quantity of Woody Allen...and those that do have the quantity, even fewer have the creative control.

From most of his fans that I've talked to, about 70-75% of his films are either really good or great. For the average viewer, probably only 20% of his films would either be very good or great.

Even still, I have to wonder if some of his later films that are considered lesser would be considered great achievements from an unknown writer/director. That can only be speculation though as, fair or not, almost all artists' work is eventually compared and critiqued based on their previous output.

SI78

I liked 'Scoop' and 'Whatever Works'. *shrugs*

ProfessorEcho

I thought CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION was abysmal. He had a string of movies where girls who were at least 40 years younger than him were his girlfriends or would fall in love with him, but SCORPION was the one that finally went so far over the top in his perpetual mid-life crises, that I bailed from all my years of blind idolatry. There was not an ounce of believability to any of that alleged love story.