Woody Allen - rate his work
 

What are your favorite Woody Allen films. Which ones did you like and which ones not so much.

Dramas - I loved Sweet & Lowdown and Interiors.

Comedies - liked Love & Death, Mighty Aphrodite, Annie Hall.

didn't like: Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Everything You Always Wanted To Know about sex.



thanks for participating

Masterpieces: Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters

Hilarious: Bananas, Sleeper, Love and Death, Bullets Over Broadway, Small Time Crooks

Suck: Celebrity, Deconstructing Harry

It ain't easy ranking the films of one of the most prolific directors ever. The amount of work Allen has released throughout his career is mind-boggling, so many different eras and stylistic periods. I recently had to re-watch Crimes and Misdemeanors for a film class. that would probably be my favorite right now, the acting is awesome. I also really like September, probably his heaviest, most sombre film.

What I've seen chronologically (out of five stars):

Anything Else (2004) ****
Hollywood Ending (2002) ***
Curse of The Jade Scorpion (2001) ***1/2
Small Time Crooks (2000) ***1/2
Celebrity (1998) **1/2
Deconstructing Harry (1997) **
Everyone Says I Love You (1996) ***
Mighty Aphrodite (1995) ****1/2
Bullets Over Broadway (1994) ***1/2
Broadway Danny Rose (1984) ****
Annie Hall (1977) ****1/2

What I've seen (out of 4 stars):

Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001): **
Small Time Crooks (2000): **1/2
Sweet and Lowdown (1999): ***1/2
Deconstructing Harry (1997) **
Everyone Says I Love You (1996): ****
Mighty Aphrodite (1995): ***
New York Stories (1989): **1/2
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986): ***1/2
Purple Rose of Cairo, The (1985): ***
Zelig (1983): ***
Manhattan (1979): ****
Annie Hall (1977): ****
Sleeper (1973): ***1/2
Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex... (1972): ***
Play It Again, Sam (1972): ****
Bananas (1971): ****
Take the Money and Run (1969): ***

No love for Manhattan? The cinematography is especially breathtaking, although that's a credit to the DP as well.

Hey, I gave it 4 stars. :D

My mustach will eat your beard.

I've only seen one Woody movie, Anything Else, and I loved it. It was entertaining through the entire movie and made me laugh. I think what I appreciated the most was the above average dialogue.

What's Up, Tiger Lilly? **
Bananas ***
Play It Again, Sam **** (Didn't direct this one, but wrote and starred)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) ***
Love and Death ***
Annie Hall ***1/2
Manhattan ****
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy **
Zelig ***1/2
The Purple Rose of Cairo ****
Hannah and Her Sisters ****
Radio Days ****
Crimes and Misdemeanors ***
Shadows and Fog ***
Mighty Aphrodite ***
Everyone Says I Love You ***
Deconstructing Harry ***
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion **
Hollywood Ending **

What's Up, Tiger Lily?, Take The Money & Run, Bananas, Sleeper... great comedies.

Annie Hall, Manhattan, Crimes and Misdemeanors... great movies.

Favorite Woody Allen film?
 

A search for previous threads on this topic didn't turn up much. The obvious choice is Annie Hall, but my personal favorite is Manhattan - the gorgeous cinematography, the signature New York locations, the witty banter, it's all there. This was a very tough list to make, with plenty of gems not included below. The toughest for me to leave off was Deconstructing Harry. My choices are a bit slanted towards his older films, and I freely admit to not being as familiar with his newer work. Perhaps folks can provide some viewing suggestions in that department.

Bananas
Husbands and Wives
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Hannah and her Sisters
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Zelig
Manhattan
Annie Hall
Sleeper
Other-please specify

Hannah and Her Sisters is the first Woody Allen film I ever saw, and it's still my favorite, with Annie Hall a close second. I can't stand his newer films, i.e. anything after Crimes and Misdemeanors, which is my third favorite.

...and yet you voted for Annie Hall? :confused:

Rob

:doh: I guess subconsciously Annie will always be my favorite.

A hard call, but in the end I think Crimes and Misdemeanors is the most perfect film Allen has made. I think the two plot lines, and the brilliant way in which he weaves them together and makes them comment upon one another makes for his most sophisticated film in terms of storytelling.

I also think this provides the capstone to the explorations into Existentialism that Allen's films had been making for over a decade, when C&M was released.

And a stellar performance by Martin Landau.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona.


Of course, the only other movies of his I've seen are A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy and Small Time Crooks.

Compared to those two movies, Congo and At First Sight are better movies (and more memorable).

Annie Hall is his best and my favourite but Manhattan and Crimes and Misdemeanor's come close.... however one that I find I WATCH the most and laugh my ass off is the highly underrated TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN. Hilarious mockumentary that more people should track down IMO.

Even though I really love Take the Money and Run and Sleeper.... Zelig is pure genius.

Purple Rose of Cairo got me into his movies, and Zelig was the one I saw after that. Great, fascinating movies. My two favorites, but Purple Rose tops the list for me.

Match Point is fantastic. Cassandra's Dream is a bit of the same theme, but Match Point is the better of the two similarly themed movies (IMHO)

I think Scoop was also very good and very fun, and an original concept that shows Woody still has some good movies in him yet.

Anything Else was also pretty darn good, and some say it's a time travel movie. You will have to see it to decide for yourself.


I have to say I am not a big fan of his earlier work. I've seen some of his 70's movies after I got into his films in the 80's but it was his work Manhattan forward that I really prefer to his earlier stuff. Though I like the premise of some of his earlier movies...I wonder what he could do with Sleepers now with 21st century movie making techniques and a bigger budget.

I know I'll get flamed for this, but

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. Kills me every time

My personal favs are:

Annie Hall
Play It Again, Sam (directed by Herbert Ross though)
Radio Days
Manhattan
Hannah and Her Sisters
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Match Point
Crimes and Misdemeanors

Annie Hall

Wasn't Manhattan the one where he was dating a minor?

Zelig is my favorite.
Purple Rose is a close second.

The rest (IMO) is crap.

Yes. Life imitates art....

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