Woody Allen: six Films 1971 - 1978 (18.)
Bananas (1971), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), Annie Hall (1977) and Interiors (1978.) Directed by Woody Allen. 527 mins. Available on Blu-ray
Or The Early Funny Ones. Or more precisely: four of the early funny ones, the indisputable masterpiece and the first serious one. The funny ones that are missing are both pretty funny: Allen's debut Take The Money And Run, a mockumentary about bank robber built around gags and routines from his stand up days that was made by a different company and seems to have come adrift from his other films; Play It Again Sam which, even though it was adapted from his play and featured the first on screen pairing with Diane Keaton, doen't count as a Woody because it was directed by Herbert Ross.
By the time this collection drops in on him, he had already had a two decade career in showbusiness behind him working as a gag writer, essayist, playwright, actor (he's the funniest thing in Casino Royale), screenwriter and, most of all, as one of the defining stand up comics of his age. As a stand up he was like a timid Lenny Bruce, a radical who wasn't really sure what he stood for.
I think we can make the case for Allen being the most over rated and overly pampered movie director of our age. The hidden hero of this collection is editor Ralph Rosenblum who came in to sort out Take The Money, when the first cut didn't work and over the course of these films, along with assistant Susan E. Moore who would take over from him as Allen's regular editor, taught Allen a great deal about making comedy work on the big screen.
So what you have here is not the early work of great film maker (a good one certianly, but one too in thrall to his heroes to be truly original) but a collection of some of the funniest material by one of the great comic minds of the twentieth century. There is something definitive about Allen's best line, like they were the perfect expression of a comic idea that had been waiting for someone to give it form. Once he tells a joke, it stays told
Bananas (1971), A freeranging attempt to make a Duck Soup of counterculture politics, set during a revoltion in the south american repbublic of San Marcos.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), a compendium of seven short films based on chapters from the then famous sex manual that is funnier than you remember it being.
Sleeper (1973), Allen wakes up in the future and romances Diane Keaton in spoof of dystopian sci-fi films. Generally held up as the best of the early funny ones but not quite as good as your memory of it. Released individually on 3rd October.
Love and Death (1975), Spoof of Russian literature set during the Napoleonic Wars. Relentlessly hilarious. Released individually on 3rd October.
Annie Hall (1977), his greatest film and one of the best comedies ever. Hilarious lines, brilliant performances, memorable moments and more truthful and insightful about the human condition than all his serious films put together. A little frustrating then that this was the only one they didn't send a review disc of. Oh well, la di da, la di da.
Interiors (1978), the price to be paid for Annie Hall. This heavy drama was well received at the time, probably because people didn't know any better, or what it would be the harbinger of. To be reviewed when it gets an solo release in November.
Exclusive to this collection: Annie Hall and a 100-page hardback book featuring new and archive writing on all the films by Woody Allen, Michael Brooke, Johnny Mains, Kat Ellinger, John Leman Riley, Hannah Hamad and Brad Stevens.
Bananas (1971), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), Annie Hall (1977) and Interiors (1978.) Directed by Woody Allen. 527 mins. Available on Blu-ray
Or The Early Funny Ones. Or more precisely: four of the early funny ones, the indisputable masterpiece and the first serious one. The funny ones that are missing are both pretty funny: Allen's debut Take The Money And Run, a mockumentary about bank robber built around gags and routines from his stand up days that was made by a different company and seems to have come adrift from his other films; Play It Again Sam which, even though it was adapted from his play and featured the first on screen pairing with Diane Keaton, doen't count as a Woody because it was directed by Herbert Ross.
By the time this collection drops in on him, he had already had a two decade career in showbusiness behind him working as a gag writer, essayist, playwright, actor (he's the funniest thing in Casino Royale), screenwriter and, most of all, as one of the defining stand up comics of his age. As a stand up he was like a timid Lenny Bruce, a radical who wasn't really sure what he stood for.
I think we can make the case for Allen being the most over rated and overly pampered movie director of our age. The hidden hero of this collection is editor Ralph Rosenblum who came in to sort out Take The Money, when the first cut didn't work and over the course of these films, along with assistant Susan E. Moore who would take over from him as Allen's regular editor, taught Allen a great deal about making comedy work on the big screen.
So what you have here is not the early work of great film maker (a good one certianly, but one too in thrall to his heroes to be truly original) but a collection of some of the funniest material by one of the great comic minds of the twentieth century. There is something definitive about Allen's best line, like they were the perfect expression of a comic idea that had been waiting for someone to give it form. Once he tells a joke, it stays told
Bananas (1971), A freeranging attempt to make a Duck Soup of counterculture politics, set during a revoltion in the south american repbublic of San Marcos.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), a compendium of seven short films based on chapters from the then famous sex manual that is funnier than you remember it being.
Sleeper (1973), Allen wakes up in the future and romances Diane Keaton in spoof of dystopian sci-fi films. Generally held up as the best of the early funny ones but not quite as good as your memory of it. Released individually on 3rd October.
Love and Death (1975), Spoof of Russian literature set during the Napoleonic Wars. Relentlessly hilarious. Released individually on 3rd October.
Annie Hall (1977), his greatest film and one of the best comedies ever. Hilarious lines, brilliant performances, memorable moments and more truthful and insightful about the human condition than all his serious films put together. A little frustrating then that this was the only one they didn't send a review disc of. Oh well, la di da, la di da.
Interiors (1978), the price to be paid for Annie Hall. This heavy drama was well received at the time, probably because people didn't know any better, or what it would be the harbinger of. To be reviewed when it gets an solo release in November.
Exclusive to this collection: Annie Hall and a 100-page hardback book featuring new and archive writing on all the films by Woody Allen, Michael Brooke, Johnny Mains, Kat Ellinger, John Leman Riley, Hannah Hamad and Brad Stevens.