This one has been around for ages, and it’s amazing it took us this long to get around to it. It’s a very funny interview with UK’s Granada Television in 1971. The footage was unaired and is presented in raw, uncut form. Because its unedited, it gives a fascinating insight into Allen under pressure.
The interview gets extremely funny. It is amazing how fast Allen’s mind works. The poor presenter is trying his best, but is forced to cut many times. Allen also looks tired, and expresses how much he dislikes promotion. He is just getting the hang of getting full creative control, and these sorts of interviews would be few and far between after this.
Amazingly, he gives nothing away about Bananas, the film he is promoting, preferring instead to make jokes all the way. But we wonder how much he is joking when he says there’s nothing good about What’s New Pussycat? or Casino Royale. What sounds like a joke – that he doesn’t watch a frame of his own films – is, of course, true.
In the end, this is just really funny. Lots of great lines, seemingly written on the spot. It’s great to see such talent, in raw uncut form.
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The interviewer in this clip is actually Johnnie Hamp, the producer of ‘Cinema’ who also produced ‘The Woody Allen Show’ on British TV in ’65. He has given an exclusive interview to comedian Matt Roper revealing the background to this session: http://www.cinemasauce.com/all-about-woody