All things Woody Allen – a fansite, news and reviews
There’s a fair amount of hoopla surrounding A Rainy Day In New York, the 48th film written and directed by Woody Allen. Putting that nonsense aside, the film is possibly the most “Woody Allen” of his recent films. Having recently said he only wanted to pursue dramas, he goes back on that to deliver a […]
Morality. Right and Wrong. Meaning in life. Woody Allen has been playing around with those concepts from the start of his career. For much of it, he played it for laughs, but he has become ever more serious in his later years. Irrational Man is a brutal film, very small and very precise in making […]
Magic In The Moonlight is Allen’s 44th feature film, made in the South of France. Anchored by a great screenplay and some strong performances, the film really dances with its scenery, costumes and overall escapism. It’s a crowd pleaser that lacks the killer wallop of some of Allen’s best work, but it’s a joyous getaway […]
Picking Up The Pieces is a farcical, gross out comedy directed by Alfonso Arau. Woody Allen essentially leads a big cast in a story about a severed hand bringing miracles to a small town. Widely regarded as a disaster, it actually shows Allen having fun at least. Woody Allen stars as Tex Cowley, a butcher […]
Antz takes the honour of being the most financially successful film in Woody Allen’s career. Made at a time when the idea of animation changed radically, Allen starred as an ant with big ideas to change his own station. This family friendly film still holds up, with a classic hero’s story and some pretty great […]
John Turturro writes, directs and stars in Fading Gigolo a tender comedy about lonely people in a big city. Co-starring Woody Allen, it’s a big hearted crowd pleaser, with a strong cast, strong script and a unique sensibility. Turturro stars as Fioravante, a part time florist, plumber, book shop clerk and more. His old friend […]
Released in 1991, Scenes From A Mall was a low budget, low key distraction. A mostly terrible film, it lacks any real memorable moments, buried under televisual and dated production values. A romantic comedy that is not very romantic or funny. Woody Allen stars as Nick Fifer, sports agent and husband. It’s his anniversary, and […]
‘Oedipus Wrecks‘ is the Woody Allen section of the anthology film New York Stories (the other parts are by Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola). Running around 40 minutes, it was the last of three short films. It’s feels like a sketch that would exist in one of Allen’s own anthology film – but is […]
Directed by Martin Ritt, and released between Love And Death and Annie Hall, The Front is a wonderful drama with comedic elements. As Allen was ending his run of slapstick films before embarking on something more thoughtful, he starred in this film that explored the Hollywood Blacklist. It’s an all round great film, and one […]
Released at the height of the swinging sixties, Casino Royale is a parody of the popular James Bond series. Clocking in at 2 hours, 11 minutes, it’s far too long. Fine performances and high production values can’t save the film from its meandering, incoherent nature. David Niven plays the original James Bond, although the film […]
Play It Again, Sam is the most Woody Allen film that he did not direct. It is perhaps the only must-watch of what we call Allen’s ‘other films‘, as he is the star and he wrote both the film (and the stage play before it). A tender story of (then) modern love, it was Allen’s […]
The brainchild of Woody Allen, What’s Up, Tiger Lily? is a completely re-dubbed Japanese action film, making it a bizarre, and occasionally absurd, comedy. It is a one trick pony, and even with its short running time, starts to tire too quickly. Woody Allen and friends (including his wife Louise Lasser and Frank Buxton) dub […]
In 1965, having made a living of being a TV funny man, Allen took his very first film credit, writing (or indeed rewriting) the script for What’s New Pussycat?. Allen also appears on screen, although very little of the sophistication he would later bring to his films is on show here. A straight ahead bawdy […]
Why didn’t it happen earlier? Woody Allen and Paris are a perfect match. For the first time in a long time, Allen puts his hard cynicism aside and he is actually having fun for 90 odd minutes. Helped by an excellent cast, Midnight In Paris is a perfect Woody Allen film. Owen Wilson stars as […]
Woody Allen returns to London for a sprawling morality tale in You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. With a big star cast, he explores one of his oldest themes, that whatever delusion you can use to get through life makes you happy – or that ignorance is bliss. Playing out over the lives of […]
Woody Allen rightly has a great reputation for writing great roles for women. For men, he is often perceived as writing variations of his famous persona. In Whatever Works, Allen returns to New York and creates one of his most interesting characters – but treads familiar ground. Larry David stars as Boris Yelnikoff, as big […]
Woody Allen’s London period became a European period with Vicky Cristina Barcelona. And unlike his London films, which were re-written from American settings, Spain is a deep part of this film. A mix of romance and morality, it is rightly considered one of the highlights of his later career. Rebecca Hall stars as Vicky, and […]
Cassandra’s Dream marks Woody Allen’s third film in a row in London. It’s another serious morality tale – with not a hint of Allen’s wit on show. Featuring original score, it’s an intense and bizarre film – that ultimately doesn’t work. Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor star as Terry and Ian, two brothers with big […]
Allen returns to London for something a lot more light hearted and silly. Scoop is a murder mystery caper done for farce, and one of Allen’s rare comedies in his later career. Woody Allen stars as Sid Waterman, also known as The Great Splendini. An American magician on tour in London, he meets a young […]
Match Point looms large in the legend of Woody Allen. His first film set solely in Europe, it saw a big departure for Allen, after a period of being in the outs with the critics and audiences. Having played around with light comedies for several films, he also crafted one of his most serious films […]