Woody Allen is one of cinema’s most accomplished directors with one of its most complicated and compromised legacies. After establishing himself as a leading comic voice in the late ’60s and early ’70s, he started directing and starring in his own material to sensational reviews and countless awards. Churning out a film almost every year for half a century, he constantly pushed his boundaries to include more dramatic and cinematically compelling material while always staying true to his distinct voice. His writing offered a sharp look at contemporary relationship conflicts and the inner lives of creative, well-educated grown-ups. Few American comic filmmakers of his or any generation turned so deeply to foreign film and classic literature for inspiration. No director has ever worked with a broader array of talented actors.
But Allen’s star has faded: The type of films he created — observational dramedies — have gone out of vogue, relegated to festivals and streaming as a genre, and his own style and writing ossified. In 1992, authorities accused him of sexual assault of his adoptive daughter, a claim hotly debated and investigated to this day. Other problematic aspects of his personal life and storytelling have come to light, muddying a filmography tightly coupled to Allen’s own neurotic persona. Nonetheless, his lifetime output remains an astonishment, deep with brilliant filmmaking, big laughs, and incisive portraiture.
Podcast Episodes
Chronological
- Take the Money and Run (1969) (Very Good)
- Bananas (1971) (Good)
- Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (Nearly Good) – (Short)
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Too Afraid to Ask) (1972) (Not Very Good)
- Play it Again, Sam (1972) (Good) – (Writer only)
- Sleeper (1973) (Nearly Good)
- Love and Death (1975) (Very Good)
- Annie Hall (1977) (Very Good)
- Interiors (1978) (Good)
- Manhattan (1979) (Very Good)
- Stardust Memories (1980) (Exceptionally Good)
- A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982) (Very Good)
- Zelig (1983) (Very Good)
- Broadway Danny Rose (1984) (Exceptionally Good)
- The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) (Exceptionally Good)
- Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) (Very Good)
- Radio Days (1987) (Exceptionally Good)
- September (1987) (Good) – (Podcast)
- Another Woman (1988) (Very Good)
- New York Stories (1989) (Good) – Anthology contribution
- Midnight in Paris (2011) (Very Good)
By Rating
Exceptionally Good (7/8)
- Stardust Memories (1980)
- Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
- The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
- Radio Days (1987)
Very Good (6/8)
- Take the Money and Run (1969)
- Love and Death (1975)
- Annie Hall (1977)
- Manhattan (1979)
- A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982)
- Zelig (1983)
- Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
- Another Woman (1988)
- Midnight in Paris (2011)
Good (5/8)
- Bananas (1971)
- Play it Again, Sam (1972) – (Writer only)
- Interiors (1978)
- September (1987) – (Podcast)
- New York Stories (1989) – (Part of anthology)
Nearly Good (4/8)
Not Very Good (3/8)
Not Seen or Not Rated
- Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
- Alice (1990)
- Shadows and Fog (1991)
- Husbands and Wives (1992)
- Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
- Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
- Don’t Drink the Water (1994)
- Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
- Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
- Deconstructing Harry (1997)
- Antz (1998) – Uncredited writer/actor only
- Celebrity (1998)
- Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
- Small Time Crooks (2000)
- The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
- Hollywood Ending (2002)
- Anything Else (2003)
- Melinda and Melinda (2004)
- Match Point (2005)
- Scoop (2006)
- Cassandra’s Dream (2007)
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
- Whatever Works (2009)
- You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
- To Rome with Love (2012)
- Blue Jasmine (2013)
- Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
- Irrational Man (2015)
- Cafe Society (2016)
- Wonder Wheel (2017)
- A Rainy Day in New York (2019)
- Rifkin’s Festival (2020)
- Coup de chance (2023)
Last Updated
- 9/26/2024
Dan is the founder and head critic of The Goods. Follow Dan on Letterboxd. Join the Discord for updates and discussion.