Series: Woody Allen

Woody Allen is one of cinema’s most accomplished directors

Ever visited a city and felt so entranced by it that you start imagining yourself living there? Wandering the streets and living out some long-lost glory years?

Here’s a quick rundown of the three films in this anthology:

On the one hand, I might have over-binged on Woody Allen movies in the past three months. Some of his themes and rhythms of writing are starting to seem repetitive and shallow to the point I rolled my eyes a few times. On the other hand, this a pretty marvelous art house drama. “Bergman-esque” is […]

September is a minor Woody Allen drama, though there is plenty to like.

Radio Days is the Woody Allen version of a coming-of-age hangout movie, told in vignettes. These stories weave together compellingly, giving the film narrative heft despite its episodic nature. Most pre- and mid-World War 2 period pieces show the country in grayish, dusty tones, but this is absolutely vibrant and sentimental. The cast is huge […]

Hannah and Her Sisters, the second drama by Woody Allen after a long string of comedies, is a fantastically crafted slice-of-life drama of three sisters with interlocking lives.

If you love movies and escapism and romance, go watch this film. Hugely entertaining and also smart as hell, brilliantly made, and delightfully acted. A movie character hops out of the screen and falls for a film-obsessed local girl, and the line between reality and cinema blur. Daniels and Farrow are great. Kind of like […]

Broadway Danny Rose is Woody Allen at his peak filmmaking powers. The framing story of wiseacres narrating the story gives the movie a tall tale-like feeling. Mia Farrow is amazing and completely transformed, and Gordon Willis’s black and white photography is intoxicating. World-class stuff. The straightforward romantic comedy elements are elevated by melancholic thematic guts, […]

As a technical exercise, this is truly astonishing: