The Woody Allen Thread

[LoathedVermin72]

All right, it must be done. Ranking time:

Masterpiece:
1. Hannah and Her Sisters
2. Radio Days

Great:
3. Crimes and Misdemeanors
4. Love and Death
5. Blue Jasmine

Very Good:
6. Midnight in Paris
7. Sleeper
8. Mighty Aphrodite
9. Manhattan
10. Annie Hall

Good:
11. Shadows and Fog
12. Cassandra's Dream
13. Scoop
14. Sweet and Lowdown
15. Zelig
16. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex*
17. Hollywood Ending

Decent:
18. The Purple Rose of Cairo
19. Broadway Danny Rose
20. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
21. Deconstructing Harry
22. Bananas
23. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
24. Bullets Over Broadway
25. Manhattan Murder Mystery
26. Oedipus Wrecks (sequence from New York Stories)

Mediocre:
27. Take the Money and Run
28. Small Time Crooks
29. To Rome with Love
30. Celebrity

Poor:
31. Whatever Works
32. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
33. Husbands and Wives

Bad:
34. Stardust Memories
35. Match Point

Terrible:
36. Magic in the Moonlight
37. Melinda and Melinda
38. Another Woman

[Citizen Dick]

No Vicky Cristina Barcelona?

[PryTo]

Made this list for a friend a few years ago. Blue Jasmine, which came out since then, is excellent. That one with Rome in the title was so-so. Even his mediocre movies are pretty good. There are a few stinkers, but you have to admire a guy who has written and directed a movie a year for something like 40 years. No one else is anywhere close to this.

Best of the Best
Play it Again, Sam
Love and Death
Annie Hall
Manhattan
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Husbands and Wives
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Bullets Over Broadway
Mighty Aphrodite
Deconstructing Harry
Match Point

Great
Broadway Danny Rose
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Hannah and Her Sisters
Celebrity
Small Time Crooks
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
Hollywood Ending
Midnight in Paris

Good
Take the Money and Run
Bananas
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex
Sleeper
Stardust Memories
A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy
Zelig
Radio Days
Alice
Sweet and Lowdown
Anything Else
Scoop
Vicky Christina Barcelona
Whatever Works
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

Avoid
Interiors
September
Another Woman
Shadows and Fog
Everyone Says I Love You
Cassandra’s Dream
Melinda and Melinda

[BigRedLedbetter]

I really enjoy Anything Else.

[epilogue]

I'm a pretty big fan of Everyone Says I Love You. Far from his best, but I would never put it in the 'avoid' category. I'd also put Midnight in Paris and Vicky Christina Barcelona in the best of the best category. Otherwise, baller list, pry.

[The Argonaut]

PryTo has seen 41 Woody Allen movies! Take that, LV!

[Jorge]

I liked Interiors quite a bit. Why so low?

[Kaius]

I've seen Annie Hall, I think.

[LoathedVermin72]

PryTo has seen 41 Woody Allen movies! Take that, LV!

It's not a competition, Billy Corgan

[lennytheweedwhacker]

i move that we elect pryto the resident woody allen expert...all who agree do not reply to this

[The Argonaut]

PryTo has seen 41 Woody Allen movies! Take that, LV!

It's not a competition, Billy Corgan

If it was a competition, you would have lost.

[LoathedVermin72]

I'll stop antagonizing you now

[The Argonaut]

Sorry. I'll stop antagonizing you now.

I have no idea what you are talking about.

[PryTo]

I really enjoy Anything Else.

A few years back, Quentin Tarantino called it one of his top 20 movies of all time.

http://movieline.com/2009/08/17/quentin ... -all-time/

I liked Interiors quite a bit. Why so low?

He tried to make a "serious" film and it just didn't work for me. He's made some (semi) serious films that I really like. This one just doesn't suit my taste. I think "Shadows and Fog" is the only WA film I'd call unwatchable. I think I tried twice and failed both times. Maybe I should give Interiors another spin. It's been a while.

I'm a pretty big fan of Everyone Says I Love You. Far from his best, but I would never put it in the 'avoid' category. I'd also put Midnight in Paris and Vicky Christina Barcelona in the best of the best category. Otherwise, baller list, pry.

Thanks, mang. If I were making this list today, I'd probably bump Midnight in Paris up to the top category. It's such a wonderful film. Vicky Christina doesn't do a lot for me. I liked Match Point and even Scoop better in the Scar-Jo trilogy. Everyone Says is another attempt at something (a musical) that just doesn't do it for me. When WA tries to do "genre" flicks, he either hits it out of the park or fails miserably. Everyone Says has an awesome cast. Give me the movie minus the songs and I'm all over it. His best films are light and dark comedies. Some of his dramas are outstanding, but the best ones usually have comedic elements. Think of the Alan Alda character/plotline in Crimes and Misdemeanors.

For you fans out there, what would you call his most underrated films? For me, they include Hollywood Ending, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Curse of the Jade Scorpion, and Small Time Crooks. Most of his 70s and 80s movies are (rightfully) lauded, but almost everything he did in the 90s was top shelf (and gets shit on). He's been spottier in recent years, but Blue Jasmine and Midnight in Paris show a filmmaker who continues to work at the height of his powers.

[Orpheus]

I thought Interiors was great.

[Birds in Hell]

Crimes and Misdemeanors is next up.

This was incredible.

[Birds in Hell]

I watched Manhattan again last night for the first time in years.

I hated it. I hated it last time I watched but I thought 'surely I'll enjoy it more now' - no, I think I hated it even more.

It feels like an incredibly tedious, meandering view into the lives of narcissistic, thoroughly unlikeable people.

Visually stunning, sure, but it's not enjoyable for me in the least.

[Birds in Hell]

Watched 'To Rome With Love' tonight.

I know it's gotten some truly rotten reviews but I thought it was light and fun in the best possible way.

[Birds in Hell]

Finally saw Blue Jasmine and it was fantastic.

[epilogue]

I liked Blue Jasmine, but more for the performances than anything else. I don't think it touches his top tier. But it floats toward the top of his middle tier, for sure.

I'm glad you liked it. It was one of those that was split among my group of friends.