Thursday, March 22, 2007
Woody Allen’s Annie Hall is 30 years old
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Why this homage to Woody Allen, not a neighbor and not-too-lovable a person? Well, he has been using our tree-rich and charming East 17th Street, between Park Ave South and 2nd Ave as the scene of some of his 49 movies for the last three decades, a nuisance for street-parkers but a source of some small civic pride. Although tour guides recognize only the Hotel 17 (225 East 17th) as a locale, dubbed Hotel Waldron for Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), a number of Allen’s more anonymous shots over the years have utilized both exteriors and interiors, mostly across the street from the touristy hotel.
Annie Hall (1977) is Allen’s growing-up piece, an autobiography and recital of his relationship with Diane Keaton (real name Diane Hall), who won an Oscar for her performance, as did Allen for directing, Allen and Marshall Brickman for the script, and the movie itself. No longer just a comedy, as in the preceding movies dating from 1965, he presents a life story of attitudes to existence, the biography of a modern cool bon-vivant, frequently hurt, unable to make commitments, yet wanting to keep the relationships forever. A tennis pickup of actress Annie Hall ends with a breakup, which he justifies (“relationship is like a shark, it has to move forward or it dies; we have a dead shark”) but actually lasts forever (“it’s like when I complained to my analyst that my brother has turned into a chicken, and he said to turn him in, and I replied that we need the eggs.”). Trite but believable, the Allen-Alvy Singer character is charming and speaks the truth, attracts women and men like flypaper, never stops dealing philosophy (“the world is divided into horrible – those with incurable illnesses – and miserable –the rest of us; be happy that you are just miserable”) and quips. He has a16-yr history of seeing shrinks (“I’ll give him one more year, and then I’m going to Lourdes”), and two broken marriages, and has thought of suicide (“but I was in analysis with a strict Freudian, and if you kill yourself they make you pay for the sessions you missed”) , and she is just starting in theatre. He tries to stop her from using marijuana (“if you have to feel good to make love, I’ll get you sodium pentothal. Me? If I have grass or alcohol I get too wonderful for words, and I am wonderful enough”), destroys a friend’s supply of coke by sneezing (biggest laugh scene) and muddles through life by talking, talking , talking. Allen, in Annie Hall, has the longest dialogues in movie history, not unlike the Jean-Luc Godard’s Cinema Verite 1963 standout, Contempt, featuring Brigitte Bardot and Jack Palance. Allen’s style probably gave impetus to the Seinfeld series featuring similar louche metroplex characters who don’t cook, nor marry, nor have children, and who remain adolescents forever.
Alvy Singer has opinions of literature (“I’m sick of reading Dysentery – that’s Commentary and Dissent ”) and poets (“Sylvia Plath’s tragic suicide is interpreted as romantic by college girl mentality”), a college dropout’s take of schools (“everything our parents said was good for us is bad – sun, red meat, milk ..college”) , college teachers and courses (‘the jerk ho teaches you Contemporary Crisis in Western Men - or is it Existentialist Motifs In Russian Literature - next thing you know he will have his hand on your butt. I have been resentful of David ever since you mentioned his name? Ah, you call him David already: and does he call you Bathsheba?”). He is restless (“I can’t have a mellow evening, if I get mellow I ripen and rot”), a faith purist (“I can’t get with any religion that advertises in Popular Mechanics” ) and distrusts politicians (“LBJ is a politician, and their ethics are a notch underneath child molesters”) but he does not dwell on it.
The follow-up movie, Manhattan (1979, same writers), continues on the same themes, more intensely. The Allen character, Isaac, has a 17-year old high school student girlfriend Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), whom he encourages to seek new friends as he develops his new relationship (Diane Keaton), while ex-wife (Meryl Streep) writes a book about their life. Sort of forecast of future events? But the Keaton affair does not last, and Tracy will not come back.
Allen Stewart Konigsberg (b. 1935) started writing comedy for Sid Caesar and Ed Sullivan at 16, was a standup-comedian in 1960, wrote short stories for the New Yorker, and his first movie What’s New , Pussycat, in 1965. A year after that came his first play Don’t Drink the Water, three years later Play It Again, Sam, with comedy movies written acted and directed by Allen following uninterruptedly. Annie Hall was the landmark, a true personal chronicle, while the sequel movie, Manhattan, is more mechanical, with routine New York scenes and music interspersed. Hectic personal life notwithstanding, Woody Allen continues writing and directing. Match Point (2005) a tragicomedy with Scarlett Johanssen and a nihilistic message, is his most recent success.Congrats!
Correction: The Tilden Democratic Club’s Anniversary dinner is on April 26. My apologies.
Why this homage to Woody Allen, not a neighbor and not-too-lovable a person? Well, he has been using our tree-rich and charming East 17th Street, between Park Ave South and 2nd Ave as the scene of some of his 49 movies for the last three decades, a nuisance for street-parkers but a source of some small civic pride. Although tour guides recognize only the Hotel 17 (225 East 17th) as a locale, dubbed Hotel Waldron for Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), a number of Allen’s more anonymous shots over the years have utilized both exteriors and interiors, mostly across the street from the touristy hotel.
Annie Hall (1977) is Allen’s growing-up piece, an autobiography and recital of his relationship with Diane Keaton (real name Diane Hall), who won an Oscar for her performance, as did Allen for directing, Allen and Marshall Brickman for the script, and the movie itself. No longer just a comedy, as in the preceding movies dating from 1965, he presents a life story of attitudes to existence, the biography of a modern cool bon-vivant, frequently hurt, unable to make commitments, yet wanting to keep the relationships forever. A tennis pickup of actress Annie Hall ends with a breakup, which he justifies (“relationship is like a shark, it has to move forward or it dies; we have a dead shark”) but actually lasts forever (“it’s like when I complained to my analyst that my brother has turned into a chicken, and he said to turn him in, and I replied that we need the eggs.”). Trite but believable, the Allen-Alvy Singer character is charming and speaks the truth, attracts women and men like flypaper, never stops dealing philosophy (“the world is divided into horrible – those with incurable illnesses – and miserable –the rest of us; be happy that you are just miserable”) and quips. He has a16-yr history of seeing shrinks (“I’ll give him one more year, and then I’m going to Lourdes”), and two broken marriages, and has thought of suicide (“but I was in analysis with a strict Freudian, and if you kill yourself they make you pay for the sessions you missed”) , and she is just starting in theatre. He tries to stop her from using marijuana (“if you have to feel good to make love, I’ll get you sodium pentothal. Me? If I have grass or alcohol I get too wonderful for words, and I am wonderful enough”), destroys a friend’s supply of coke by sneezing (biggest laugh scene) and muddles through life by talking, talking , talking. Allen, in Annie Hall, has the longest dialogues in movie history, not unlike the Jean-Luc Godard’s Cinema Verite 1963 standout, Contempt, featuring Brigitte Bardot and Jack Palance. Allen’s style probably gave impetus to the Seinfeld series featuring similar louche metroplex characters who don’t cook, nor marry, nor have children, and who remain adolescents forever.
Alvy Singer has opinions of literature (“I’m sick of reading Dysentery – that’s Commentary and Dissent ”) and poets (“Sylvia Plath’s tragic suicide is interpreted as romantic by college girl mentality”), a college dropout’s take of schools (“everything our parents said was good for us is bad – sun, red meat, milk ..college”) , college teachers and courses (‘the jerk ho teaches you Contemporary Crisis in Western Men - or is it Existentialist Motifs In Russian Literature - next thing you know he will have his hand on your butt. I have been resentful of David ever since you mentioned his name? Ah, you call him David already: and does he call you Bathsheba?”). He is restless (“I can’t have a mellow evening, if I get mellow I ripen and rot”), a faith purist (“I can’t get with any religion that advertises in Popular Mechanics” ) and distrusts politicians (“LBJ is a politician, and their ethics are a notch underneath child molesters”) but he does not dwell on it.
The follow-up movie, Manhattan (1979, same writers), continues on the same themes, more intensely. The Allen character, Isaac, has a 17-year old high school student girlfriend Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), whom he encourages to seek new friends as he develops his new relationship (Diane Keaton), while ex-wife (Meryl Streep) writes a book about their life. Sort of forecast of future events? But the Keaton affair does not last, and Tracy will not come back.
Allen Stewart Konigsberg (b. 1935) started writing comedy for Sid Caesar and Ed Sullivan at 16, was a standup-comedian in 1960, wrote short stories for the New Yorker, and his first movie What’s New , Pussycat, in 1965. A year after that came his first play Don’t Drink the Water, three years later Play It Again, Sam, with comedy movies written acted and directed by Allen following uninterruptedly. Annie Hall was the landmark, a true personal chronicle, while the sequel movie, Manhattan, is more mechanical, with routine New York scenes and music interspersed. Hectic personal life notwithstanding, Woody Allen continues writing and directing. Match Point (2005) a tragicomedy with Scarlett Johanssen and a nihilistic message, is his most recent success.Congrats!
Correction: The Tilden Democratic Club’s Anniversary dinner is on April 26. My apologies.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 7:38 PM 
