Spend any amount of time in online film spaces, and you’ve inevitably seen people spread this quote of Orson Welles talking about Woody Allen: “To me, it’s the most embarrassing thing in the world — a man who presents himself at his worst to get laughs, in order to free himself from his hang-ups.
I just haven't read anything contemporary about Woody Allen that made so much sense. Adam Gopniks piece about Allen from the late 90s sort of gets what I love about Allen's films, but this article, by its acute comparison, is extremely generative for thinking about the effect his films have as films. Truffaut also wrote a small piece about Annie Hall, which gets Annie Hall too. It's hard to believe how people dismiss Annie Hall, and people somehow prefer When Harry Met Sally, or even the Albert Brooks movies which I am yet to appreciate. Earlier today I read Penelope Gilliat's thoughts on Annie Hall, likewise wonderful. I hope you write more about Allen, and other films which are obviously influential, but scare people away from casual, insightful analysis for varied reasons. Thank you! Much enjoyed.
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it so much! I’m going to look for the Truffaut, Gopnik, and Gilliat pieces about Woody Allen/Annie Hall. And yes, I’m not going to shy away from writing about certain works or directors because they’re “problematic,” and I’m not going to apologize for liking them. I’m so tired of that line of thinking. If we didn’t engage with works because someone involved was problematic, we’d have nothing to talk about! I’m going to watch more Woody Allen films, but I already have another piece about Allen brewing, so stay tuned 😁
Agreed. I've never related to any character more than when Annie says, "Oh, god, Annie. Well, oh, well. Ha ha. La di da, la di da," and disappointedly walks out of the tennis club. I think about that scene at least once a week.
I found Alvy's pessimistic outlook on life just very relatable in general, lol. But also the scene after they've played tennis and she says, do you wanna lift? And they have this whole awkward back and forth because she worded it weird (she clearly just wanted to spend more time with him) was so relatable. Haven't we all been in a similarly awkward conversation
I just haven't read anything contemporary about Woody Allen that made so much sense. Adam Gopniks piece about Allen from the late 90s sort of gets what I love about Allen's films, but this article, by its acute comparison, is extremely generative for thinking about the effect his films have as films. Truffaut also wrote a small piece about Annie Hall, which gets Annie Hall too. It's hard to believe how people dismiss Annie Hall, and people somehow prefer When Harry Met Sally, or even the Albert Brooks movies which I am yet to appreciate. Earlier today I read Penelope Gilliat's thoughts on Annie Hall, likewise wonderful. I hope you write more about Allen, and other films which are obviously influential, but scare people away from casual, insightful analysis for varied reasons. Thank you! Much enjoyed.
Thank you, I’m glad you liked it so much! I’m going to look for the Truffaut, Gopnik, and Gilliat pieces about Woody Allen/Annie Hall. And yes, I’m not going to shy away from writing about certain works or directors because they’re “problematic,” and I’m not going to apologize for liking them. I’m so tired of that line of thinking. If we didn’t engage with works because someone involved was problematic, we’d have nothing to talk about! I’m going to watch more Woody Allen films, but I already have another piece about Allen brewing, so stay tuned 😁
Agreed. I've never related to any character more than when Annie says, "Oh, god, Annie. Well, oh, well. Ha ha. La di da, la di da," and disappointedly walks out of the tennis club. I think about that scene at least once a week.
I found Alvy's pessimistic outlook on life just very relatable in general, lol. But also the scene after they've played tennis and she says, do you wanna lift? And they have this whole awkward back and forth because she worded it weird (she clearly just wanted to spend more time with him) was so relatable. Haven't we all been in a similarly awkward conversation