Woody Allen

10 famous movies of Woody Allen (New York, December 1, 1935, -Actuality)

His real name is Allan Stewart Konigsberg and he changed it to his stage name when he started publishing jokes at the age of 16 in several newspapers in the city. He went on to work as a screenwriter for NBC and later for Sid Cesar. In the 60s a new stage as a comedian would begin. In 1965 he made his debut in the cinema as a screenwriter and actor in What´s New Pussycat? The final result was not satisfactory for him, so he would start his longest and most productive stage as director, screenwriter and actor, seeking independence, total control of his work.

10 famous movies of Woody Allen

1. Take the Money and Run (1969)

His opera prima, a fake documentary, format to which he will return in Zelig (1983). Based mainly on the slapstick comedy based on visual gags, you can already appreciate some of the characteristics that will be repeated throughout his filmography: his portrait of the loser as main character or absurd humor.

2. Love and Death (1975)

You might consider the last film of his first stage, which also include Bananas (1971) and The Sleeper (1973), all of them based on visual humor, although we can appreciate an evolution towards what will be his next stage. In this film appears the monologue resource addressing the viewer, which will be one of the distinguishing elements of his next film: Annie Hall (1977).

3. Annie Hall (1977)

The film that consecrates him internationally, granting him the status of “serious” director, within the world of comedy. As much the public, as the critic and even the prizes, winning the four main Oscars (Film, Director, Original Script, Main actress), made the academy give itself up to him.

At a visual level, he will propose some resources that until then were little used, such as leaving the characters off camera, while we listen to their dialogues for a few seconds before they appear on the scene.

She will also be the first to draw the prototypical character of her cinema (whom he refuses to recognize as an alter ego): the New Yorker, hypochondriac, insecure and cynical.

4. Manhattan (1979)

Possibly his most romantic film and one of the ones that has best portrayed the city of New York. Shot in black and white, something that will repeat in other films like Stardust (1980), probably as a small tribute to European cinema, to directors like Bergman or Fellini, of whom he declares himself an admirer. The city becomes another character.

However, this is one of the films that the director least appreciates, as he has stated on several occasions, although it is one of the most valued by the public.

5. Hannah and her sisters (Hannah and Her Sisters) (1986)

Three stories crossed, around three sisters and their family. Led by Mia Farrow in the stage of common collaboration and as a couple that lasted between 1982 and 1992.

The film takes the opportunity to address topics such as love, passion, art or death, constant throughout Allen´s filmography.

The movie got Oscar award for both Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest as a supporting actor and actress, which shows the talent of Allen in the direction of actors and actresses, since this award will be obtained again by Dianne Wiest in Bullets on Broadway (1994) , Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Penélope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), as well as Cate Blanchet in the category of leading actress by Blue Jasmine (2013)

6. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Mix of comedy and drama, again with stories that end up coinciding, whose main theme is crime and its consequences. In this movie the criminal can escape without punishment, which will develop more accurately and dramatically in Match Point (2005).

7. Husbands and Wives (1992)

Last of the films that would shoot with Mia Farrow, precisely showed them both as a marriage involved in a situation of doubts and changes of couple.

Formally it is a totally different work from the previous ones. Allen wanted to try a more modern and risky visual approach, filming with a more dynamic rhythm than usual in his previous films, a style of camera on the shoulder, typical of younger filmmakers.

8. Bullets on Broadway (Bullets over Broadway) (1994)

An acid reflection on the world of theater and the supposed intellectuality, framed in the 20s. On the hypocrisy and the imposture of what is understood as the field of creativity, the spectacle.

It contains an ingenious and ironic narrative turn, another of Allen’s characteristics, which means that in some of his films the idea is above the final result.

9. Match Point (2005)

His most recent critical and public success, a factor less common in his career.

It is his most rounded drama, after several failed attempts as Interiors (1978), September (1986) or Another Woman (1988). A great admirer of Ingmar Bergman, has tried to approach the depth of his dramas without success, until this film. Without losing his personal stamp, since fine irony is present in this film. He reflects on the possibility of committing a crime and emerge unscathed.

10. Midnight in Paris (2011)

After his European tour that would close with “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008), Allen would return to this city to shoot his next two films.

In 2011 he returns to Europe, to one of his favorite cities on the continent: Paris. There rolls a magical story, wrapped in the nostalgia and romanticism of the 20s, a time for which the director feels a special fascination. A journey in time loaded with glamor and style with some of the characters that became almost myths in the “Belle Epoque”.