my love affair with woody allen (pt. 2)

Woody in Black & White

It's not over, folks. I feel like I have five or six more entries on him, but maybe I should intersperse them with entries on less offensive material. ;) The thing is, I don't have anything written on how much I adore Woody's movies, at least not since high school. So these entries are for me, and for the record of my love for his work. I am compelled to recap every little detail for you about each film, but in hopes to keep some of you reading, I will try to concentrate my efforts on highlighting what's important.


Woody Allen adores black & white movies. As far as I can tell, without combing the internet for absolute knowledge, that he did 8 movies in black & white himself. My favorite, of course, Manhattan, being one. He only seemed to use the black & white as an indicator of set and time once, when he used it for Zelig, which was set in the 1920s. He made the whole film feel like it was old, with shakiness, and grainy film, and a magnificent voice over.

• Zelig (1983), is another favorite of mine. Stars Woody as this chameleon of chracters, changing personality when his social group changes. Mia Farrow plays his psychiatrist. It's done in this mockumentary style of filmmaking which touches my heart (Waiting for Guffman is my other favorite mockumentary. SOOO funny!). They wrote several little jigs for this movie: "Leonard the Lizard" and "Doin' the Chameleon". Truly adorable.

• Match Point (2005) Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers star as a young couple in London. Scarlett is the American femme fatale -- go figure! Woody has found his new starlet (previously filled by Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow) in Scarlett. This film doesn't star Woody at all, and doesn't even have a Woody-esque character. It's a clean, tight film with great dialogue and a fun plot; it's appealing for most audiences. Me, on the other hand, felt it was missing something.

• Celebrity (1998) Charlize Theron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kenneth Branagh - fun cast about celebrities and the wild life. Meh. I must say though, this was my first Woody movie in New York City, which at the time, was HUUUUGE for me!

• Shadows and Fog (1992) As pictured above, this one has a phenom cast: Mia, John Cusack, Jodie Foster, Lily Tomlin, Madonna!, John Malkovich, and Woody. It's dark and a little creepy with a murderer on the loose, oooh with loose women around as well! Hahaha! It's a classic!

• Broadway Danny Rose (1984) Not one of my favorites, BUT, Mia Farrow's portrayal as the Jersey mob girl is hilarious!
  
• Stardust Memories (1980) I've only seen this one once, but I adored it's sly humor. Woody plays an auteur filmmaker (big stretch!). He really toys with this whole idea of the idiot savant here though, and this mental vacancy both in men and women. People are running him down in this movie, yelling 'we miss your earlier funnier films'. Teehee! Priceless. I honestly think this is Woody paying homage to another fantastic b&w movie about movies: 8 1/2.

• Interiors (1978) This was Woody's first SERIOUS movie. It's quiet, overly referencing of quiet films ala Ingmar Bergman, and very serious. Family drama. It's meaningful and sad, but yeah, I wouldn't recommend it to many. One of the best lines ever came from this movie though: You'll live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to. Black and white is perfect in this film -- cold, austere, flat. Fantastic choice!