Here's a sure fire way of evaluating someone's film taste and independence: ask them if they like You Can Count On ME (see in Films Worth Watching to the right) or Woody Allen movies. Mention of Mr Konigsberg will usually illicit, "only his funny old movies" or "I hate him that, pedophile." Notice the latter statement has little to do with his films.
I recently heard a scathing review of Woody Allen's latest on Fresh Air by David Edelstein . Never have I heard such venom towards a film maker, one of the greats, or artist. You would think he was reviewing a D.W.Griffith film or should I say Fatty Arbuckle?!
Woody Allen wears his intellect and emotions, and private life on his sleeve in film, not publicly. For this bravery his art is treated as a degenerate (Jewish?). In his forty or so films he has made some misogynist, boring and awful films. But he has also made films that changed film- Annie Hall/Manhattan, make you pee in your pants from laughter-Sleeper/Love and Death, challenge your views of morality and family-Crimes and Misdemeanors/Hannah and Her Sisters. He makes lots of films and some of them are clunkers but for this does he deserve the scorn that even high school students can parrot without even seeing any of his films? I think not.
I.F. Stone asked for some good WA films from the last 15 years. Here are my choices:
Sweet and Lowdown
Everyone Says I Love You
Shadows and Fog
Crimes and Misdemeanors
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2 comments:
You laughed pretty hard at Small Time Crooks as well .... don't be afraid to admit it ...
I forgot all about that movie. Very funny.
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