Woody Allen's oeuvre ranked (with brief notes)
I've usually seen all but the latest Allen film, as I have shed my long standing practice of automatically going to the cinema to see every film he makes. It's just not worth it any more. I wait for home viewing.
I was a big fan of his work in the 20th century, but like most people, I feel the quality of his work in the new millennium has been, at best "up and down like a whores drawers".
This list contains a few peripheral entries such as Allen documentaries, and "Play It Again Sam", of which Woody wrote the source play, but did not direct.
PS, I read Allen's autobiography "Apropos of Nothing", and thought it quite good.
I was a big fan of his work in the 20th century, but like most people, I feel the quality of his work in the new millennium has been, at best "up and down like a whores drawers".
This list contains a few peripheral entries such as Allen documentaries, and "Play It Again Sam", of which Woody wrote the source play, but did not direct.
PS, I read Allen's autobiography "Apropos of Nothing", and thought it quite good.
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- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenCharlotte RamplingJessica HarperWhile attending a retrospective of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his films.Under-seen Allen gem that flopped when it came out. I was in heaven watching it when I discovered it. A must for Woody fans (that many may not have seen).
It does have a Fellini influence, and Preston Sturges excellent film "Sullivan's Travels" comes to mind as well, but this picture is also pure Woody.
10.0 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsMartin LandauWoody AllenBill BernsteinAn ophthalmologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated with another woman.Prime Woody. Dostoevsky-like, with a bit of comedy as well. Up there at the very highest level with any film ever made.
10.0 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.Prime Woody. A film from tip to tail that only he could have made. This is the "auteur" theory in action. Any five minutes of this film would be easily identified as Woody's work (and certainly one of his best).
10.0 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowDianne WiestMichael CaineBetween two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.A must. Woody is in top form on this one. I remember him saying he thought he copped out on the ending, but most viewers don't mind the ending at all.
9.5 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonJohn BeckA nerdish store owner is revived out of cryostasis into a future world to fight an oppressive government.One of, if not the best of the best of the early "mad-cap" Woody films.
9.3 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonJerry AdlerA middle-aged couple suspects foul play when their neighbor's wife suddenly drops dead.Perhaps the best 'Woody light' film. There is excellent chemistry amongst the cast, and a little relationship pith around the edges.
I also like the homage to 'The Lady From Shanghai' at the end.
9.1 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenMia FarrowNick Apollo ForteIn his attempts to reconcile a lounge singer with his mistress, a hapless talent agent is mistaken as her lover by a jealous gangster.I think we were all impressed that Mia Farrow had the range to pull off her character with such aplomb. It was certainly outside the bounds of what she'd done in the past. Apparently, the character is based on a woman that ran an eatery that Woody and Mia frequented This is a great picture, that sadly gets very little attention.
9.1 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsRebecca HallScarlett JohanssonJavier BardemTwo friends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.I'm surprised to hear that some Woody fans don't like this film. For me, it is the best film of his in the last 15 years. It is a film with an anti-romantic message though. Maybe some don't like that about it.
9.1 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsDiane KeatonGeraldine PageKristin GriffithThree sisters find their lives spinning out of control in the wake of their parents' sudden, unexpected divorce.Woody's first drama is excellent. It's very Ingmar Bergman-like. Bergman is my personal favorite director, and I know his oeuvre well (I have seen 30 of his films). I think Interiors works beautifully.
9.1 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowDianne WiestMike StarrA nostalgic look at radio's golden age focusing on one ordinary family and the various performers in the medium.A lovely nostalgic, warm film. It's got a conventional approach to the storytelling, but there is no weakness here at all.
9.0 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenJanet MargolinMarcel HillaireThe life and times of Virgil Starkwell, inept bank robber.When Woody had finished this film, it ran like a bunch of stand alone gags. An ace veteran editor was brought in to help, and Allen said afterwards that he never learned more from anyone regarding the craft of film making.
8.9 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonMariel HemingwayThe life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.Gordon Willis photographed the film so beautifully. Woody was so displeased with the way the film turned out, versus what was in his mind's eye, he offered to do a film for free if the studio would NOT release Manhattan.
I have found (and a fellow Allen fan agreed) that this film is dating somewhat these days. It would have been in my top three five years ago.
8.9 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenMia FarrowSydney PollackWhen their best friends announce that they're separating, a professor and his wife discover the faults in their own marriage.It has a nouvelle vague influence that I like, and the story and performances are very good. It's a great serious Allen film.
Can you imagine, Mia Farrow had to come back and shoot a few final days on this film AFTER the Soon-Yi scandal. Unbelievable. She is a pro that's for sure!
8.7 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenJudy DavisJulia Louis-DreyfusSuffering from writer's block and eagerly awaiting his writing award, Harry Block remembers events from his past and scenes from his best-selling books as characters, real and fictional, come back to haunt him.A New Wave influenced Allen film that has fictionalized versions of all the main characters, so hence, almost a double cast.
I've enjoyed it every time I've watched it.
8.6 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsJohn CusackDianne WiestJennifer TillyIn New York in 1928, a struggling playwright is forced to cast a mobster's talentless girlfriend in his latest drama in order to get it produced.An excellent lighter Allen film. Dianne Wiest is very funny as the diva.
8.6 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenMia FarrowPatrick Horgan"Documentary" about a man who can look and act like whoever he's around, and meets various famous people.Pseudo-documentary that is technically very well done, funny, and touching, and makes an important point about conformity.
8.6 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsSean PennSamantha MortonWoody AllenIn the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.Penn is great, so is Morton. It is a riff on one of Woody's first ideas for a film script that was to be called 'Jazz Babies'.
8.4 - DirectorHerbert RossStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsA film critic obsessed with Casablanca (1942) seeks to get over his wife leaving him by dating again with the help of a married couple and his illusory idol, Humphrey Bogart.Not directed by Woody, but based on his play. It is a very good film.
8.3 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsOwen WilsonRachel McAdamsKathy BatesWhile on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.'Woody light', done right. It was Allen's biggest box office success.
8.3 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsScarlett JohanssonJonathan Rhys MeyersEmily MortimerAt a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for an actress who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.Different for Woody in that there is no Woody like character in it. I find this to be a very good thriller.
8.3 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsElaine StritchDenholm ElliottMia FarrowAt a summer house in Vermont, neighbor Howard falls in love with Lane, who's in a relationship with Peter, who's falling for Stephanie, who's married with children.The entire film was re-shot, with several parts re-cast, because Allen was so displeased with the result he achieved.
I think this is a very good drama. One could say it's Allen's riff on "Autumn Sonata" by Bergman. Hey, if you're gonna steal, steal from the best...
8.3 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenLouise LasserCarlos MontalbánWhen a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he travels to a tiny Latin American nation and becomes involved in its latest rebellion.Cute madcap comedy that works beautifully, even though it is a bit all over the place.
8.0 - 1985– 3h 12mNot Rated7.7 (5.3K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert B. WeideStarsWoody AllenLetty AronsonMarshall BrickmanA documentary on Woody Allen that trails him on his movie sets and follows him back to Brooklyn as he visits his childhood haunts.Essential viewing for fans. I've read a lot about Woody through the years, and this is a very good doc.
The Stig Bjorkman book "Woody Allen on Woody Allen" though, is even better.
7.5 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsGena RowlandsMia FarrowIan HolmFacing a mid-life crisis, a woman rents an apartment next to a psychiatrist's office to write a new book, only to become drawn to the plight of a pregnant woman seeking that doctor's help.It's a nice watch, and it's mood lingers with me. For some reason though, I don't find it as effective as, say, "Interiors".
7.5 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowJeff DanielsDanny AielloIn 1935 New Jersey, a movie character walks off the screen and into the real world.This film is worshiped by many. I think it's a good film, but no where near Allen's best works with regards to impact, or insight.
7.5