herbiehancock

No 76 - Manhattan Director - Woody Allen The thing that I like about Woody Allen is that, as unlikely as it sounds, he is a massive ladies man. I kind of like that, because he really doesn't look or act like he should be. And so, a certain part of me assumes that his films are a form of wish fulfilment, that he can use them to cast beautiful women around him. But no, this happened in real life too. Yet he seems such an unappealing prospect - in this film maybe even more than others. Woody Allen is famed for being whiny and neurotic, it is his shtick. However, his character Isaac is REALLY whiny and neurotic, even more so than usual. Or maybe it is the fact that Manhattan is a little bit more serious in tone than some of the other Allen films on the list. Therefore, his neuroses aren't countered by the oddness of the humour and subsequently come out into the foreground. The film follows Isaac, who has recently gone through some awkward divorces and is now dating a 17 year old ...

No 301 - Love and Death Director - Woody Allen I humbly apologise - I saw the this film (and indeed Clockwork Orange) ages ago and haven't had the time to write up my blogs. A few days have passed so these may be briefer and far more rambly blogs (as the film isn't completely fresh in my mind - I've watched an entire series of Glee ) I don't know much about Woody Allen's back canon of work, although I feel I have been saying that about a lot of directors, maybe I'm not as much of a geek as I thought I was. I did know that his work was about the neurotic New York schtick in the city of New York. I did not expect a period piece about the Russians planning to assassinate Napoleon . And yet, throughout this Allen plays the same role, the neurotic, Jewish, New Yorker and somehow it works. In fact, throughout the period drama, Allen litters it with 70's Americana such as the Jive Talking Black Cliche Drill Sergent in the Russian Army. The deliberate anachronisms...

No 68 - Annie Hall Director - Woody Allen I woke up this morning, the day after valentines and I wandered downstairs only to find someone had entered my house since I'd fallen asleep at 1:30, and was subsequently asleep on my sofa. So, rather than roll things up into giant balls I thought I would take my tea upstairs and go back to bed. So I did. And I thought I would watch the birth, life and death of (and finally recovery from) a relationship. A suitable choice for this valentines weekend. I have never really watched any Woody Allen films, but knew a little bit what to expect: neuroses , therapy and lots of girls with women. And yes, it is all there. But this film is brilliant. It is not just a simple love story - it is an intelligent and topsy turvy film that uses dozens of cinematic tricks and quirks in order to make the story come to life. The film begins with Allen's character, Alvy Singer, speaking directly to the camera and essentially delivering a stand up comedy ro...