# favorite Woody Allen movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-woody-allen-movies/663993 "2013-07-20T00:44:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-woody-allen-movies/663993/61 "2013-07-25T16:45:02Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Seriously? :smack: Read the thread. Well, the thing about _Zelig_ is that it blends seamlessly into the background of movie threads. It’s safe. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-woody-allen-movies/663993/62 "2013-07-26T12:20:46Z")
OK, I may have skimmed the thread & that one didn’t stick. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-woody-allen-movies/663993/63 "2013-07-30T03:39:34Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > On a side note, we just picked up _Woody Allen: A Documentary_ but have not had a chance to watch it yet. That came out last year I believe? Has anyone seen that yet? > [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > watch it and come back and post! I’d be interested. We watched the first half last night. I was under the misapprehension that the whole thing ran just under two hours, but no, that’s just the first half. It’s 3 hours and 15 minutes total! It was too late to watch Part 2 last night, so we’ll save that for next weekend. I’m thinking this may have run on TV since the first half ends with complete credits. But it’s great. Part 1 covers childhood to 1980 and _Stardust Memories_. Much of it I’d read before in _Woody Allen: A Biography_, by Eric Lax, who’s also interviewed in the documentary. One tidbit I had forgotten but am amused by is that Woody so hated _Manhattan_ that he offered to make his next film for free if the studio would not release it. The stuidio thankfully did not take him up on his offer. Again, we’ll watch the second part next weekend, but here are a couple of quibbles so far. One is the documentary makes no mention of the fact that Woody was an amateur magician and had a magic act for a while or that this was one of the things that cemented his close friendship with fellow amateur magician Dick Cavett, also interviewed. Another is that they completely skip over [The Front](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074554/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_2) (1976), a fantastic film and the only one of his annual offerings that he neither wrote nor directed. They make a big deal of his transition from pure jokiness with _Annie Hall_ in 1977, but I believe _The Front_ must have played a part in setting him on that path. But these are minor. The documentary is great so far, and we eagerly await Part 2. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-woody-allen-movies/663993/64 "2013-08-10T02:13:35Z")
We did watch the second part. No interviews with Mia Farrow, unsurprisingly. Nor with Soon-yi but there is footage of her with Woody at Cannes, and she’s looking older herself. When did we all grow so old? ☹ But Woody himself looks pretty spry for mid-70’s. And considering his father lived to 100 and his mother almost as long, we may be able to expect many more productive years from him. The documentary is indeed 3 hours and and 15 minutes long in all, and I highly recommend it. Another thing we liked is Woody expounding on his theory that if he just throws out a movie once every year, then he’ll have a few misses and have a few that some people really like. But he doubts he’ll ever have a really enormous hit. He says this just before _Midnight in Paris_ debuts, which, as the documentary carefully details, became an enormous hit. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-woody-allen-movies/663993/65 "2013-08-10T02:44:31Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > But he doubts he’ll ever have a really enormous hit. He says this just before _Midnight in Paris_ debuts, which, as the documentary carefully details, became an enormous hit. Blue Jasmine’s first couple of weeks are apparently ahead of Midnight in Paris. With Cate Blanchett being touted as a likely Oscar nominee, its grosses may be equal or better. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-woody-allen-movies/663993/66 "2013-08-10T02:46:47Z")
That has not shown over here yet. We’re looking forward to seeing it. I hope it does show. It can be hit or miss whether they screen a Woody Allen film over here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-woody-allen-movies/663993.md?page=3)