Heh heh :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by groucho070
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Heh heh :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by groucho070
Same here, and the key word is "liked". Fellini's might be far superior by canons of filmmaking.Quote:
I liked Woody's Fellinesque "Stardust Memories" more than I liked Fellini's 81/2.
I voted for Stardust memories, and then I notice only 2 votes have been lodged. the other being for Annie hall. It doesn't surprise me as Woody has made so many films, and a good little portion are equally great. It's a tough choice.
I still haven't voted :(
Can't make up my mind. I always have weakness over the early straight comedies. But some of the idaiveelai films are awesome too...decisions, decisions....
A singular favorite WA film is pretty difficult. This week would be Stardust, but the moment you revisit his other great films, the latest fills the slot.
Hmm....Stardust...I never dug it. Off my mind now...it got to be Crimes. Great combination of good comedy, tragedy and some cerebral stuff to boot.
:exactly:Quote:
Originally Posted by kid-glove
True but then again Cuba won an oscar for "Jerry Maguire" :confused2: :roll:Quote:
Originally Posted by kid-glove
For that I am greatful. Reason being the thank you speeches are shorter now :twisted:Quote:
Originally Posted by Querida
Watched Crimes again
Would like to change my vote now
Hannah and Her Sisters
One of his best.
The variety of characters. Woody's intro - chil molestation, everybody's doing it :lol: The chapter titlings, Michael Caine, the one scene characters too (not a sofa, an ottoman :lol:),
Woody's disastrous date, the play reading , the open-ended last line,the scene where he takes the stuff out of his shopping bag: a crucifix, a framed photo (of Mary ?), bread and marmalade (?) :lol:, shopping for clothes before the musical audition.
I am in New York City, surrounded by traffic and restaurants...how can I just vanish :lol2:
Was reminded a bit of Cries and Whispers. Don't know why. Sisters, togetherness, mutual differences, austereness, the men in their lives, death. Perhaps only marginally overlapping.
enakku BergmanE vEndAm, I will have it after Woody processes the heavy themes for me.
annikkE sonnAngO periyavanga aazhamA sonnAngo
aththaiyE aaNNAthE thaNNi ooththi lightA sonnAru
Ok I didn't understand your reactions to my post then :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by kid-glove
You are right about the overlaps, but I guess it can treated as his the Woody genre :-)
Play out of life events is of course more hilariously done in Annie Hall (he turns to the camera and says, hey ! what d'you expect, its my first play) but the silly righting wrongs is more funny than tragicomic here (the schizophrenic wife stabbing the architect :rotfl:), the cuckolding is more curious than Manhattan, the masturbation joke recycled from 'Love and Death' (great, now you knock off my hobbies).
The acting is just top-notch. I am yet to see an ordinary performance from Mia Farrow. The sister who ends up marrying Woody, her performance is great too.The parents fighting (this haircut, that passes for a man :lol:) was very well done , the guy who plays Frederick, I thought he did really well, particularly in the break-up scene. With an actor like Michael Caine, perhaps the v-o's were overdone. Not that they were unenjoyable.
Masturbation joke, "don't knock on it, it's sex with someone you love"? Athu Annie Hall-illa?
Anyway, after reading your piece, I think I might continue where I left off. Opening scene at the party.
Caine got supporting actor Oscar, I think.
Oh okQuote:
Originally Posted by groucho070
In Love and Death the joke is this
(After the encounter)
Countess: You were terrific
Boris: I practice a lot when alone
:lol: Yeah, yeah. I remember that.
Another one in Stardust memories, lot less refined as a joke, but a funny poke at notion of 'born genius':
Random woman: The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. A born magician.
Woman (presumably Sandy Bates mother): Well he should be. He sits in his room alone and practices for hours.
Man: Are you sure he's not doing something else?
Woman: Oh he does that too. (and then shows some pictures from his room)
:lol:
http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/movies...?homepage=true
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Freida Pinto may be romancing a younger man, Dev Patel, in real life, but she has been paired opposite Academy-award- winning actor Josh Brolin, who is a good two decades older than her, in Woody Allen's upcoming film. The 43-year-old Brolin who won an Oscar for his supporting role in the biopic 'Milk' this year, is married to Hollywood actor Diane Lane for the past five years.
'Slumdog Millionaire' star Freida Pinto has been paired opposite Academy-award- winning actor Josh Brolin, who is a good two decades older than her, in Woody Allen's upcoming film.
The unlikely pair was seen shooting together in London, with Woody Allen having to order artificial rain for a romantic sequence in the as yet-untitled film, reported Daily Mail online.
Earlier this month, the 25-year-old actor had made her first public appearance with actor Dev Patel, who is six years her junior, together as a couple at Somerset House for an outdoor screening of 'Slumdog Millionaire'. The couple met while filming the hit rags-to-riches film in Mumbai, which won eight Oscars.
The 43-year-old Brolin who won an Oscar for his supporting role in the biopic 'Milk' this year, is married to Hollywood actor Diane Lane for the past five years.
Pinto and Brolin are a part of the star-studded project which includes names like Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, and Naomi Watts.
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Whatever works for Woody
THERE is something very unnerving about the prospect of interviewing Woody Allen (picture). This man is an Oscar-winning auteur-screenwriter-actor. After all, this man made Diane Keaton. This man married his girlfriend's much younger adopted Korean daughter.
A little creepy ... but a lot brilliant.
What if my questions were not smart enough? What if he rambled on neurotically and I had no idea how to interject?
What if I was unable to expound on why I thought his astute insights on human relationships worked marvellously in some of his earlier pieces (Manhattan, Annie Hall, Hannah And Her Sisters) but fell flat in others (Scoop, Melinda And Melinda, Everybody Says I Love You)?
Thankfully, the 73-year-old turned out to be quite a nice man who isn't as media shy or cranky as he's made out to be. He called from his home in New York City to chat about his 40th film Whatever Works - where an abrasive, egotistical and beyond neurotic misanthrope (Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David) lightens up when he meets an impossibly sunny 21-year-old runaway (Rachel Evan Wood) - and we ended up having a lovely chat about zombie journalists.
He's even looking forward to maybe meeting me someday when he's in Asia. And, it's not because I'm a much younger Asian girl ...
Good morning Mr Allen. You're up early.
Good morning! Well, I have children who go to school and I have to take them … So I got up a long time ago.
What would you say is the best thing about being Woody Allen right now?
Well, I have a good home life. I like being a father and husband. And I have two great kids. That's much more fun than everything that has happened to me professionally.
And the worst?
That I am a chronic malcontent and I have a gloomy view of life. I have always been a gloomy person despite the fact that I have a very nice life, and know and worked with very nice people. Sigh. (Laughs)
Any chance of that changing soon?
(Laughs) I think the boat has sailed. It's too late for that.
Dare we ask if Larry David's Boris Yellnikoff is a reflection of some part of you? He's quite the neurotic malcontent, no?
People always look for clues to see if the movie is really about me, no matter how many times I've gone on record to say I make stuff up. (Laughs) I wrote Whatever Works for Zero Mostel in the 1970s and then he unfortunately passed away. It was sitting in my drawer and I decided to dust it off and update it.
Why didn't you play the role and how did you come to cast Larry in the end?
Well, to be honest, I envisioned a fat man when I wrote the character, so, no. And Larry? Well, it's because he's very funny. And 10 years younger than me.
(With Boris) I felt that it wasn't something I could act out well. There are a number of emotions in play, and some of which I think I could act out very well … some I didn't think I could at all. I'm a fan of Larry's, I mean he's been in two of my movies (Oedipus Wrecks and Radio Days) and we all thought he could do this material very well.
Tell us more about your big New York return. You haven't shot there in a while.
I love shooting in New York. But I just don't want to work out of New York exclusively. Every few countries, I would like to come back to New York. I've done four movies abroad - three in London, one in Barcelona. So I thought, maybe it would be good to come home. My children go to school here, all my friends are here. Everything I know is here …
How do you react when people say: 'It's Woody and his muse'?
I never think in terms of muses at all. All it took was for one journalist to say: "Diane Keaton is Woody Allen's muse." And then every other journalist with no imagination would write the same thing. Like zombies!
Mia, Diane, Scarlet ... They are all very talented actresses that any director would use. I use them because they are very good at what they do, not that they inspire a plot or storyline.
Hollywood's Who's Who is always clamouring to be in your films. Does everyone need to audition for you?
I usually see tapes of the films they have been in. Unless they've become drastically obese since their last work or have a terrible rash, that's usually a good indication. And then I'll just have the person come in for a quick chat.
I never make an actor do a reading because they can do a wonderful reading and be terrible when we shoot. Or they could read horribly but actually be perfect for the part. I like to meet them ... even if it's just for a second.
Okay, I am going to geek out and ask: Which of all your films is your absolute favourite?
If I had to choose, I'd say Purple Rose Of Cairo. I think I brought my idea off well. I took my time, told the story I wanted. I showed the audience exactly what I envisioned.
Any chance of shooting in Asia?
I have never been! Once I visit the place and get a feel, only then could I see if it's a place I could shoot a movie at. I have never been west of California. I like grey weather. I like Paris. I like London. I like the east coast, New York.
That said, I would really like to visit. My wife very much wants me to go to Asia. After all, she's from there and so are my daughters. If I'm ever in Asia … maybe we'll meet? My wife is dying for me to get out there so I am sure one day we will.
Whatever Works opens in cinemas tomorrow.
:lol:Quote:
I never think in terms of muses at all. All it took was for one journalist to say: "Diane Keaton is Woody Allen's muse." And then every other journalist with no imagination would write the same thing. Like zombies!
:twisted: Blasphemy.Quote:
Mia, Diane, Scarlet ... They are all very talented actresses that any director would use.
Scarlet a yen pa ippadi attack panreenga? :twisted:
Naan "aadharavu" kudukkaren ammanikku!
aadharavu ellaam naanga kuduthuttom :twisted: neenga orama kooda nillunga :PQuote:
Originally Posted by crajkumar_be
illa..'very talented' actresses and clubbing her with Farrow and Keaton - a bit much.Quote:
Originally Posted by crajkumar_be
Woody used to use likes of Louise Lasser in bit roles. Scarlett kaal doosukku samaanam..
Actually i hate Mia Farrow - nalla nadippaanga aana somehow the proverbial "oru inampuriyadha idhu".. that voice :xQuote:
Originally Posted by kid-glove
Only Rene Zellweger is more loathsome i think....
Agree about Rene Zellweger. But I like Mia Farrow's voice. :oops:
Recently, there was a news in The Hindu which said that Woody Allen is willing to work with Anupam Kher !! Kher was invited by Cambridge University to give a lecture as part of Cinema Festival.
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"Whatever works" works with some qualifications. That is to say, there is typical Woody Allen humor. "Highbrow condescending cretins" at its best Although at places, it's brashly impudent. Partly due to Larry David's monotonously rendered performance as Boris Yellnikoff. If you haven't guessed it, he is playing a Woody-Allen-prototype. In that, he has no neurotic fits (and even if it exists, it's not apparent), but we do see more of a physicist type (by that, it's natural to be impatient with simpletons). Woody Allen's intention is to create a reclusive bad tempered misanthropic hypochondriac with obsession for death and morbidness in life. I paraphrase Boris Yellnikoff's self-estimation. It's no surprise to cast a younger(relative to Woody of course) actor who is able to deliver the lines with a straight face, and in a deadpan sitcom-ish way, that it is more of a savoir-faires (watch Boris address "us" like a PhD physicist than recite/narrate in ways of Alvy Singer from Annie hall). He also admits so himself, "I’m not a likeable guy. Charm has never been a priority with me." But make no mistake, this is no curmudgeon. But a 60 year old in full equanimity, able to see the whole picture, so to speak.
It's ironic that we also laugh at things we'd cry about. It's not so strange an inclination to take up morbidness with humor. This has become woefully apparent for yours truly. Perhaps I am much pampered by Woody's style over the years. But sadly it's misleading people into deriving "feel-good"-ness. No wonder Woody writes a monologue for Boris addressing it to the audience, "if you’re one of those idiots who needs to feel good, go get yourself a foot massage". LOL. Woody's works, at least to me, have been void, and indifferent as universe itself. He never sets out to make a life-affirming hymn, but it sustains interest in showing its characters sustaining their own lives. Life is more of a moot point, and the protagonist (often played in Woody prototype) is shown to be obsessed by death that it makes life defeatist, and something of a "ritual for death". but through course of the film, there is a consensus reached. To make life interesting with our quirks, inclinations, art, Love, etc. Essentially bohemian, confined to Manhattan, his outlook comes to fore. Which leaves room for criticism by critics such as Rosenbaum.
Rejection of religious inclinations also sticks its head. Picture this, a deeply religious couple get separated. Both have been suppressed to lead a lie, and by their separation, conquer better understanding of themselves. One finds it in Menage a trois, and the other realizes his suppressed homosexuality. And both have quenched their religious conformism, and found something "better" to hold onto. Woody is careful to point out. Everything hits at this point (not so subtly) - the absurdity of existence, the "blind chance", search for love, and well, whatever works! "Search in Life is something to give the illusion of meaning to quell the panic" says Boris, in verbatim.
As a film, it works in a qualified way as I first began this post.I'd suggest you to watch at ease. It's not something new. Yet, "Sometimes a cliche is finally the best way to make one's point." retorts Boris. And with laughs.
Movie never made it here, don't think it would. Interesting to know how David's Woody Allen type works.
One of the worst, in my opinion, was Kenneth Branagh in Celebrity. The man just mimics Allen. How's that for laziness?
The impersonation got approved by the man himself. :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by groucho070
The "worst" in my opinion, Jason Biggs in "Anything Else" was nailed-on. Now that QT recommended it, there's an urge to watch it again.
Larry David works for aforesaid reasons. Given a thought or two, I'm not sure of one thing I had said. He's perhaps curmudgeonly at occasions, but by sapience and not age. And the ability to see the whole picture. :)
Woody Allen employs a homage to Marx, with Hello, I must be going in opening title. Marx-ian detachment of soft sentiments, decadency of artistic taste, & contempt for counter-culture omnipresent in Allen-esque universe. :)
Just watched Animal Crackers recently. I wonder who else saw Anything Else. QT recommended it? Whoa!
Quotes I much cherished. :)
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Originally Posted by Boris
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Originally Posted by Boris
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Originally Posted by Boris
Anything Else (spanish audio with English subtitles :lol2:) - pudhusa/perusa edhuvum illa.Quote:
Originally Posted by groucho070
My sentiments exactly, so I wonder why QT went for it. :roll:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bala (Karthik)
On the other hand, I could see why he went for "Chasing Amy". That's a pretty good movie. One of the strangest love triangle I've seen. While doing that, It's also palpable to senses, one could relate to the characters. Kevin Smith writes interesting dialogue. And hold on a minute, that's perhaps Ben Affleck's best performance. No wonder Qt wanted to cast him once. Think he might still, to surprise us all. :)
Whatever Works
Absolutely nothing new
In facts puts in words subtleties of older films
But but but I thoroughly enjoyed it
I guess I like pretty much nearly everything this guy writes on these subjects
Interiors
That there was a decided absence of humour and adoption of Bergman's style meant I was never going to take the effort of watching it. Was surfing channels today and caught it on MGM.
It was not as bad as I expected. I was expecting a thorough borefest.
Me too...not bad eh. Been avoiding it. What are there to look for? I know, the writing eh?Quote:
Originally Posted by P_R
Yeah, three daughters. Father moves away from an artistic but imbalanced mother and moves to a 'simpler' woman. The daughters, their husbands, anguishes, concerns, their relationships and despair. In terms of content very Woody Allen, but quite daring to go without his brand of humour.Quote:
Originally Posted by groucho070
That I quite liked got me thinking if I was more patient and willing to 'absorb' because it was Woody. I mean 'its got its fifteen seconds of silent descent down the stairs' scenes which I would have railed against had it been anyone else's film. If I persisted on that line of that it looked like I may be tempted to revisit Cries and Whispers. I google for some Gounder videos and restored myself.
:lol: Good maahn.Quote:
Originally Posted by P_R
I am guilty of being Woody's fan the same way I am of Eastwood's. I want them, and their brand of content in those films. You'll never get it in non-Eastwood starring Eastwood films. But you do in the former's film, our man lurking within the Branaghs, the Cusacks, the Keaton/Farrows and sometimes even more than one characters per film. But intha padam, poster paarkum-bothe padu-pretentiousnous velipatturuchi. That's why...maybe when I am much older and am with more patience, time and have complete control over the remote err..control, I'll revisit it.
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by P_R
I recollect. Is the one that precedes or follows the scene with eldest sister (played by Keaton) unable to write and gets another cold realization. She would be seeing out the window (which seemed to be a deep metaphor almost like "Blindness" in Crimes & Misdemeanors) at trees with no leaves. The idea of placing the narrative from winter to summer coincides with passing on from one (distant and cold) mother to another (warmly and colorful). That's just one apart from the opening of the film. It's paced with verbal exchanges and introspection through other devices (voice-over, to analyst, diary). As you said, Woody Allen in content. But then that's pretty much Bergman style. Bergman indulges in deeper verbolatry than predominant visual narrative like Antonioni, for example.
Oh man, once again, frighteningly close to my taste. :shock:Quote:
Originally Posted by groucho070