Woody Allen: filmography. The best films of Woody Allen. List of Woody Allen films

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Woody Allen was born in 1935 in New York. In those days, the phrase "intellectual comedy" was strange and more unusual for the elite. If we turn to history, we will see that all the comedies that were filmed at that time were simple and understandable to everyone, regardless of the level of education. Smart, but rather boring movies were made for intellectual personalities. And this was understandable, because joking, talking about "high", was not accepted. For this reason, there was not a single comedian. And so it continued until the talented, but at the same time nondescript and slightly awkward Woody Allen appeared.

Woody Allen's Childhood

Woody Allen grew up in a Jewish family. His father worked as a waiter and jewelry engraver, and his mother worked as an accountant in a candy store. In school years, a humorous nature did not particularly manifest itself. Woody Allen and then Allen StewartKonigsberg was fond of baseball and card tricks. His talent will manifest itself later, but already in his youth he came up with a well-known pseudonym for himself. He himself claims that he called himself that because of the constant beatings in international summer camps (Woody is translated as wooden). But most likely, the pseudonym appeared thanks to the jazz saxophonist and clarinetist Woody Herman.

Career start

Looking at today's intellectual Woody Allen, it's hard to believe that he started writing gags in the style of the Marx Brothers (a comedy quartet in the US that specialized in "rough comedy" with fights, slaps, falls, flirting). But at the beginning of my career, I didn’t have much to choose, because I had to break through and somehow survive in this difficult world.

Life in New York

Now Hollywood loves Woody Allen, forgiving him constant malice, relentlessly nominating for Oscars. But Woody Allen went to universal recognition for a long time. Having moved to New York as a young man in his twenties with a 16-year-old wife, he had no money, no connections, no education. Parents did not approve of such a step and resolutely refused to help the young family. So I had to start not with the filming of the film, but with the creation of jokes for the then popular comedians - Bob Hope and Buddy Hackett.

Hard work earned him a promotion, and in 1957 Woody Allen became a television show editor. Now he not only composed texts, but also acted as an actor. The first success came to him at performances in expensive restaurants. Witty and sharpthe jokes of a plain-looking young guy fell in love with the public. He behaved as if he got on stage by accident, and all his remarks were impromptu. Inexperienced spectators had no idea that all performances worked out to the smallest detail. In real life, Allen was never indecisive. On the contrary, he has a firm, and even despotic character. One can imagine how disappointed the wife of Woody Allen was, who demanded from her sterile cleanliness in the house, a certain menu. On top of all this, she constantly had to listen to snide comments regarding everything she did. The result was obvious - in the late 60s, Harleen filed for divorce, demanding financial compensation for constant ridicule.

First fame

By this time, many in the cinema already knew who Woody Allen was. The filmography included several films in which he participated as a screenwriter or actor. We are talking about such films as "Casino Royal", "Grab the money and run." These are all parodies of the famous bank robber films. Allen did not try to find himself in other genres, because he always knew that his destiny was to create comedic and ironic pictures.

Peak career - 70s

The next decade for Allen was a period of parody. At this time, such films as “Love and Death”, “Sleeping”, “Everything you always wanted to know about sex, but were afraid” came out. Of course, the films quickly found their audience, and many were looking forward to new works. And the famousthe screenwriter did not make his fans wait long, as a result of which the list of Woody Allen films was rapidly replenished. It seemed that he lived on the set and had no personal life or other interests.

Private life

But Allen had enough time for everything: shooting, playing the clarinet, and constant showdowns with his wives, of which there were quite a lot. After Harleen's departure, Paulina Kael, a big fan of his work and a well-known film critic at that time, took the empty seat. But her patience lasted only a few years, after which she broke up with Woody Allen with a scandal. She did not appreciate his talent, because he did not give her anything in return. Allen, in turn, quickly began a relationship with actress Louise Lasser (photo below).

Despite the fact that she tried to indulge all his interests, create comfort at home, not cause discontent and ridicule, after a while he still went to another woman - Diana Keaton. He did not appreciate the efforts of Louise and, moreover, was not interested in her as a woman. It is likely that it was with Diana Keaton that Woody Allen's best films appeared - "Interiors", "Annie Hall", "Manhattan".

The painting "Annie Hall" has become not just a parody, but an ironic reproduction of one's own life. It was from this film that the director got his own style, as they call it in Hollywood - "Allenism". All subsequent paintings were recognized by his "handwriting", while none of them was similar to the other. Not all directors do this.create paintings in your own style, without repeating yourself.

The film academy was conquered, as Allen immediately received three Oscars, and Keaton received an award for the main female role. But the director did not appear at the ceremony, as he was engaged in a more interesting business - playing the clarinet.

The loud scandal with Mia Farra

The romance with Diana lasted eight years, until she went to the attractive Warren Beatty. Allen calmly endured the breakup and almost immediately began to look after himself a new muse, which was Mia Farroy.

Mia, even before meeting Allen, was completely disappointed in men. All her previous marriages and divorces caused a noisy discussion in the press, and any step immediately became known to everyone. As the actress herself admitted, she considered the meeting with Woody proof that men can be trusted. And how could it be otherwise, if he constantly admired her individuality, beauty and talent. From that moment on, a new Woody Allen appeared. The filmography was replenished with 13 films, including The Purple Rose of Cairo, Zelig, Hannah and Her Sisters. The couple's civil marriage lasted 11 years, and Mia even put up with Allen's many shortcomings.

So, they rented different apartments, but close enough to each other. The idyll was broken when Mia arrived earlier than the appointed time and went into the apartment herself. She did not find Allen with his mistress, as is the case in the classics of the genre. Looking through the documents on the table, she found photographs of the eldest adopted daughter Sun-Yi, which was filmed in indecent poses. Allen did not even think of denying it, and even cynically offered to remain friends and continue cooperation. But Mia, for obvious reasons, did not want to know her former lover. After playing in the film "Husbands and Wives", she turned down the role in the film "Murder Mystery in Manhattan".

But the anger at her ex-husband did not fade away so easily, which is why Mia sued Allen, accusing him of molesting her five-year-old daughter, after which she tried to deprive him of parental rights to her own son. All these attempts were unsuccessful. Gradually, the anger subsided, and Mia stopped trying to harm Allen. Woody himself got out of this unpleasant story very easily. A few years later, he married Soon-Yi, quitting psychoanalysis.

According to him, he found his love and now does not need help. As a screenwriter and director, he is still prolific. Despite such scandals, Hollywood has not crossed the name "Woody Allen" off its list. The filmography was still replenished, and many actors were ready to star with him for free. The situation has not changed today. Unlike many directors of the 70s, Allen "has not fizzled" creatively and has not lost originality, sense of style and original humor.

Allen's comedies are his characteristic

He is no longer young, but still holds the position of the king of auteur and non-commercial cinema. For the West, the icon of this genre is precisely Woody Allen. The best films, he says, have been made about him. At the same time, many of the characters are completely different from him. But if you look at one ofhis latest films - "Sweet and Ugly", then in the main character you will see many of the features that distinguish Woody Allen. Filmography for all the years of his work includes more than 50 works. Of the latter, one can name such paintings as “Blue Jasmine”, “Roman Adventures”, “Midnight in Paris”, “You will meet a mysterious stranger”, “Come what may”, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”.

Interesting facts

• In 1969, Allen was recognized as the best comedian in America, and his popularity was so great that his photo appeared on the cover of the famous magazine Life.
• Annie Hall won four Oscars in 1977.
• In 1978, Allen was awarded the O'Henry Award for "The Kugelmass Case".
• In 1986, Allen received a Golden Globe Award for The Purple Rose of Cairo.

In addition to numerous awards, there were other interesting awards that Woody Allen received. The best proof of his talent was to be recognized as one of the best comedians of all time. According to the results of voting, he took third place after Peter Cook and John Cleese.

Besides, in 2007 a monument to Woody Allen was unveiled in Kaliningrad. A sculpture in the form of the director's glasses was installed in the lobby of one of the cinemas.

Filmography

In addition to many directorial works, over the years of creativity, Allen took part as an actor in a large number of films. So, Woody Allen's latest film is Barcelona, shot in 3D. The movie will be released in 2014year.

Other Woody Allen films made in the new millennium:

• "Piece by Piece", 2000.
• "Petty Swindlers", 2000.
• Curse of the Jade Scorpion, 2001.
• "Hollywood Ending", 2002.
• Something Else, 2003.
• "Sensation", 2006.
• Roman Adventures, 2012.
• "Behind the Gigolo Mask", 2013.