Imitation Woody: A guide to Allenesque movies made by other people

Woody Allens sources of inspiration Bergman, Fellini, Chaplin, etc are wellknown and much discussed. Hes quite upfront and always happy to talk them. People with too much time on their hands (i.e. me) love picking apart all the small and large references to the directors Allen looks up to. But what about the other direction? People who have been inspired by Woody Allen? In PBS documentary about his work, Woody Allen claims hes had no influence on modern cinema, which struck me as absurd. When I watch movies, Im constantly seeing his influence. If I was a real journalist or a writer with some clout, Id talk to some of todays screenwriters and directors and ask them how theyve absorbed and been inspired by Woody Allens movies, but since Im neither of those things, all I can offer is this wildly speculative list of movies upon which I see the faint fingerprints of Woody Allen. Enjoy!

Modern Romance (1981)

There have been many good (and a few great) actor/writer/directors since the silent era, but while they may sometimes cast themselves in a lead or supporting role in their own films, theyve never built their movies around a pre-existing, larger-than-life persona (one arguable exception being Sylvester Stallones Rocky movies). But that was what Chaplin did, and what Keaton did, and what Woody Allen did as well, at least for his first 10 movies or so. Woody Allen then took the next steps, slowly turning his persona into a real human being, and more than that, a source of examination and ridicule. Albert Brooks, another great actor/writer/director, took the same approach, although he never achieved the fame or ubiquity of Woody Allen. Like Allen, Brooks got his start as a

stand-up comedian, which probably helped him generate an understanding of himself as a comic entity. Starting with Real Life but especially with Modern Romance, Brooks forged a darker, more pathetic variation on Allens neurotic intellectual. Brooks is so fearless in his selfdeprecation, he makes Allen inManhattan look fairly heroic by comparison. Like many of Allens films, Modern Romance focuses on the ugly parts of human relationships, but unlike Allens, it mostly eschews the more pleasant and romantic aspects.

Modern Romance opens with Brooks, playing a successful L.A. movie editor named Robert, breaking up with his girlfriend Mary (Kathryn Harrold). She laughs it off at first, but he insists I mean it this time. Robert then attempts to embark on a journey of selfimprovement, taking up jogging again, and loading up on a full regiment of vitamins and supplements. All the while, he provides a running commentary on his thoughts and feelings, just like a character in a Woody Allen movie.

I just dont think we should go out anymore. Ok, sure, its over again. No, I mean it, this time for real. I just think were trapped in a no-win situation... like Vietnam. Okay, fine. So how do you want to do it this time?

Im trying to start a new life, and I think fitness should be a major part of it. Instead of improving and renewing himself, though, hes consumed and paralyzed by jealousy. He becomes obsessed with his now-ex-girlfriend, driving by her house late at night and leaving dozens of frantic messages, trying to figure out what shes up to. Eventually he gives in and decides to get back together with her, but that doesnt put an end to his torment. He goes through her phone records looking for calls to potential competition, takes her to parties but wont let her talk to anyone, and lies to her and tricks her in a series of attempts to find out if shes been with anyone else.

It may not sound like it, but Modern Romance is definitely a comedy, and a very funny one. Its ultimately about jealously and insecurity in their most pathetic form, which makes it more focused and single-minded than sprawling movies like Annie Hall or Manhattan, but it shares their unapologetically anhedonic worldview and unhappily-ever-after endings. Could Modern Romance have existed without Woody Allen? Well, probably, but without Allen and his movies, the world would have been far less prepared for it. See Also: Brooks other directorial efforts all of which he also wrote and starred in mine the same, or a similar, comic persona: Lost in America (1985), Defending Your Life (1991), Mother (1996). Woody Allen Connections: Woody Allen offered the lead role in Deconstructing Harry to Albert Brooks, but Brooks turned it down.

This is Spinal Tap (1984)

With Love and Death, Hannah and her Sisters, and especiallyAnnie Hall, Woody Allen stumbled across something revelatory: conversations in comedies dont have to be tightlywound back-and-forths; they can be loose, rambling, divergent and improvised. Obviously this approach existed elsewhere Chicagos Second City Theater had been performing improvised sketch comedy shows for decades prior to Annie Hall but Allen applied it to narrative filmmaking in new ways. Diane Keaton recalled showing up to set on Annie Hall and seeing a brand new script page for the first time, or filming a scene with no script at all. Numerous actors since, all the way up to Owen Wilson in 2011, report similar experiences. I dont really know much about the actual process of making movies, but I know that the prospect of rolling expensive film through an expensive camera thats being operated by an Oscar-winning cinematographer with help from dozens of technical crew members and not knowing in advance what youre going to say must be terrifying, and must seem to others like a recipe for disaster. Most of the crew (including DOP Gordon Willis) would have been used to filming with not only pre-written dialogue, but storyboards and orchestrated camera angles and blocking. Some days on Annie Hall, they had none of this. The only way you could pull off this approach would be to have great confidence in yourself as a performer, great confidence in your co-stars as performers, and a deep understanding of not only your character and your characters situation, but a sense of what would be dramatically or comedically interesting in that moment. Allen obviously had these things and the results are, as I said, revelatory. When Allen and Keaton talk in Annie Hall or Manhattan, its natural and spontaneous. Conversations dont necessarily have a functional purpose, like establishing mood or advancing a story, but they let us into the characters world and help us feel like we really know them as people. 1984s This Is Spinal Tap took this approach a step further, and went into production with almost no pre-written dialogue. The actors had their characters loosely defined from the outset, as well as motivations and contexts for each scene, but the actual words from their

mouths were ad-libbed. The movies humor depended largely on the chemistry between the stars, the guidance of the director and the scrutiny of the editor. The movies official credits list all the primary cast-members as the writers. This is Spinal Tap, as Im sure you know, is about an aging hair-metal band called Spinal Tap (Englands Loudest Band), whose members are played by Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean. They were never very good to begin with, and this movie chronicles their last, desperate attempts to bask in their fading glory.

The scenes of the band planning their shows and being interviewed by Marti DiBergi (a documentarian played by Rob Reiner) are hilarious and spontaneous. The scene in which Christopher Guest tries to explain why his amps go up to 11 is one of the most quoted and, for a lot of people, one of the funniest, moments ever filmed. The movie feels free, and liberated from the considerable constraints of movie-making.

Its one louder

Just like a real documentary, when it comes time for editing, there may be dozens of different ideas to pick and choose from, as opposed to a bunch of slight variations on the same set of lines. Instead of a single writer, dialogue benefits from three or four performers working together to elevate the material.

Rob Reiner is the credited director of This is Spinal Tap, although the movie and its approach have since become more heavily associated with Christopher Guest. After Spinal Tap, Guest went on to direct a number of semi-improvised films, generally re-uniting the same core cast members (Waiting for Guffman, Best In Show, etc).

These days, this approach is pretty much the status quo for Hollywood comedies. Adam McKay and Judd Apatow both swear by ad-libbing and letting performers and cast chemistry carry a heavier burden than the writing. Dramatically, its less common.

The breaking point came with the so-called mumblecore movement of the 00s films deliberately made, often with camcorders and microscopic budgets, without any kind of pre-planning whatsoever. These movies have their defenders, but the handful that Ive seen have been painfully dull and awkward. Theres still something to be said for investing some thought into good, strong building blocks. And of course, Spinal Tap is also inspired by Woody Allen in a different, more obvious way: it is whats now known as a mockumentary a fictional film edited and presented as if it was a documentary. The idea of something fake being paraded about as it was real was nothing new, but Allens Take the Money and Run was the first full-length film to present a fictional narrative in the format of a documentary. Annie Hallalso incorporated elements of documentary (the characters addressed the camera directly), and withZelig, Allen made an even more innovate, nuanced example of his new sub-genre. The benefits of the mockumentary are numerous. First of all, ridiculous things are automatically funnier when theyre presented with a straight face as if theyre facts. The genre also provides a narrative short-cut by giving characters the ability to talk with a documentarian or directly to the camera, allowing them to spell out their feelings and stories in a way that might otherwise feel forced or unrealistic. InTake the Money and Run and This is Spinal Tap, the format also allows for improved story-telling, as the narrator (or the documentarian) are able to speed through the exposition, leaving more time for jokes and character development. Its possible that Reiner and Guest came up with the idea of an improvised documentary on their own, but Woody Allen movies like Take the Money and Run and Annie Hall prevented them from doing it first. See Also: Loose, heavily improvised movies like Clerks (1994), Anchorman (2004), Knocked Up(2007), Nights and Weekends (2008); fake documentaries such as Real Life (1979), Waiting for Guffman (1997), Best In Show (2003), Borat (2006), The Office (2001-2003; 2005-), Modern Family(2009-). Woody Allen Connections: Director/co-star Rob Reiner appeared in Bullets Over Broadway; Spinal Tap band-member Michael McKean co-starred in Allens Whatever Works.

When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

What did American romantic comedies look like before Annie Hall? There are exceptions, but usually theyre about people who are in love in the most profound way people who are meant for each other, people who are bound to spend the rest of their lives together, people struggling to overcome external obstacles keeping them from their one true love. We were never supposed to wonder whether Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn were right for each other (or how theyd sort out their Visa issues). They were also about first kisses, special moments, tearful reunions and silly misunderstandings. They were not about awkward sexual experiences, stupid fights, fears of commitment, or breaking up. Yet Annie Hall is about all of these things, and its characters ultimately decide that maybe theyre just not right for each other. It may have robbed its audience of an opportunity for simple escapism in doing so, but it also moved the genre into a modern era and made a romantic comedy that people could actually relate to. Some would say it was all the more romantic for it, too. When Harry Met Sally could reasonably be considered Annie Halls offspring, with its other parent being a more conventional romantic comedy. Its general arc couple meets, superficially argues, falls in love, ends up happily married is borne of more old-school romantic comedies, but the details are messy enough to put a happy ending in doubt, if only momentarily. Billy Crystal plays Harry, whos sort of a broader, more accessible version of Allens characters inAnnie Hall, Manhattan and Hannah and her Sisters. Like Allen, he acts in defiance of romantic comedy conventions by being short and funny-looking. He lacks Allens sardonic wit and imposing intelligence, although hes heavily equipped with an assortment of funny voices and and Maxim-advice-page-worthy insights.

You take someone to the airport, its clearly the beginning of the relationship. Thats why I have never taken anyone to the airport at the beginning of a relationship. Because eventually things move on and you dont take someone to the airport and I never wanted anyone to say to me, How come you never take me to the airport anymore? Imperfect characters are nothing new, but When Harry Met Sally shares Woody Allens willingness to have characters who are imperfect for each other. They spend the first 70 minutes of a 90-minute movie as just friends, exchanging only longing glances, awkward kisses and half-hearted come-ons. It hits all the major, mandatory points of a romantic comedy including an unambiguously happy ending but makes time in between for some of lifes messier details.

When Harry Met Sally has a few other traces of Woody Allen outside of its story and characters. It uses Annie Halls 4th-wall-violating semi-documentary confessionals, and uses a split screen to portray the two characters talking in different locations. It also has a

jazz soundtrack with classic songs that have probably been in at least one Allen movie (and some modern ones that Allen wouldnt touch with a 10 foot pole).

Theres little doubt that When Harry Met Sally takes some cues from the Woody Allen movies of the preceding decade. While I will admit its not really to my liking, its as popular and well-known as Annie Hall. People making romantic comedies today are probably just as inspired by When Harry Met Sally as they are by Woody Allen. See Also: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), As Good As It Gets(1997), or any other remotely thoughtful romantic comedy since 1980. A few movies I can think of that might have beat Woody Allen to the punch, in terms of showcasing the awkward, unromantic side of romance are Billy Wilders The Apartment (1960) and Marty (1955), starring Ernest Borgnine two movies about mis-matched couples settling for good enough and Elaine Mays A New Leaf (1971), a love story about two people who are really, truly wrong for each other.

Woody Allen Connections: When Harry Met Sally was written by Nora Ephron, who is a personal friend of Woody Allen and appeared in both Crimes and Misdemeanors and Husbands and Wives as a background character; like Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally was directed by Bullets Over Broadwayco-star Rob Reiner; Billy Crystal played Satan in Deconstructing Harry eight years later.

Miami Rhapsody (1995)

Of all the movies discussed here, Miami Rhapsody is the one that would most assuredly never exist were it not for Woody Allen. Miami Rhapsody is to Woody Allen what Interiors was to Ingmar Bergman: a clear, up-front attempt by one director to mimic the style of another. While the other movies discussed so far borrow mostly from Allens late-70s artistic explosion, Miami Rhapsody looks to a quieter, generally less influential period of Woody Allens career: his serious movies, the straightforward relationship dramas he was making in the late late 80s and early 90s. There are some jokes, but like Hannah and her Sisters orHusbands and Wives, its the characters who are funny, not the movie. Writer/director David Frankel makes his intentions clear right off the bat. The combination of a Louis Armstrong song, a full credit roll over plain black background, Allens trademark title card (Starring in alphabetical order), and the presence of Mia Farrow make it pretty clear whats going on. When the movie actually begins, it does so with a riff on Annie Halls opening (protagonist facing camera, recapping love life).

I cant commit to anything. Maybe I have Peter Pan syndrome. It ends with another, more blatant Annie Hall reference. The protagonist (still facing the camera) compares love to the city of Miami: its dangerous, and stormy and hot, but if its really so terrible, why is there always so much traffic? That sounds an awful lot like a certain joke about needing the eggs. In between, it tells the story of 10 or so affluent Miami residents navigating their way in and out of relationships, bemoaning their lack of sexual contact and spilling their life stories to anyone within earshot. It covers a lot of Allens favorite topics infidelity, selling out, jokes about Nazis, etc. As expected, characters talk like theyre in a Woody Allen movie, although theyre from a lower intellectual bracket (if not a lower economic one).

My problem is Im always trying to run away from my problems. Me too. Well, it was a bit different for you, you were running away from Nazis. Theres even a Woody Allen type, although in a welcome, if sometimes disorienting, twist, its a young woman (Sarah Jessica Parker in one of her first starring roles). Like many of Allens characters, shes a wise-cracking neurotic who has a soul-crushing job but dreams of being a creative artist type. And while Parker comes across as bubbly, easygoing and not particularly burdened by any mental anguish, she makes a lot of jokes about her Jewish guilt. She has a constant stream of one-liners that sound like ones Allen would deliver most notably, its mental masturbation, which is my second favorite kind which I sincerely feel like Ive heard Allen himself say at some point. Parker probably isnt the best person to be telling Catskills-style wisecracks, although she gives it her best shot. She doesnt get much help from the writing her jokes mostly range from lame (shes a model, her breasts

explode at higher elevations) to confusing (youre like a nuclear menace, your warhead should be dismantled), although some are sort-of funny (I want to never compromise, like Arabs or Republicans).

Mia Farrow plays Parkers mother. Its strange seeing her in a movie like this and knowing its not Woody Allen directing it. Excepting the occassional The Last Unicorn super-fan, its unlikely that anyone would have watched Miami Rhapsody and not had Farrows presence constantly remind them of Woody Allens similar-but-better movies.

As you may have gathered from the poster above, one of the movies side-stories involves Antonio Banderas dating both Mia Farrow and Sarah Jessica Parker, who are mother and daughter. Farrow was, in real life, in the midst of an ugly custody battle with Allen at the time and furious at him for dating her daughter. Her character in the movie doesnt mind as much, maybe because Parker is older and an unambiguously consenting adult, or maybe because Antonio Banderas is just so sexy and charming she cant stay mad at him.

Miami Rhapsody is unfortunately inspired by some of Allens worst traits. Like September or A Midsummer Nights Sex Comedy, people keep falling in love with each other, but we never get an understanding of why. People talk about themselves constantly, but its all blandly expository. No one, other than Parker, emerges as distinct from any of the other characters. Like Hannah and her Sistersits long on plot, but like Sex Comedy, its short on character. Theres nothing wrong, necessarily, with imitating another directors work I enjoyed Interiors, and even more-so Stardust Memories but what Miami Rhapsody brought to my attention is that I dont like Woody Allen movies for their subject matter, but for their wit and insight (not what theyre about, but howtheyre about it, as Roger Ebert would say). Without Allens brilliant touch for dialogue, characters and humor, the best you can hope for in a romantic comedy is a distracting experience like Miami Rhapsody. See Also: The Names of Love (2011) was also deliberately made in the style of a Woody Allen movie. Or so Ive read. I havent actually seen it I missed it in theatres, and it is not yet out on DVD. Woody Allen Connections: Well, Mia Farrow, obviously; Antonio Banderas was in Woody AllensYou Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger; Co-star Paul Mazursky directed Allen in Scenes From a Mall; Sarah Jessica Parker co-starred with Allen in the TV movie The Sunshine Boys.

The films of Charlie Kaufman

From 1977 to 1985, Allens insights into human nature had become so vast, conventional storytelling no longer gave him the tools he needed to disseminate them. He turned, then, to fantasy and science-fiction, genres more typically associated with giddy excitement and somber profundity to help render his commentary on love, art, and life. In Annie Hall, the space-time continuum is violated so that middle-aged Alvy Singer can gripe directly to his grade-school teachers, or so that he can show Annie, at her current age, exactly what he was like as a kid. In The Purple Rose of Cairo, a handsome movie star walks off the screen and into a lonely womans life, but only so she (and we) can be taught a lesson about the emptiness of our existence. InStardust Memories, the life of a struggling director involves aliens, monsters and resurrection. In Zelig, well, you get the point. As Ive said here before, the one contemporary filmmaker who has the most Woody Allen DNA in his work is probably Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman fills his movies with fantastic, surreal and absurd elements, but hes ultimately interested in the same things Allen is. His movies might not look much like Woody Allens on the surface, but theyre identical in spirit. The biggest difference between the two mens work is that Kaufmans movies are crafted with far more care. It often seems like every little idea that pops into Woody Allens head is compulsively committed to paper and shown to the world if not as one of his annual movies, then as a vignette or side-story, a play, a short story, or an essay for New York Magazine. But Kaufman is a new breed of filmmaker, one for whom a screenplay is more akin to a novel, something to be pored over and perfected over several years.

The result is that all of Kaufmans films are dense, meticulous and ambitious in ways that Woody Allens rarely are. Sometimes theres so much going on it can be overwhelming, and trying to parse his movies subject matter can be intimidating.

Kaufmans 1999 debut as a screenwriter, Being John Malkovich (executive-produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by his then-son-in-law Spike Jonze), has a lot in common with Allens Zelig. Both concern men who desperately want to be other people, supernatural occurrences that allow just that, a dark sense of humor, and a despairing commentary on identity. In Zelig, the titular character (played by Allen) has a medical condition that allows him to physically and psychologically transform into other people; in Being John Malkovich, puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) finds a portal that transports him into the body of John Malkovich.

As in Zelig, the public is transfixed. People line up for a chance to be John Malkovich. Everyone who goes through the portal has a different experience, but all of them find it riveting. People are kicked out of Malkovichs brain after 15 minutes inside, but eventually Craig figures our how to stay there permanently. He then proceeds to live in Malkovichs body for years, controlling him like a puppet.

One could reasonably argue that Being John Malkovich eclipses Zelig, and is the better of the two movies. Im honestly not sure where Id stand, but the fact that its close says a lot of Being John Malkovich, as Zelig is one of Allens smartest and best movies. Visually speaking, Zelig may have been the more cutting-edge movie for its time, but Being John Malkovich definitely takes advantage of 16 additional years of advancements. The special effects are impressive and seamless, and Spike Jonze, who has a background in music videos and commercials, provides a dryly witty visual style youd never find in a Woody Allen movie.

Three years later, Kaufman re-teamed with Jonze and looked at something that has obsessed Allen for decades: writing. Just like at least a dozen Woody Allen movies, the protagonist of Adaptation is a writer struggling through his latest project and bemoaning the challenges of his craft to anyone who will listen. When Allen writes these characters, people accuse him of basing them on himself, and Charlie Kaufman, perhaps as a way of pre-empting such accusations, gives the lead character the name of Charlie Kaufman. Adaptation bears a resemblance to a lot of Woody Allen movies, but its closest parallel is probably Stardust Memories. Both films have an angry sense of humor and a protagonist whos trying to make intelligent movies in a world that wants dumb, formulaic trash.

In Adaptation, that desire for trash is represented by Charlies dimwitted twin brother, Donald Kaufman (who doesnt actually exist in real life). Both Kaufmans are played by Nicolas Cage. Adaptation, which is based on the book The Orchid Thief by Susan

Orlean, tells the story of Charlie Kaufman (as portrayed by Nicolas Cage) trying to adapt Susan Orleans The Orchid Thief into a movie.

My movies about a serial killer. Hes an English professor who kills his victims by chopping up little bits of their bodies until theyre dead. He calls himself the deconstructionist. So yes, Adaptation is convoluted, self-referential, and often too clever for its own good. Its also incredibly funny. Kaufman and Jonze are constantly telling a story on two levels theres the immediate narrative, but because the movie is about itself, the films contents are being re-written as the movie unfolds. When Charlie lets his populist-minded brother Donald start contributing to the screenplay, Adaptation suddenly becomes lurid and ridiculous, with gun fights, car chases, and a surprise alligator attack.

Also, this being a Kaufman screenplay, there are jokes, subplots, asides and interludes for miles. Susan Orlean (played by Meryl Streep) has an affair with the subject of her book

which is being adapted. Donald Kaufman imitates Charlie on the set of Being John Malkovich. Charlie Kaufman (the character) delivers a speech on how indulgent it is to write yourself into your own movie. In other words, theres enough material for at least 10 Woody Allen movies.

Kaufmans next project was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2005). Allenwise, Eternal Sunshines closest parallel isAnnie Hall. Both films chronicle the relationship between a depressive artist and a quirky, eccentric younger woman, both tell their story out of chronological order, both take time out from their conventional narratives to depict the non-literal, and both end on a bittersweet note. The two films share external details as well: Eternal Sunshine is the most popular, most widely beloved, and most award-winning movie of Kaufmans, just as Annie Hall is of Allens. Eternal Sunshine is relatively straightforward compared toBeing John Malkovich or Adaptation. Its sole metaphysical twist is the existence of a medical clinic that can isolate and delete certain memories. Clementine, the movies female romantic lead (Kate Winslet), undergoes this process in order to completely and totally forget about Joel (Jim Carrey) after they break up. When he finds out that shes done this, Joel decides to do the same.

Will there be any brain damage? Well, technically the procedure is brain damage... As Joels memories are erased, the movie takes a sad, funny and visually stunning tour through his brain. Eternal Sunshine contains profound insight into the way we cling to, cherish, and distort memories. There is a sad, haunting beauty to the way Joel recalls a pleasant memory with Clementine only to have it deleted, like the way Allen silently pans through Deloress prematurely ended life at the end of Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Just let me keep this one... The ending of the movie, as I mentioned, strikes a bittersweet note that will be familiar to Woody Allen completionists. It ends as Joel and Clementine, having wiped each other from their memories, meet for the first time and begin to fall in love, not realizing theyve done this all before. Like the endings ofAnnie Hall or The Purple Rose of Cairo, it captures the characters in a moment of happiness that the rest of the movie has taught us will be temporary and fleeting.

And finally theres Synecdoche, New York, Kaufmans debut as writer/director (he was solely the screenwriter on the above-discussed films). If there has been one movie in the last 25 years more in line with the philosophical teachings of Woody Allen than Synecdoche, New York, I have not seen it. Manhattan, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Husbands and Wives, Anything Else, Match Point and Midnight In Paris have all been trying to tell us, in one way or another, that the universe is empty, life will always disappoint you, aging is terrifying, dying is even more-so, and all you can really do about it is complain. Often its lightened with an addendum along the lines of so make the most of it while you can, but sometimes not even that. Allen himself said The Purple Rose of Cairo best represented him as a person, as I do believe that reality is dreadful and that you are forced to choose it in the end or go crazy, but that it kills you. Synechdoche, New York captures this mindset with both the thoughtfulness and insistence of Crimes and Misdemeanors. Its about yet another writer, this one a playwright named Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), whos embarking on a new project that will tell the story of his life (something that Allen can relate to).

I will be dying and so will you, and so will everyone here. Were all hurtling towards death, yet here we are for the moment, alive. Each of us knowing were going to die, each of us secretly believing we wont. Thats what Im trying to explore here. Cadens new production is absurdly ambitious (something that Kaufman can relate to). It involves a life-size replica of New York City, and he hires actors to play him and actors to play the actors hired to play him.

As Cadens play progresses, he finds himself learning more about himself the same kinds of lessons Woody Allens character learns in Manhattan. Eventually overwhelmed, Caden hands over the directorial reins to the actress originally hired to play him (none other than Allen regular Dianne Wiest). In his final moments, she stage-directs his death:

What was once before you, an exciting future, is now behind you. Lived, understood, disappointing. You realize you are not special. You have struggled into existence and are now slipping silently outward. This is everyones experience. The specifics hardly matter. As the people who adore you stop adoring you, as they die, as they move on, as you shed them, as you shed your youth and beauty, let the world forget you. As you learn there is no one watching, and there never was.

Whether Kaufman is inspired by Allen or if this is just an example of two great minds thinking alike, I cant say. Its possible, if not likely, that Kaufman is looking back to the same surrealists that inspired Allen. What I do know, is that Kaufmans films are the best Woody Allen movies Woody Allen never made. See Also: Other romantic comedies that incorporate fantastic elements: Big (1988), Groundhog Day(1993), Sliding Doors (1998), Cold Souls (2008), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010). Woody Allen Connections: Lynn Cohen and Jerry Adler play a married couple in Manhattan Murder Mystery (until he murders her, setting up the titular mystery) and in Synechdoche, New York, they play Cadens parents; John Cusack, star of Being John Malkovich, co-starred in Shadows and Fog and played the lead in Bullets Over Broadway; countless more actors have appeared in both a film written by Kaufman and a film by Woody Allen.

Sidewalks of New York (2001)

Edward Burns Sidewalks of New York is the only movie Ive ever seen that could genuinely be mistaken for a real Woody Allen movie by even a relatively savvy fan (assuming they somehow missed the opening credits, of course). While Miami Rhapsody would love it if you made that mistake, it feels too much like an imitation or an exercise, and was made by a director with too divergent of a mindset. In Sidewalks of New York, though, Burns (who wrote, directed and co-starred) writes dialogue and characters vivid enough that they dont feel like imitations and is genuinely interested in all the same things as Allen (like, for example, New York). Like so many other films listed here, Sidewalks of New Yorkis a documentary. But, more specifically, it is a documentary in the exact same style as Husbands and Wives. It sharesHusbands interviews, its jump-cuts, its grainy handheld camera, and its unrealistically omniscient documentary crew. Im not exaggerating when I say that footage of this film could be interspersed intoHusbands and Wives and it wouldnt stand out.

The characters conversations, interests, lifestyles, professions and love lives would make them feel at home in any number of Allen films. Theres no real Woody Allen type character, though. The closest would be a dentist named Griffin, played by Stanley Tucci. He doesnt really resemble Allen in terms of personality or dialogue, but his vocal mannerisms and hand gestures mimic Allen almost, but not quite, as blatantly as Kenneth Branagh in Celebrity.

Sidewalks of New York tells the story of uptown Manhattanites falling in love, breaking up, cheating, and doing a whole lot of talking. Its light, but not silly. Some of the characters are nice, some are not, but all of them are distinct and engaging, and theyre played by talented, likable actors. At the risk of sounding like a movie poster: If you loved Hannah and her Sisters and Husbands and Wives, youll likeSidewalks of New York. See Also: Other talky indie movies like Shes The One (1996), Chasing Amy (1997), 200 Cigarettes(1999), Last Days of Disco (2000). Woody Allen Connections: Edward Burns and Woody Allen both contributed a short film to the 9/11 benefit concert (Allens was Sounds From a Town I Love); Stanley Tucci co-starred in Deconstructing Harry and directed Allen in The Impostors.

500 Days of Summer (2009)

When I consulted Twitter for suggestions for this list, exactly 75% of the responses named 500 Days of Summer. Its easy to see why: it shares an irreverent sense of humor and whimsical spirit with many Woody Allen movies, and has two characters who sometimes seem like more innocent, simplistically appealing variations on some of Allens stock characters. After Sidewalks of New Yorks interest in Allens drier films, 500 Days of Summer harkens back to more light-hearted time in his career. The female lead, named Summer (Zooey Deschanel), resembles a lot of the women who have perplexed and haunted Woody Allen through the years. Like the women portrayed by Diane Keaton, shes passionate, young, fun, and a veritable quirk factory. Like Mia Farrows characters (and Christina Riccis and Scarlett Johanssons) shes a distant, ultimately unknowable object of desire.

Tom Hanson (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) probably owes more to Benjamin Braddock than Woody Allen (something the movie openly acknowledges by interspersing clips of The Graduate). Tom shares Allens qualities of over-talking, over-thinking self-obsession, but lacks his depressive neuroses. Of course, Tom is also a much younger man. If Allen had made an Annie Hall when he was 25, maybe hed be more sweetly, innocently romantic. By

the time he actually got around to making real romantic comedies, Woody Allen was well into middle-age.

The first moment that reminded me of Woody Allen was a scene in which Tom finally decides that Summer is the girl of his dreams when he finds out she loves The Smiths just as Ike and Mary were torn apart over a disagreement over Ingmar Bergman and Lee and Elliot finally bonded over an e.e. cummings poem. For some people, a persons favorite band/director/poet is a minor character trait, for others, it tells you everything you could ever want to know about a person.

You like The Smiths?

You dont like Bergman? Speaking of Ingmar Bergman, Allen used to love making visual allusions to him, and 500 Days of Summer does too.

Structurally, 500 Days of Summer resembles Annie Hall even more than When Harry Met Sally, despite being two additional decades removed. If When Harry Met Sally is Annies child, 500 Days of Summer is its grandchild, updating and spreading the influence to yet a new generation. All the tricksWHMS borrowed from Annie Hall are passed down unabated, but 500 Days offers up a few new ones Allen probably wishes hed thought of.

When Annie Hall was released, neither of 500 Days of Summers stars were born, and its director, Marc Webb, was three years old. 500 Days of Summer is likely a secondgeneration influence, at least. What it does tell us though, is that the cinematic conventions Allen stumbled across in the 1970s are still satisfying half-a-lifetime later. See Also: Quirky/whimsical love stories like High Fidelity (1999), Garden State (2004), Nick and Norahs Infinite Playlist (2008), Adventureland (2009). And, of course, The Graduate.

The Artist (2011)

Of all the movies discussed here, this is the one least inspired by Woody Allen The Artists inspiration dates back to a time before Woody Allen was born. It just seems like something Woody Allen himself might have made at some point. Hes made dramas, comedies, fantasies, documentaries, thrillers, and even a musical its actually sort of surprising he never made a silent movie. Maybe its just because Mel Brooks beat him to it.

Of course, if Allen did make a silent film, it would be very different from The Artist. Michel Hazanaviciuss film is achingly sincere its a silent movie about silent movies, and great pains were taken to make it look like the real thing. Allens silent film would probably use a new medium to tell a familiar story. Instead of being about the silent film era, it would likely end up being about, well, Woody Allen. In my review of Everyone Says I Love you I said, The narrator opens by saying were not the type of family youd normally see see in a musical comedy. True, but theyre exactly the type of family you expect to see in a Woody Allen movie. The same would likely be true of Allens silent film. One could probably get a general idea of what Woody Allens theoretical attempt at silent film might look like by simply watching Sleeper. Allen and co-writer Marshall Brickman had initially planned to make it entirely silent. Obviously they didnt follow through with that, but many sequences are silent (with music) and large parts of the film are deliberately done in the style of silent-era comics like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.

Had Allen and Brickman adhered to their original vision, its likely that a lot of Sleepers modern political humor would have remained in some capacity. The Artist, though, is less Buster Keaton and more Errol Flynn, and it is boldly devoid of modernity. Sleeper took pot-shots at Richard Nixon and Howard Cosell (both of whom were contemporary at the time), but an allusion to Barack Obama, Sarah Palin or Nicolas Sarkozy (the movie is French, after all) would have been painfully out of place in The Artist.

Woody Allen does his best impression of Buster Keaton, but in the end, he is and will always be Woody Allen. Jean Dujardin, who stars as George Valentin, on the other hand, is indecipherable from a real 1920s heartthrob.

Allens silent film (which, again, is still hypothetical) would probably be to The Artist what Everyone Says I Love You was to 2002s Chicago a messier, cheaper, less confident, more neurotic version. See Also: Other movies pretending to be from a different time and place like Whats Up Doc (1972),Man of the Century (1999), Far From Heaven (2002), The Good German (2006), and of course Mel Brooks The Silent Movie (1976). Woody Allen Connections: None to speak of, although its interesting to note that, in the most recent award season, The Artist was frequently up against Allens own ode to the 1920s: Midnight in Paris.

1976 - 1985: Wild Man Blues

Briskly recapping and ranking Woody Allen's 1976 - 1985 movies. 2011-08-01 Woody Allen Trevor Gilks 1976 - 1985

In my very first review, of Whats New Pussycat, I said many of [Woody Allens] films are indisputably products of their era. In retrospect, this was inaccurate. Woody Allens films are remarkably frozen in time change the hair and the outfits, and almost any one could just as easily have been made almost any time between 1965 and 2015. The reason I initially made that claim was to challenge the commonly held notion that he makes the same movie over and over again. However, if I had just waited, I would have realized how obvious that point is. The movies from this period of Woody Allens career are so diverse, the only thing they have in common is how wildly different they are from each other. A bleak family drama (Interiors), a feel-good message movie (The Front), a whimsical fairytale (The Purple Rose of Cairo), a deconstructed romantic comedy (Annie Hall), a bizarre documentary (Zelig). For nine years, Woody Allen was bouncing heedlessly around the extreme artistic limitations of the film world.

Who was Woody Allen in 1985?

With the exception of The Front (which Allen didnt write or direct anyway) and A Midsummer Nights Sex Comedy (which he barely wrote), the movies from this era all share one other common trait: bold, original, uncompromising artistry. Despite eventually developing an increasingly earned reputation as a safe and repetitious director, Allen spent at least one decade working without a safety net. The periods of 1965-1975 and 1986-1992, with a few exceptions, were times that Allen mostly focused on particular facets of his skill-set slapstick comedies and philosophical chamber dramas, respectively. But in between, he seemed unbound by any constraints. He might have been difficult to pigeonhole in terms of genre or tone, but it could safely be said that in 1985 he was a very exciting, unpredictable filmmaker.

1976-1985: Top 5 favorite scenes

1. Tom Baxter walks off the screen, The Purple Rose of Cairo

The biggest, most famous moment of a beloved movie seems to serve two purposes: on an emotional level, its the big moment weve been waiting for, as the films hard-luck heroines dreams are answered when a handsome leading man walks off the movie screen and into her life; it also elevates the film from simple fantasy into more modern, complex surrealism. These might seem like clashing ideals, but its directed so skillfully, it manages to be funny, smart and sweet at the same time.
2. Neurotic introduction, Manhattan

The music (Gershwins Rhapsody In Blue) and the stunning imagery suggest grandiosity and operatic emotion. The voiceover by Isaac Davis (Woody Allen) on the other hand, is uncertain and insecure. This essentially sets the tone of the rest of the movie: people taking on big questions in a complicated world, but not really knowing how to answer them.
3. Ending, Annie Hall

In a movie filled with asides, diversions and unexpected flights of fancy, Annie Halls ending cuts sharply and unexpectedly to the movies emotional core. Running into Annie with another date long after theyve broken up, they remember their time together with an easy-going but powerfully felt mix of nostalgia, longing and regret.

4. Dannys introduction, Broadway Danny Rose

My hand to God, shes gonna be at Carnegie Hall. But Ill let you have her now at the old price. Which is... anything you wanna give me. Anything at all.

A group of show-business veterans tell us about Danny Rose, a mythic, tragic figure in the New York artistic community. Hes a talent agent whos as well-meaning as he is hopeless. He see him as a comedian telling corny jokes to a retirement community before we cut to him in his new career as an agent, offering a flopsweat-soaked sales pitch to the owner of Weinsteins Majestic Bungalow Colony. The scene neatly encompasses one of Allens most endearing characters.
5. Sandys anger unleashed, Stardust Memories

Sandy Bates anger manifests itself as a sentient, furry animal (you never quite get a good look at it) and attacks the people in his life that have incurred it such as his ex-wife, her

alimony lawyer, and his mother. Not the most profound thing, I suppose, but thanks to its timing and direction, I definitely laughed more at this scene than any other from this period.

1976-1985: Top 5 Favorite Performances by People That Are Not Woody Allen
1. Mariel Hemingway, Manhattan

Acting is a difficult thing to judge. I, of course, am not an actor, nor do I know anything about the craft of acting. All I can do think and write about performances, characters and the emotions they convey on screen. Hemingway, who was only 17 at the time, offers a heart-breaking portrait of a smart, kind teenager who is too mature for her high school classmates, but too naive to deal with the jaded machinations of Manhattans middle-aged socialites.
2. Mia Farrow, The Purple Rose of Cairo

While Broadway Danny Rose showcased Farrows impressive range, Purple Rose of Cairo made perfect use of the warmth and vulnerability that she naturally exudes. The emotional core of this movie, Farrow crafts a plucky heroine in the tradition of Wizard of

Ozs Dorothy. It is a credit to her performance that the movies dark twist at the end feels so cruel.
3. Diane Keaton, Annie Hall

A performance that, in Diane Keatons own words, barely counted as acting, yet somehow resulted in one of American cinemas most enduring characters. Perhaps because it was so natural and effortless that it seemed like Annie was such a real person, not a cog in a movie machine. Its easy to imagine Annie having a life outside what we see in Annie Hall
4. Geraldine Page, Interiors

As the suicidally depressed mother of two troubled daughters and a departing husband, Geraldine Page was tasked with creating an interesting character with nothing to go on but cavernous needs and boundless misery. Miraculously, she creates an indelible woman who

makes genuine efforts to improve the lives of herself and her family, despite decades of depression and family strife.
5. Jeff Daniels, Purple Rose of Cairo

Tellingly, the only man on the list (Woody Allen is still playing most of the male leads). Jeff Daniels plays two characters the oblivious, sincere adventurer Tom Baxter, and the flustered, seemingly-sincere actor Gil Shepard. Both creations essentially exist within the mind of Cecilia in Toms case, shes deluding herself, but in Gils case, its Gil whos doing the deceiving. With each one, Daniels is playing what seems to be a simple character, but simple in a very particular way, and serving a very particular purpose.

1976-1985: Top 5 Overall Movies

1. Manhattan
Its almost impossible to comparatively rank Manhattan and Annie Hall. Annie Hall is funnier, while Manhattan is more tragic. Annie Hall is bursting with ideas, while Manhattan is more of a long, hard look at relationships and loneliness. Annie Hall works on a more emotional level, whereas Manhattan seems to have a more cerebral appeal. For me, at least right now, this movie, about intersecting lives in New Yorks most famous borough, seems to resonate more deeply. 2. Annie Hall Definitely the most innovative and influential romantic comedy of all time, Annie Hall balances fantastical asides with a warts-and-all look a single relationship from beginning to end. Its a movie so dense with ideas it seems to burst at the seems, yet takes the time to really get to know its two main characters. As I said in the review: its playfully obtuse but painfully direct. 3. The Purple Rose of Cairo This is the one Woody Allen film that is truly impossible to dislike, by virtue of its sweet, charming nature. With incredible attention to detail, Allen creates a vivid fantasy world, and fills it with darker, more modern undercurrents.

4. Zelig Despite being one of the most symbolic and subversive films Allen has made, its still incredibly fun, and incredibly funny. Woody Allen plays a man who can literally transform himself into anyone, in a funny, romantic movie with powerful reflections on identity, mental illness, and the universal human need to be liked. 5. Stardust Memories I realize that many members of this sites small following will disagree with the exclusion ofBroadway Danny Rose. Comparing Stardust Memories and Broadway Danny Rose is another impossible/pointless task. Danny Rose is charming, entertaining and meticulously directed, whileStardust Memories is a free-wheeling, messy movie with a dark heart and an even darker tone. But, speaking purely based on personal preference, Stardust Memories is a movie that seems to have a little more going for it. It has a more interesting (if less likable) lead character, haunting and beautiful cinematography, and a healthy supply of shocking, audacious humor unlike anything in Allens filmography.

Fun Facts

Originally, my goal was just to review movies as fast as Woody Allen was making them. With 18 movies down in four months, I can definitely say that I am succeeding! I have now seen more Woody Allen movies than Woody Allens wife. During this period, The Front, Midsummer Nights Sex Comedy and Broadway Danny Rose were the only movies I hadnt seen before. Although, I have seen a relatively small portion of the films hes made since 1986.