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Woody Allen Announces His Retirement After Completing His 50th Film


A24

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Farewell, to a film-making genius.

Whatever one says about his private life, he has left an indelible mark upon cinema, and has been influential in shaping 20th century popular culture.

He has given the film-going public a veritable plethora of genuinely brilliant, and classic, films.

I wish him well, in his retirement.

 

 

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He’s one of my 5 favorite filmmakers, but he also has mostly been making really bad movies for 20 years, so really I don’t care either way.  His amazing run from the 70s to the mid-90s with some of my favorite movies ever made will always be there for me to luxuriate in.

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He’s been releasing a movie every year or two since 1966 - people have had plenty of time over the last few decades to ditch Woody if they wanted to, and some have and some haven’t.  I’m in the former group, but it’s not exactly a sacrifice for me because I’ve only really liked one of his movies that I’ve seen.

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12 hours ago, mstrox said:

 I’ve only really liked one of his movies that I’ve seen.

 

Probably the one I dislike. Something to do with Paris, am I right?

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Every single movie he made between 1973 and 1994 I could watch compulsively, they're all just so good.  From '95 on it gets more spotty: a few very good movies sprinkled among a mix of mediocrities and outright stinkers.

 

It was actually a bit shocking to watch a movie like Cafe Society, with its embarrassingly amateurish script and catatonic performances, and think it was the same writer/director that created masterpieces like Radio Days, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Purple Rose of Cairo.

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Serious question I don't know the answer to: How many people have actually directed 50 or more feature length films?  It's gotta be extremely rare company?

 

And no jokes about porn films, serious answers only!

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2 minutes ago, Jay said:

Serious question I don't know the answer to: How many people have actually directed 50 or more feature length films?  It's gotta be extremely rare company?

 

And no jokes about porn films, serious answers only!

 

There should probably be a post 1950 stipulation.  In the Hollywood studio system days, it's not super uncommon to find a director like John Ford, who directed more than 100 movies from the 1910s to the 1960s.

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7 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Every single movie he made between 1973 and 1994 I could watch compulsively, they're all just so good.  From '95 on it gets more spotty: a few very good movies sprinkled among a mix of mediocrities and outright stinkers.

 

It was actually a bit shocking to watch a movie like Cafe Society, with its embarrassingly amateurish script and catatonic performances, and think it was the same writer/director that created masterpieces like Radio Days, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Purple Rose of Cairo.

I have a fondness for his late 90s early 00s fare. I discovered his films during that era. Lot of them are underrated to me!

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4 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

I have a fondness for his late 90s early 00s fare. I discovered his films during that era. Lot of them are underrated to me!


Sweet and Lowdown and Small Time Crooks are definitely among the good ones!  I do have a soft spot for Jade Scorpion, not great by any means but solid jokes and fun tone.

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16 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

Sweet and Lowdown and Small Time Crooks are definitely among the good ones!  I do have a soft spot for Jade Scorpion, not great by any means but solid jokes and fun tone.

I love Jade Scorpion. Melinda And Melinda as well. 

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I mostly found his movies overrated. Movies that were considered "brillant" by critics were more or less "nice" or ok in my eyes.

But "Bullets over Broadway" is one of my favourite comedies.

And "Love and Death" is hilarious.

 

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54 minutes ago, AC1 said:

Critcs tend to say Manhattan and Annie Hall are his masterpieces (or at least his best movies) and, yeah, I agree. Still, Manhattan all the way.

Interesting. I think, both I haven't seen. But I have seen so many of his movies. I always thought, more than it is worth. The one I couldn't finish was "Zelig".

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Honestly, Annie Hall is not among my favorites, but it is great.  For me, the run of Purple Rose of Cairo-Hannah and Her Sisters-Radio Days-Another Woman-Crimes and Misdemeanors is just an all-time run of classic films (with September being the "ok but not great" fly in the ointment).  Woody in the 80s was just on fire.

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