11/21/11

American Masters: Woody Allen

I just finished watching the PBS American Masters doc. on Woody Allen, which is available online. (Part 1 as of this writing and Part 2 shortly will follow.) 

While this 3.5 hr doc. is mostly thorough, Part 1 and 2 are almost like different films. (I said almost.) Part 1 is the better half, since it goes into how Allen got involved in film in the first place, and covers his early development as an artist, his relationship with Diane Keaton, etc. Part 2 is more on commercialism and scandal, though it does cover his films with Mia Farrow.

But as for a few things that disappointed me:  all the critics made it seem like Stardust Memories was a "misstep" and a "failure" of grand proportion, though none of them really stated why. Just read Dan's review and see how he disagrees with that. Stardust Memories is one of the greatest films I've ever seen in my life, so to call this masterpiece a "failure" even more than 30 years after the fact made me depressed a little.

The second disappointment is that the doc. didn't even mention Another Woman, which is another one of his greatest films. In fact, if I could rank his three best films overall, they would be Stardust Memories, Another Woman and Crimes and Misdemeanors. One out of those films was mentioned as a failure and the other wasn't even mentioned at all.

Yet why the boner for Matchpoint? Ah, because it made some money and sort of made him "cool" in a way, after various lackluster films like Jade Scorpion, Hollywood Ending and Anything Else. Though the doc. neglected to mention that Allen recycled his own material from Crimes and Misdemeanors, albeit differently. Granted, Matchpoint is a good film, but no Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Perhaps the most ridiculous was when they made it seem like A Mid Summer Night's Sex Comedy was somehow an indication that Allen was back on the "right track" after having "fallen off it" as result of Stardust Memories. Other than being the first film with Mia Farrow, it's just an ok, lite movie.

The doc. is worth the watch, even though I found the critics ill informed and overall ignorant about what makes for a great film. Oh, and for only calling Interiors "heavy." Heavy? That's all they can say about it? What a bunch of Joeys.