Woody Allen: Genius Filmmaker or Overrated Hack?

[absyntheNsugar]

I used to Like Woody's movies...that is until after Hannah and Her Sisters - he pretty much just remade his movies over and over again. When he does something original these days, it's BAD (Everyone says I love you anyone?)

[pasadenaboy]

1. Former genius

who needs an editor to tell him to rework his stories. His last good movie was everybody says I love you.

Prince is the same way. Some people are so good they think that whatever they want to put out in the future is a work of genius, when they would be better served to have a producer/editor besides themselves to tell them what works and what doesn't.

[MrScorpio]

2. All artists do their best work when they're drunk, high or hungry

Woody seems pretty sober, grounded and well fed these days

[bushedout]

3. All around weirdo

[Melodybe]

15. TOTAL HACK!!! I want to barf every time he hooks up with some young chic

ALL of his movies have him hooking up with some starlet that is WAY to young for him. Woody is an egotistical freak! Back in the day he was funny, I like annie Hall alright, but he reminds me of Micheal Jackson. Both started out ok, but then decided to be creepy sex freaks. I can't look at their faces or be around their creations without needing a shower.

[Deja Q]

4. Pretty much all since "Annie Hall" hasn't been funny, and sometimes freaky

Still, nobody's perfect... :D

[DemNoir]

5. Looking back and I was a fan

I have to admit he was one of the most overrated film makers ever. His best movies are the less ambitious efforts like "Radio Days". That movie stands out to me as one of his best and one of the few I could still watch.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

6. "Crimes and Misdemeanors" was a masterpiece

"Annie Hall" and "Hannah and Her Sisters" were good movies too. He has done some interesting movies in the past decade or so but none that match the stuff in the '70s/'80s.

[NightTrain]

13. Yes! I consider "Crimes" his best film ever.

:thumbsup:

[BeatleBoot]

7. Neither

Just way incredibly cool for his time.

Nothing more. nothing less.

SUNY

[Cooley Hurd]

8. C'mon... you didn't like Mighty Aphrodite?

The muses were the funniest thing I'd seen in a while! Plus, it had MIRA SOROVINO! Yum!!!

[MrScorpio]

9. MA is surprisingly funny

That was my epiphany for the day

[parasim]

10. Woody is just Woody.

Basically he's just a quirky artist who makes films about quirky artists. The ugly stuff is mixed right in there with the genius.

He has totally melded with the character he created. and that character now has become public domain, so there's not much he can do about it at this point.


Kinda like Andy Warhol, Michael "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" Jackson, Harvey Pekar, Lenny Bruce, etc.

Still, I love 'em all!


Uh, btw, excuse my incoherence, I probably have no idea what I'm talking about.

[dfong63]

11. i never liked woody allen's movies

but he sucked even worse as a standup comic.

[Andyjunction]

12. somwhere in between

He can make crap like anybody else but he can also be good still. I loved Bullets Over Broadway.

edit: The trick in that movie was having John Cusack playing the part of the Woody Allen character.

[jonnyblitz]

14. I like him. I watch "Deconstructing Harry" every time they show it

on IFC which is ALL THE TIME! I think its a hoot!

[AfroLib]

16. Genius

His failures can never erase that which he has achieved--just a touch of greatness.

[Lindsey]

17. I think some of his movies are brilliant...

Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters (probably my favorite), Radio Days, Bullets Over Broadway. Personally,I think he's out there and it does creep me out what happened with the step daughter. Sometimes it's hard to separate the art from the artist. However, as an aspiring writer myself, I tend to try to simply appreciate the art (Roman Polansky's movie "The Pianist" was, imho, one of the most profound films I've ever seen - and I've see a lot)