The Woody Allen Retrospective Podcast

Back on the retrospective with Woody first and still only foray into an animated feature... which turned out.. not so bad.. surprisingly :P   Antz (1998) follows Z, a neurotic worker ant who feels trapped by the conformist confines of his totalitarian ant civilisation and eventually sets forth in search of Insectopia, a mythical utopia rumoured to be beyond the colony's borders.   Please check out...

Back on the retrospective with yet another Woody flick sporting a MASSIVE cast - the name says it all on this one :)   Celebrity (1998) follows a group of self-absorbed celebrities as they navigate the shallow and often absurd world of fame and fortune. At the center of the film is Lee Simon (Kenneth Branagh), a washed-up writer who reinvents himself as a celebrity journalist. Through his intervie...

Back on the retrospective with arguably Woody Allen's most buck-wild black comedy romp that pushes his usual comedic limits way into the asshole zone we just loved to behold :)   Deconstructing Harry (1997) is a black comedy that follows Harry Block, a successful New York novelist who draws inspiration for his work from the people he knows in real life, often causing them to become alienated from...

Back on the retrospective with a much smaller behind the scenes release focusing on Woodys Jazz band and his life with wife Soon-Yi   Wild Man Blues (1996) captures the infectious energy and camaraderie of Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band as they embark on a 1996 European tour. The film follows the band's performances from Berlin to Stockholm, showcasing their authentic renditions of earl...

Back on the retrospective with Woody dipping his toes in the world of a movie musical for the first time with a STELLAR cast to boot..   Everyone Says I Love You (1996) is a musical film about wealthy Manhattanites Joe Berliner (Woody Allen) and Steffi Dandridge (Goldie Hawn) navigating the complexities of love, family, and infidelity as their extended family gathers for the impending wedding of t...

Apologies for the audio kinks you will hear throughout this episode.. it was sadly unavoidable due to a technical glitch with the recording software and could not be fixed in post production :(   Anyhow......   We are back on the retrospective with yet another side-step outside the core filmography.. today we have ANOTHER re-adaptation of a play / movie that woody DID NOT write or direct...   In T...

Back on the retrospective with a fun raunchy comedy that gives a somewhat unexpected feel good aftertaste when all is said and done!   Mighty Aphrodite (1995) has Lenny Weinrib (Woody Allen), an adopted child's father, embark on a quest to find his son's biological mother, leading him to Linda Ash (Mira Sorvino), a former porn star turned prostitute.   Lenny's discovery of Linda's past challenges...

Here we have a special case where woody is remaking a movie which is based off a play he wrote himself as a television special of sorts   Don't Drink the Water (1994) was a made-for-television movie starring Woody Allen and Michael J. Fox. Walter Hollander (Woody Allen), an inept American diplomat trapped behind the Iron Curtain, struggles to navigate the intricacies of Eastern European politics w...

Back on track with our next movie in the retrospective... anther fun little throwback movie for Woody to sink his teeth into and for us to discuss in detail   Bullets Over Broadway (1994) is set in New York City in 1928. David Shayne (John Cusack) is a young playwright who is struggling to get his play produced. He eventually meets Nick Valenti (Chazz Palminteri), a gangster who agrees to finance...

Today we get to the very much beloved recasting of Diane Keaton back in a Woody project right at a time when Woody probably needed it the most    ALSO, Since it is the 40th year anniversary for Annie Hall at the time of this recording we were pointed to this independent fan film which actually revolves around a Woody Allen fan who uses Annie Hall as a romantic crutch of sorts.   The film is called...

As we have alluded to during our Woody Allen retrospective discussions, we have decided that we are going to talk about the very public and shocking 1992 scandal involving Mia Farrow and her adopted daughters Soon-Yi and even younger daughter Dylan Farrow as it is just such a big part of Woody Allen's life - an almost unavoidable topic and honestly, it didn't feel right to ignore it and just focus...

Back on track with our next movie in the retrospective... definitely one of the more notable additions and we enjoyed digging into this one quite a bit!   In Husbands and Wives (1992) two couples, Gabe (Woody Allen) and Judy (Mia Farrow), and Jack (Sydney Pollack) and Sally (Judy Davis), grapple with the complexities of love, marriage, and infidelity as their best friends' separation sends shockwa...

Back on track with our next movie in the Woody filmography... and it's kind of a strange one :P   Shadows and Fog (1991) stars Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, John Cusack, Kathy Bates, Kenneth Walsh, and Danny Aiello. The film takes place in a nameless European city during the 1930s and follows a bookkeeper named Kleinman (Allen) as he tries to escape the chaos of a serial killer on the loose   Please ch...

Today on the retrospective we get to another NON Woody Allen directed flick we get into a very amusing discussion on!   Scenes From A Mall (1991) is directed by Paul Mazursky, written by Mazursky and Roger L. Simon, and starring Bette Midler and Woody Allen. The title is a play on Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, and the film itself features similar themes of marital disintegration.   Plea...

BACK on track with the retrospective starting off this new decade for Woody with a very light hearted and quirky adventure of sorts :)   Alice (1990) stars Mia Farrow as Alice Tate, a wealthy Manhattan housewife who is unhappy with her life. She begins to question her life choices after visiting a Chinatown herbalist, Dr. Yang (Keye Luke), who gives her a series of magical teas.   Please check out...

Today we go a little of the beaten path and talk about a collaboration movie Woody took part in and more recently Woody did a facebook live interview which was quite amusing and enlightening for some.... not so much for us, more amusing that anything else!   New York Stories (1989) is an anthology film consisting of three segments with the central theme being New York City. The three segments were...

We continue to move forward with our Retrospective as we get to discuss another beloved fan and critic favourite from Woody's filmography!   Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) Tells two interconnected stories: that of Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau), a successful filmmaker who commits adultery and attempts to blackmail his mistress, and that of Cliff Stern (Woody Allen), a documentary filmmaker who is...

We continue to move forward with our Retrospective and we get to a very special movie for one of our hosts as it seems to be his favourite whereas, it is not really considered majorly with moviegoers or even die hard Woody fans compared to his other offerings   Another Woman (1988) stars Gena Rowlands as Marion Post, a philosophy professor who rents an office to write a new book. She overhears the...

We continue to move forward with our Retrospective as we look at Woodys next attempt to dive back into the more emotional and barebone narrative drama somewhat like the vein of Interiors - it seems to have a bad rep with some but we get a good conversation from this one for sure ;)   September (1987) stars Mia Farrow as Lane, a woman who is recovering from a suicide attempt at her summer house in...

We continue to move forward with our Retrospective as we see Woody do a movie giving a somewhat personal nostalgic take on classic radio broadcasting days now long gone ...and we appreciated the lookback :)   Radio Days (1987) takes a look at the golden age of radio during the late 1930s and 1940s, focusing on a working-class family living in Rockaway Beach, New York. The film weaves together vari...

We once agin move forward with our Retrospective as we look at what is widely considered Woodys 3rd best movie after Annie Hall & Manhattan   Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) is a comedy-drama film that tells the intertwined stories of three sisters, Hannah (Mia Farrow), Lee (Barbara Hershey), and Holly (Dianne Wiest), and the men in their lives. The movie also stars Woody Allen himself and Micha...

We continue to move forward with our Retrospective as we look at a charming down to earth fantasy set in the time of the great depression, giving our main character moviegoer an experience of a lifetime!   The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) tells the story of Cecilia, a lonely waitress who escapes her dreary life by going to the movies. One day, the leading man in her favourite film steps off the scr...

We continue to move forward with our Retrospective as we look at a charming tale of a talent manager back in the good old days of live entertainment and one of his greatest misadventures   Broadway Danny Rose (1984) follows a hapless theatrical agent who, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob.   The film stars Woody Allen as the titular character, Mia Farrow as T...

We continue to move forward with our Retrospective as we look at a fan favourite where woody fully realises his mockumentary visions from take the money and run and infuses them with an interesting chameleon character piece, all executed with a special type of comedic seriousness :P   Zelig is a 1983 mockumentary film dealing with a chameleon-like man who can unconsciously blend in with his surrou...

We continue to move forward with our Retrospective as we look at a movie where Woody seems to want to take a break and do some lighthearted romance comedy far away in the countryside   A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy is a 1982 loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. The film stars Allen as Andrew Hobbs, a married man who goes to the country with his friends to spen...