I enjoyed the American Masters,

Woody Allen, a Documentary, immensely, even if it is, basically, a film version of Eric Lax's (Lax is also one of the "witnesses") glowing, sanitized authorized biography of Mr Allen.

I did not want a hatchet job, but more objectivity would be appreciated, and, I imagine, will eventually come down the pipeline in the future.

"I need the eggs"

And, I guess, we will never see the "rest" of Annie Hall, particularly, the Allen as a New York Knick fantasy sequence, until after Allen's death.

In fact, it will be interesting to see, if Allen's estate will let commentaries, deleted scenes, and other feature-ettes be part of Allen's blu rays in the future.  I hope so.  He (and his audience) deserve them, even if Allen finds them abominable.  (Though, part of me, likes that Allen lets the films stand on their own in dvd form.  I am v torn.)

I wish they would have told the Marshall McLuhan story; Allen wanted someone else and was furious and pouted for ages, even when McLuhan was on the set.  He need not have worried, obv, because the scene is American film history now, and insanely funny, and perfect.

But I did like that they highlighted Pauline Kael's famous last quote from her review of Stardust Memories (a sadly prophetic film about celebrity -- John Lennon was murdered by an adoring fan just after its' release -- that I rather enjoy, despite its' bleakness):

If Woody Allen finds success very upsetting and wishes the public would go away, this picture should help him stop worrying.

David Thomson does not like Allen's films much, either, (though Thomson seems to have softened his attitude towards Allen in his latest installment of his Biographical Dictionary of Film) and John Simon hated Woody.

As much as I respect Kael and Thomson, (John Simon was a douche and was constantly getting exposed in Review of Reviewers in Spy Magazine) they are both wrong.  Woody Allen is one of the greatest American film makers, period, full stop.





See you Monday nights at Mortons
- Celia Brady