Formal Film Study on Woody Allen as a Director

Woody Allen

Born December 1st, 1935 in New York, Woody Allen had a "stern" upbringing. His parents didn't get along very well and he had a trying relationship with his mother. He was a funny child and started earning money by creating jokes and gag lines for columnist and other comedians. He found great success in his comic role as well as in his writing abilities. After dropping out of college Allen was self-taught. Eventually he rose to fame through the films he wrote, directed, and often starred in becoming the Woody Allen of today, a quirky, funny man that has a mind that is always on the run.

The movies I chose are Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979), and Radio Days (1987), the first two being considered two of his best films of all time. The last being a more comedic movie (Though pretty much all of his movies are comedic in some way).

Annie Hall is a movie about Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) looking back and wondering why his relationship with Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) ended when everything seemed to have been going so well. The movie weaves through their awkward meeting, the beginning of their relationship and on through their "good times" and finally to their struggles and falling out. The story is quirky, as is the character that Allen plays. Though seemingly a typical romance story, Annie Hall is nuanced with philosophical ideas and comedic input that only seems dry to the ignorant-minded individual.

Manhattan is another kind of romance story again starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. In addition to the pair is Mariel Hemingway and Michael Murphy. In this film, Woody Allen's character, Isaac Davis, a 42-year-old television comedy writer, falls for the intellectually competent Mary Wilkie (Diane Keaton). The twist is that, Isaac is already dating 17-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway) of Dalton School and his married friend Yale (Michael Murphy) is having an affair with Mary. Isaac is also twice married and twice divorced. His first first wife Jill (Meryl Streep), is writing a book about their relationship issues and is happily coupled with her partner Connie, whom Isaac supposed tried to run over with his car, though he denies it every time. This quirky movie addresses many issues and contains many mind grabbers due to the "messed" up nature of the characters' lives.




Radio Days, very different from the other movies, addresses the main character, Joe's boyhood by talking about the different things that were on the radio during the time and how they effected his life.  Joe is growing up in a Jewish-American home that houses not only his parents and siblings but his extended family as well. The movie tells Joe's life in parallel action to the lives of famous radio stars like Sally White and his own family members like Aunt Bea who just wants a man. The music track behind the movie plays a very important roll in this particular film.















Style/Industry/Technology: The differences in these films are quite apparent when you watch them. The color scheme for each is very specific to the movie it is enhancing. Annie Hall is shot in a duller color, but the movie is still in color as compared to Manhattan, which is shot in black and white. Radio Days, unlike the two before it, is shot in brighter color, which may be partly due to improved technology. In addition, Manhattan has a very reminiscent feeling to it at times provoked by the longer shots of Manhattan and the famous music in the background. Annie Hall has a lighter feeling to it drawn out through it's new romance content and quirky jokes. Radio Days has an up beat edge that plays off the music of its time and the events of the era. From a technological standpoint, Allen does not use a great deal of special effects, instead he relies more on the spoken words of either his narration or his actors' voices. Cinematographically, Allen tends to have typical shots of thigh and up for the majority of scenes. In Manhattan, long shots are used when displaying the beauty of the Manhattan area. Typically shots are made to revolve around the conversation between two characters, though this is usually done by showing both speakers rather than having a back and forth editing style that is utilized in many other movies.

Culture/Politics/History: In any great Woody Allen movie, history and culture is on stark display. Allen is an intelligent man, and because of his great wealth of knowledge, it spills over into his movies too. Radio Days itself is a movie based on history through a radio-colored lens. Manhattan and Annie Hall of course are a bit more subtle, but even still, the conversation between characters is usually at a much deeper level, especially in Manhattan when talking to Mary the culturally intelligent. On a basic level, Allen's movies are dull stories, on a more meaningful level, the movies address things like the meaning of love and maturity. Allen addresses the way things like radio and art change people and the philosophical theories of the intricacies of life. The war is broached in Radio Days when the women draw on nylons since they can't buy them due to the war effort. The subtle clues and jests at history within the contents of Woody Allen movies bring a depth to his movies that many others seem to lack.

A Closer Look: On a cinematographic mindset Allen does some cool things too, but in more subtle ways. In the beginning of Manhattan we watch beautiful scenes of Manhattan fade in and out as we listen to the wonderful music of Gershwin that we've all heard before. Another scene from this movie that has specific importance is the image of Mary and Isaac sitting on a bench in front of the Brooklyn Bridge at dawn. In Radio Days, Allen's cinematographic eye shows us the superb scenes of classic club shows with singers and fancy show girls. We also get to glimpse the stunning lights of New York at night from the roof of the club building.

Discovery: While Woody Allen doesn't try to do anything super strange in his movies, it is obvious that he has a distinct style when it comes to movie making. I have found that he focuses more on the words that are said during a movie and the sounds that are heard. This is apparent in his almost constant use of comedic lines and personal narration of the story's plot. Allen also utilizes the music that he adds to his movies like George Gershwin pieces in Manhattan, specifically,  Rhapsody in Blue and an assortment of music from the 30s and 40s as well as the renown, Flight of the Bumblebee in Radio Days.

Research: Use the following links to watch trailers for the three movies.
Click Here for Radio Days
Click Here for Manhattan
Click Here for Annie Hall

Fun Facts:
-As a 4 million dollar project, the budget for Annie Hall was dwarfed by its overwhelming success, grossing over 39 million dollars.
-The title Annie Hall came from Diane Keaton's real name and nickname.
-Manhattan was one of Woody Allen's least favorite movies he directed and he was surprised by its amount of success.
-Manhattan was deemed "culturally significant" buy the US Library of Congress and is preserved in the National Film Registry.
-The movie Radio Days is a rare instance in which despite not actually acting in the movie, Woody Allen narrates the film.
-Many of the life anecdotes in the movie were derived from Woody Allen's personal childhood.