Will anybody go to see a new or old Woody Allen movie? Ever?

Will anybody go to see a new or old Woody Allen movie? Ever?

No, and it has nothing to do with whatever may or may not have happened in his private life. I loved his earlier stuff but to me he's not a must see/appointment level director. The people who consider him one will continue to be there for his movies. The rest will not.

I think this falls squarely under *shrug*.

Yeah, not to sidestep some of the thornier moral questions, but this choice seems considerably easier now that the quality of his films has nosedived. The reports from the sets are really damning on this front, too, about how he always appears disinterested, almost always uses the first take, et cetera. Just going through the motions.

I'm not crazy about his older stuff. I think it's safe to stay away from his new stuff, amirite?

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

I love his older stuff, but yeah, you can stay away from anything post 1990. Some real slippage after the 1980’s.

Clint Eastwood invariably uses the first take too. I think that’s better than exhausting the actors with innumerable takes. I don’t see it as a negative.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

It's not inherently/automatically a negative, but the odds of the first take being the best are probably slim. Exhausting actors certainly isn't good either (though it might make for a better film), but there's a sizable middle ground between one take and one hundred.

Anyway, the kind of director that gets a really good result out of a single take is generally one, I would think, who's very engaged and prepared, which Allen doesn't sound to be, which is why I think disinterest--rather than a stylistic choice--is the likely explanation.

I appreciate Woody Allen for his love of trying new things. So there's always a chance of the next Midnight in Paris to me.

Fassbinder was another frequent first take director. There are some philosophies about capturing the moment where the actors first speak their dialogue, even if it might not be perfect, or there may be blocking errors or flubbed lines.


I don't doubt that Allen has lost interest though. A lot of his films from the last twenty years have been absolutely lifeless. Not all, but definitely more than an a list director should be making

I was filled with horror when it was revealed David Fincher filmed 99 takes of the first scene in “The Social Network”. How exhausting for the actors.

This film was one of the main attraction during the just finished FilmFest around here and we've planned to visit the movie theatre specially for it. Unfortunately couldn't do it.
Allen's films are probably the only ones worth visiting the theatre for sure these days (sorry, Wes Anderson's too).
Now, we've passionately searching the net for Coup de Chance. Would be a great celebration for this holliday week.

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"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.

Also, one of the great scenes ever and I really haven’t heard of actors complaining about Fincher. So….

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