The Tribute Series: Part Two- Woody Allen Aug 10 '01    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Movies 1776 From $8 Alias - The Complete Fifth Season From $20 The Bottom Line As a writer, director, and actor, Woody Allen has given us some of the best films, best characters, best scenes, and best lines of the past 30 years. The following is a chronological tribute to Woody Allen. He directed and starred in every film listed, except 1994's Bullets Over Broadway, in which he did not star. Bananas (1971) Cast: Louise Lasser, Carlos Montalban, Natividad Abascal, Jacobo Morales, Miguel Suarez. Story: Allen plays Fielding Mellish, who is caught in the middle of a revolution in San Marcos. Skinny: A funny film, but lighter than his later work. Look For: Allen's romantic interlude at the rebel camp. Howard Cosell's cameo. Sleeper (1973) Cast: Diane Keaton, John Beck, Mary Gregory, Don Keefer, Brian Avery. Story: Allen stars as Miles Munroe, who is brought back to life after being cryogenically frozen for 200 years. After fleeing from the police, he becomes involved in a plot to over-throw the Leader. Skinny: This is a spoof of science fiction films, and is similar to the slap-stick style of the above film. Look For: Keaton. Quite frankly, I think the kid earned another chance at starring in a Woody Allen film. Love and Death (1975) Cast: Diane Keaton, Georges Adet, Edmond Ardisson, Albert Augier, Lloyd Battista. Story: Allen plays Boris, a 19th-century Russian who fights in the war against Napoleonic France and is then involved in a plot to kill the diminutive Emperor. Skinny: This is a spoof of many things Russian, but unlike the first two, its humor is geared toward a more educated, intellectual audience. Look For: The Village Idiot. Boris's dance with Death. Annie Hall (1977) Cast: Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Paul Simon. Story: Allen stars as Alvy Singer, recounting his romance with the WASP title character. Skinny: His best film. Look For: The movie line scene and the balcony scene. Notes: The film won the Best Picture Oscar and Keaton won Best Actress for her work as the title character. Allen won Best Director and was nominated for Best Actor. Broadway Danny Rose (1984) Cast: Mia Farrow, Nick Forte, Milton Berle, Sandy Baron, Monica Corbett. Story: Allen plays the title character, a small-time talent agent. When lounge singer Lou Canova asks him to escort his girlfriend to a show, trouble ensues. Skinny: Rose is one of Allen's more likeable characters and the plot provides plenty of interest to make this one of his better films. Notes: Allen was nominated for Best Director and Original Screenplay Oscars. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Cast: Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Carrie Fisher, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine. Story: The lives and loves of three Manhattan sisters. Allen plays TV producer Mickey, who is also Hannah's ex-husband and her sister Lee's current lover. Skinny: Certainly a departure from his more light-hearted earlier work. Good stuff about relationships and what people look for in them. Notes: Michael Caine won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Dianne Wiest won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The film was nominated for Best Picture. Allen won an Oscar for Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Director. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) Cast: Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Alan Alda, Angelica Huston, Sam Waterston, Jerry Orbach. Story: Landau plays the adulterous Judah Rosenthal. Allen portrays film-maker Cliff Stern. Their paths cross briefly, but otherwise their stories are separate. Skinny: This is another one of Allen's more serious films. Look For: Film footage from Stern's documentary about his egotist brother-in-law (Alda). Notes: Allen received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Original Screenplay. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) Cast: Alan Alda, Dianne Keaton, Angelica Huston, Jerry Adler, Joy Behar. Story: Allen and Keaton play an apartnment-dwelling couple who suspect their neighbor of murdering his wife. Skinny: Allen returns to the comedic tone of his earlier films, ironically in a murder mystery. Look For: The answer to the mystery, of course. Bullets Over Broadway (1994) Cast: John Cusack, Jack Warden, Chazz Palminteri, Joe Viterelli, Jennifer Tilly, Rob Reiner, Dianne Wiest. Story: Cusack stars as playwright David Shayne, whose production is plagued by the bad acting of mobster's moll Olive (Tilly), her annoying body-guard Cheech (Palminteri), and the complaints of diva Helen Sinclair (Wiest). Skinny: This is a solid, well-acted film. But not only is Woody absent from the cast, but a lot of his trade-mark style is absent as well. Notes: Wiest won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Allen was nominated for Best Director. Deconstructing Harry (1997) Cast: Kirstie Alley, Eric Bogosian, Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Shue, Hazelle Goodman, Demi Moore, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss. Story: The life of novelist Harry Block, as seen through flash-backs, current happenings, and scenes from his books that are based on his life. Skinny: The humor here is more sardonic and biting than in his previous films. The all-star cast does well but is under-used. Look For: Billy Crystal and Mariel Hemingway. Note: Allen was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar. Other Woody Allen films worth a look include: Take the Money and Run (1969)- His directorial debut. Stardust Memories (1980) Zelig (1983) Shadows and Fog (1991) Celebrity (1998)- He directs, but does not act.

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