The first movie I ever went to see on my own without parental supervision was WOODY ALLEN'S "PLAY IT AGAIN SAM". I was in love with this new world.
I remember being slightly confused by the direct references to CASABLANCA, a movie I had yet to see. On some level though, my mind had been freed.
One thing I did relate to, even at that young age, was the way the words were flowing from the characters. It felt like a world I just wished I could inhabit. Would it be possible for me to ever speak to a woman like that? Certainly not with my skinny pre-teen body, but someday.
It was far away from the street of Italian ball hockey jocks that I hung out with, but it was a world I would gladly like to move to. Funny, and romantic, and profound, in some ways, from the very beginning, that movie was teaching me everything I needed to know about relationships between men and woman.
How far would you go to impress a woman you loved? Is it okay to make a fool out of yourself in the process? Is it ok to be vulnerable? Is it ok to express sexuality?
Almost 30 years later I recently saw the new Woody movie "MIDNIGHT IN PARIS".
A fantastic film with a plethora of references to the 20's in Paris. (Paris has never looked so gorgeous and provocative, Hemingway and Gertrude Stein literally come to life)
So much so, that the New York times critic put together a whole article on "decoding" Midnight in Paris for the younger audience I assume. I think it is fair to say that most people know who Hemingway was and that F Scott Fitzgerald's wife Zelda was an emotional mess. Who knows, maybe the youth of today are not interested in these people.
Over the years there have been many Woody Allen films that have completely blown me away with their mesmerizing Cinematography, iconoclastic wit and cerebral insights.... Annie Hall, Interiors, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Husbands and Wives, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Zelig, Sleeper, Love and Death, Sweet and Lowdown, Match Point, Vicki Christina Barcelona, You will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, and the list goes on.
One thing that has always stuck with me was an interview I read with Woody when he said that after he finishes filming a movie, he takes a couple of days to relax and without any procrastination, just starts typing in his old typewriter right away and comes up with an outline for his next movie. He doesn't vary from this formula. He has done this for 30 years the exact same way.
He doesn't consider his movies that great really, and hopes that they will be remembered on some level, but isn't really sure what that level will be.
When asked if he wanted to live on in people's minds through his films after he is gone......he replied, "no, I would rather just live on in my apartment". Reflecting his fear of death, that he does not hide, as well as his atheism.
Woody Allen films have long been a haven for me. A time when I can revisit a master of words and of comedy, and I always come out feeling mentally refreshed and with some semblance of renewal and hope. Allen has also been an inspiration for me in undertaking my own obscure writing projects.
From Play It Again Sam and Dianne Keaton to Midnight in Paris and Marion Coutillard. It is always inspirational to be a man with a brain and to be able to synthesize another fabulous piece of art from this genius, every year or so, around the same time.
I know I am very grateful indeed. It was time to put it in writing.
Here is my favourite opening of any of his movies. The Opening voice over from Manhattan.
"Chapter one. "
"He adored New York City.
He idolised it all out of proportion. "
Uh, no. Make that "He romanticised it
all out of proportion. "
"To him,
no matter what the season was,
this was still a town
that existed in black and white
and pulsated to the great tunes
of George Gershwin. "
Uh... no. Let me start this over.
"Chapter one. "
"He was too romantic about Manhattan,
as he was about everything else. "
"He thrived on the hustle, bustle
of the crowds and the traffic. "
"To him, New York
meant beautiful women
and street-smart guys
who seemed to know all the angles. "
Ah, corny. Too corny
for a man of my taste.
Let me... try and make it more profound.
"Chapter one. He adored New York City. "
"To him, it was a metaphor
for the decay of contemporary culture. "
"The same lack of integrity to cause so
many people to take the easy way out...
... was rapidly turning the town
of his dreams..."
No, it's gonna be too preachy. I mean,
face it, I wanna sell some books here.
"Chapter one. He adored New York City,
although to him it was a metaphor
for the decay of contemporary culture. "
"How hard it was to exist in a society
desensitised by drugs, loud music,
television, crime, garbage..."
Too angry. I don't wanna be angry.
"Chapter one. "
"He was as tough and romantic
as the city he loved. "
"Behind his black-rimmed glasses was
the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat. "
I love this.
"New York was his town
and it always would be. "
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbAq_bxU8Vk
RL
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