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90th out of 204 books
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53 voters
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Woody Allen: A Biography
by
Eric Lax (Goodreads Author)
When it first appeared in 1991, Eric Lax's splendid biography, written with nineteen years of access to Woody Allen, was universally hailed as the definitive portrait of a film genius. The next year, as Allen's long relationship with Mia Farrow disintegrated amid scandal, a new phase of his life and work began. For this edition, Lax has written a chapter on the breakup and...more
Paperback, 472 pages
Published
December 20th 2000
by Da Capo Press
(first published 1983)
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One of the best biographies I've ever written and enthralling for anyone obsessed with Woody Allen.
An excellent look inside the creative process and mind of one of my favorite directors. Eric Lax befriends Woody, and follows him around on the set, in the editing rooms, even to trips with Mia to Paris, and gives a rare glimpse at the often reclusive man.
I love the evolution of Woody Allen and his movies. From comedic roles and projects, to his adventures into more dramatic film, they are always so smart and careful thought out. The book does a good job of showcasing the early year...more
I love the evolution of Woody Allen and his movies. From comedic roles and projects, to his adventures into more dramatic film, they are always so smart and careful thought out. The book does a good job of showcasing the early year...more
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This is a pretty awful biography. It dwells on certain less thrilling aspects of Allen's character and misses the whole point of his career. By this I mean this book comes no where close to tapping into why the man is a comic genius. To make things worse it's not even technically accurate. This is most flagrantly shown in plot descriptions of his films that are simply wrong (who knows what else Lax missed). This is a bad book. Stay away from it if you expect to learn much useful about Allen's a...more
This probably would have gotten a better rating if his scandal over wedding his adopted daughter hadn't broken in the midst of my reading this. It wouldn't have been a lot better. It was still a boring book. It was too long.
I've since heard Mr. Lax do commentaries on dvds and he is very knowledgeable. It could just be that he was knowledgeable and decided he wanted to get certain information in. Just too much information.
I've since heard Mr. Lax do commentaries on dvds and he is very knowledgeable. It could just be that he was knowledgeable and decided he wanted to get certain information in. Just too much information.
This is okay if you like to read someone make out with Woody Allen for almost 400 pages.
You have to do your best all through the book not to give an overshadowing "dun dun dun" whenever he mentions Sun Yi and how Woody doesn't even actually live with Mia, and doesn't really like children around him.
Woody doesn't like a lot of things, actually, and Lax talks about them and gives excuses for all of them through out the book. But, he also gives some insight on ho...more
You have to do your best all through the book not to give an overshadowing "dun dun dun" whenever he mentions Sun Yi and how Woody doesn't even actually live with Mia, and doesn't really like children around him.
Woody doesn't like a lot of things, actually, and Lax talks about them and gives excuses for all of them through out the book. But, he also gives some insight on ho...more
Pretty dry stuff considering it's about Woody Allen but I did only pay a dollar for the book so I guess it was worth the price also there was a U of T sticker in there from the 90's which was a bonus.
Mostly boring stuff, but the direct quotes from Woody and Jack Benny and others were well worth it.
This was one of the only biographies I've ever read for pleasure, not having anything to do with a school assignment. That being said, I feel like I learned a lot about the inner workings of Woody Allen, and I was instantly inspired to view more of his films with this new-found understanding. He goes in depth about where his ideas came from, and recalls vividly memories from his childhood and experiences in New York. The author does a good job of keeping it interesting, and there is a familia...more
goes from quick and sharp to slow and pondering.
A dated but readable bio of Allen.
One of the more interesting biographies I've read. Learning about Allen's life story (never a boring one) leads to a deeper understanding and enjoyment of his already wonderful movies. Since this book was published before the infamous Soon-Yi scandal, a reader looking for information about Allen's art rather than tabloid headlines will not be disappointed.
Loved the first half of the book but the second half was bogged down in technical detail that's strictly for die hard fans. This book is more of a lovefest than the critical biography I was expecting.
Woody Allen gives "meaty" roles to women in most his movies, because of his many close friendships to real women in his life, including Letty his sister (8 years younger).
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My mother just bought this for me from an oppie! Can't wait to start it.
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