From the author of the best-selling biography Woody Allen—the most informative, revealing, and entertaining conversations from his thi...
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reviews
May 29, 2009
Ed
rated it: 
Eric Lax has had almost unfettered access to Woody Allen for over 35 years. He gets candid and insightful views into every aspect of filmmaking from writing to directing to scoring. Allen is, as one would expect, self deprecating but not to the point where you think he's putting you on. It's refreshing that both Allen and I agree The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion is probably his worst movie. And he does think Husbands And Wives and Match Point came off well (along with a very few others). If the bo
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Dec 25, 2008
Elisa
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Reading this book was a delightful experience. I appreciated especially the way it is divided, in topics such as Directing, Acting, Scoring, Career, etc. You can read it in any order you wish, depending on your interest in learning about a specific part of Woody’s work. I’m not a huge fan of Woody, but I admire his work a lot. This book made me admire him even more and anxious to watch all of his work. I recommend it to anyone that’s interested in moviemaking, be the person a Woody fan or not. I
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Jan 27, 2009
Joel
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I have to say I skimmed this book, stopping to read some sections closely. I'm fascinated by the creative process, and this book provides a window into Allen's work from a variety of angles - coming up with ideas, writing, directing, editing, etc. By the way, Woody doesn't think his own movies are all that special. By the end of the book, my overall impression was that I would very much like to watch movies with this man: he's funny, opinionated, and passionate about film. And yet he doesn't
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Mar 23, 2008
Richard
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If you are a big Woody Allen fan, this is the book to read. It's very comprehensive...I actually had to skip through about half the book because I wasn't interested in learning about how Woody works on the set as a director...It was interesting to read about how he writes, where ideas come from and how they'll develop over time. I also liked learning about the actors he works with and his opinion of his own work and his "legacy." He never watches his movies after he's done making them.
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Dec 26, 2007
Jeremy
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Despite and no doubt because of the incessant prodding and passion of moviewise peers, I've never really been able to drudge up much enthusiasm for the films of Woody Allen. With a handful of exceptions ("Deconstructing Harry" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors" come to mind), I don't feel that I derive much of anything from them. This is partly due to the fact that I have little in common with the target audience, that being Woody and the people who enjoy and have things in comm
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May 13, 2009
Walter
rated it:
Every movie by Woody is a conversation with him.
I thought the title was uber (sorry I spent time in Manhattan) ironic.
But still, he has good insight. Good book. Woody has skills.
He can write.
The whole “idea” of "voice" if you really want to get down to it in terms of drama came from Woody. He was that powerful a force. No one talked about “voice” in scripts before him. They talked about other things, like themes, ideas, what is this writer "saying
I thought the title was uber (sorry I spent time in Manhattan) ironic.
But still, he has good insight. Good book. Woody has skills.
He can write.
The whole “idea” of "voice" if you really want to get down to it in terms of drama came from Woody. He was that powerful a force. No one talked about “voice” in scripts before him. They talked about other things, like themes, ideas, what is this writer "saying
May 24, 2011
Kiof
rated it:
I should probably give this book 5 stars, but there's something that's vaguely depressing about it. Much of it was highly interesting, but I was bummed out by the time I finished it. I'm not a Woody Allen fan (not that I dislike him, I just don't think about him much at all) and obviously somebody would like it better if they were one. I read it because I love interview books. And this is one of the better ones I've encountered.
Mar 19, 2008
Jedidiah
rated it:
This is a fascinating look at my favorite filmmaker, and it gave me a great deal of appreciation for his career, regardless of how Woody himself sees most of his films.
There are a few drawbacks that keep me from ranking it 5 stars. Lax has a propensity, especially in the first half of the book, to parenthate entirely too often; to make it worse, he uses the exact same parenthetical content for the same subjects in several chapters. It's a small complaint, but it is enormously distra More...
There are a few drawbacks that keep me from ranking it 5 stars. Lax has a propensity, especially in the first half of the book, to parenthate entirely too often; to make it worse, he uses the exact same parenthetical content for the same subjects in several chapters. It's a small complaint, but it is enormously distra More...
Feb 10, 2009
Al
rated it:
Great inside view of a great American humorist. Tracks his film making career and his stand up and joke writing careers.
Feb 16, 2009
Mac
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Gives you insight into how Woody Allen's mind works--what he is concerned about, his opinions about his work, etc.
Jun 04, 2008
Chris
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A comprehensive, if sometimes scattershot, look at Woody Allen's work in a series of interviews from 1972 to 2007. Lax has organized this volume along stages of moviemaking, i.e., the idea, casting, editing, etc., which provides some unity to the discussion but also leads to some repetition. Allen, after all, is not the most loquacious discussant of his own work. But unlike some previous books on Allen - Stig Bjorkman's Woody Allen on Woody Allen especially - this structure allows the book to
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Apr 27, 2011
Jennifer
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This is the greatest Woody Allen compendium there is. Eric Lax really gets at the meat of most issues.
Aug 12, 2011
Antti
rated it:
Miten se voi yhä jaksaa! WA on aina ollut nerokkaampi verbaalikko kuin ohjaaja. On edelleen.
Jul 23, 2009
Jessica
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Loved this, with the exception of one major error on the part of Lax and his editor.
Sep 08, 2010
Mazzi
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Good book about W Allen and his movies. Sometimes is very repetitive. I think that the cause is because it's a book about interviews and sometimes the topics and the enumeration of movies are the same.
Like it though. Good profile about Woody Allen. You can learn so much about the process of make a movie with this book.
Like it though. Good profile about Woody Allen. You can learn so much about the process of make a movie with this book.
Dec 15, 2008
Steven
rated it: 
Kind of a snooze, I thought. Organizing the interviews loosely by topic as done here was probably better than just printing them in chronological order but it doesn't save them from being mostly boring. Since Lax is an unabashed fan, there's no tension, no challenging questions - Woody just rambles on. The only thing I found interesting was that Woody Allen clearly isn't the best judge of his own work. Apparently, he feels Scoop and Hollywood Ending are two of his better films. Really now.
Sep 07, 2011
E.C.
rated it:
Eric Lax's interviews with Woody Allen span decades, and this book pulls them together beautifully. For readers specifically interested in one aspect of Allen's career -- directing, writing, acting, scoring, editing, etc. -- this format is especially illuminating. Within each section, his growth (or stubborn resistance to growth, in some cases) is evident and fascinating. A truly enjoyable read.
Mar 28, 2008
Aaron
rated it:
This is essential reading for anyone who is a fan of the work of Woody Allen. From conversations about how his ideas have progressed from one thing to another to rather detailed explanations as to why he appears in some of his films but not in others, this book is an insightful career-spanning look into the mind of an American master.
Sep 29, 2008
Bill
rated it:
The best book about Mr. Allen's life and film career that I have ever read. readers learn straight from Allen about his films and about himself.
The book made me love Woody Allen's films even more than I already did, which I thought was impossible.
A great book about a great filmmaker--though he himself begs to differ.
The book made me love Woody Allen's films even more than I already did, which I thought was impossible.
A great book about a great filmmaker--though he himself begs to differ.
Jan 13, 2008
Val
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This book has been sitting on my couch for a few weeks now and whenever I'm really bored or unfocused I flip through a few pages of it and then, magically, feel like doing something productive.
Woody Allen seems smarter and more deliberate in this book than he does in his films.
Woody Allen seems smarter and more deliberate in this book than he does in his films.
Feb 26, 2009
Ryan
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I've been meandering in and out of this one, but overall it's pretty entertaining. Lax proves a suitable interlocutor and foil, getting a comfortable and talkative Allen. Recommended bedtime reading.
Jul 25, 2011
Christina
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I was 3/4ths of the way through before I put it down and stopped reading. Even as a huge Woody Allen fan, I thought it was a little redundant.
Oct 23, 2008
I love Woody Allen but I got bored reading this. I'd rather watch one of his films or read something he wrote.
Jun 07, 2010
Lucas
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Fascinating portrait of a master artist...film by film...in his own words.
Feb 10, 2012
Feb 10, 2012
