The Woody Allen Doc

In my fantasy Woody was me though nothing could be farther from the truth. I saw him woo Diane Keaton in Annie Hall and Mariel Hemmingway in Manhattan and thought he was pre-living my life.

First things first. I am surprised there is a documentary about Woody Allen on TV. I am surprised he agreed. I am glad I watched.

I probably first saw Woody when he was on TV in the sixties. He was one of many comics on TV. I knew him a little. It wasn’t until Sleeper that I was hooked!

Awkward Jew from New York City. Intellectual. We are both the former. I foolishly thought I was the latter too.

In my fantasies Woody was playing me. Nothing could be farther from the truth!

I saw him woo Diane Keaton in Annie Hall and Mariel Hemmingway in Manhattan and thought he was pre-living my life. These two movies are among the most romantic ever made.

When she was in her early teens I convinced Stef to watch Annie Hall with me. She really enjoyed it. We were both surprised by that.

I was scared to mention Manhattan to her because of the content.

Allen is not without flaws and controversy. On the PBS site for the documentary one commenter wrote:

I love the American Masters Series. However I am seriously disappointed that Woody Allen is a choice. He is a pedophile. I don’t know what makes him any different than Roman Polanski. Talented yes, but a creepy man.

This documentary filled in a lot of holes in understanding where he came from. It doesn’t give instructions to become him.

Part two airs tonight on PBS. Because it’s the 21st Century both parts will be repeated forever and streamed online.

Watch Interview with Robert Weide on PBS. See more from AMERICAN MASTERS.

One thought on “The Woody Allen Doc”

  1. I loved it! Of course , I am a big fan.
    I do not think of him as a pedofile. My guess is that very few think of him that way, AEB the reception his movies get.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *