I managed to catch these movies that I hadn't seen in years on late night TV and discovered my take on them slightly altered.
The first was Clockwise, starring John Cleese as a punctuality obsessed headmaster attempting to make it from London to Norwich for a headmasters convention. He misses his train and then, as the saying goes, high jinks ensue. The movie is primarily a vehicle for Cleese, who is flawless at portraying strident pomposity that turns into madcap exasperation when forced into compromising positions by the uncooperative world. Think Fawlty Towers Light.
If the unfamiliar Anglo vocabulary and settings of British comedy confuse you or put you off, then this movie is not for you. It is loaded with droll, understated dialogue and the eccentric characters and cliched English personalities.
I found the humor to be as compelling as it was when I first saw it; this is the kind of material that made Cleese the funniest man alive at one time. The movie as a whole holds up less well. There are some awkward moments for the supporting cast where the characters behave, well, very out of character or without motivation in an effort to move the story along. There is a bit too much dawdling on the expressions of passers-by reacting to the madness of the situations. There is also a mild undercurrent of a detached, art-houseyness, especially in the ending; while not particularly offensive, it seems a bit strained or at least affected.
It turns out this film was written by Michael Frayn, the playwright of Noises Off, another deft comic work with precious little beneath the very funny, reed-thin surface. If this is Frayn's M.O. I am completely OK with that. Quality comedy doesn't need a lot of depth to succeed.
Clockwise is not a masterpiece, but a compellingly amusing time-passer (pun intended) and very much worth the rental for anyone who can appreciate Cleese at the top of his game.
The second was Hannah and Her Sisters, the Woody Allen classic. It used to be that there was a core of people who thought Woody Allen was true artiste. They studied his work with great pretense, the way one would study a weighty artist of yore, and they often carried on ad nauseum about the symbolism and deeper meaning and Swedish influence and so forth. I don't think that core exists anymore. Too many clunkers, especially in recent years. Too much of an Elvis Presley-ish why-do-I-keep-cranking-out-these-movies-and-won't-somebody-please-stop-me atmosphere to his work these days. Or maybe Seinfeld shifted the self-involved New Yorker paradigm.
Article comments
1 - Chris Kent
David,
I suppose we could argue until we were blue in the face about the merits of Woody Allen's work. I think Hannah and Her Sisters ranks third on the Allen list, with Manhattan and Annie Hall somewhat ahead, Husbands and Lovers a close fourth.
Hannah is his most accessible film, and is probably the fave of non-Allen fans.....nice holiday touches, a syrupy happy ending, lovely music, brilliant cast, Woody grimacing at a punk concert......I have never seen a Woody film I entirely disliked, scandal and all.
I have never entirely understood the term of "aging well" in reference to films. Films are a document of their time, so how can they age poorly? Annie Hall is a document of its time (1960s, 1970s) and is a perfect examination of life and love during that memorable era. We could argue Hannah as being Woody's most mature film, but Annie Hall was the first, and Manhattan the most bold.......If I'm going to a desert island, I'm taking Annie Hall......if I'm on my death bed, I suppose I'll watch Hannah.....
2 - The Dude
My 2¢s:
Woody Allen films have some of the best quotes in American cinema. Just from “Hannan and Her Sisters” alone:
“Nietzsche ... said that the life we lived we're gonna live over again the exact same way for eternity. Great, that means I'll have to sit through the Ice Capades again.”
“You missed a very dull TV show on Auschwitz. More gruesome film clips, and more puzzled intellectuals declaring their mystification over the systematic murder of millions. The reason they can never answer the question 'How could it possibly happen?' is that it's the wrong question. Given what people are, the question is 'Why doesn't it happen more often?' "
"But the worst are the tele-evangelists ... If Jesus came back and saw what's going on in His name, He'd never stop throwing up.”
“I had a great evening; it was like the Nuremberg trials.”
3 - David Mazzotta
Chris - answered your own question. Annie Hall is indeed a document of its time. I really don't think you can look at it fairly outside the context of nostalgia. Not so with Hannah. That, for me, is indicative that it hasn't aged as well. Fine film, but I wouldn't enjoy it as much without remebering the time when I first saw it.
BTW, I think we'd have the same top four, just in a slightly different order. (Alhtough my sentimental dark horse would be Radio Days and my evil twin likes Deconstructing Harry.)
4 - Chris Kent
Those are great quotes Dude, the final one being one of my all-time favorites.
David, I have always loved Radio Days, and it would definitely be in my top-10 of Allen films. I also have a soft spot for Purple Rose of Cairo, Manhattan Murder Mystery and my own dark horse Broadway Danny Rose. Have never enjoyed Allen's forays into Bergmanesque drama (Interiors), and feel he is most at home in comedy/drama.
Have always wondered if the scandal damaged Allen's career as much as his evidently obsessive prolific nature. Few modern directors have made as many films as Allen, and these days one wonders if he has another great masterpiece left in him....