There are decisions in this life that are nigh on impossible for to make, is what The Duke has deduced from years of intense philosophical pondering.
At one time in my late-teens, for example, I lay awake for much of a week contemplating the following; A Catholic priest can get drunk without much being said, but he cannot wed. A Presbyterian minister can get wed, but dare not take a drink. What the fuck might The Duke do, then, considering that at this point in his life he was not only engaged but also a practising drunk and, furthermore, thinking along the lines of finding paid employment in a religion of some nature, preferably Christian.
The predicament in question reached a suitable conclusion when The Duke decided he couldn't be arsed with the "clergy", to be honest.
Sorry, Christians.
Other diabolical questions not fit to be answered; One's favourite Gram Parsons recording. One day it's Sin City, the next it's Christine's Tune, and then before you know it you're guessing it's probably his version of The Streets Of Baltimore although…
Some things aren't fit to be laid stone, is what.
But there is one thing The Duke is sure of, and that is the answer to the question, "Who, per chance, might be your favourite of the film directors, oh Duke?"
The answer, friends, is none other than Woody Allen, a man who produced more works of heart-breaking beauty and gut-crushing hilarity than any other fella or lass what you care to mention. Even Chaplin's filmography comes nowhere close to sustaining such pathos and hilarity with such regularity.
The truth is simply thus; Since Woody directed his first feature, 1966's What's Up Tiger Lilly?, he has produced at least three of the best features of each successive decade.
In the seventies he gave us the glories of Love And Death, Annie Hall and Manhattan, three works what rank alongside the very best of the time. The eighties brought fourth Zelig, Hannah And Her Sisters and Crimes And Misdemeanors. Again, these aren't just "among the best of Woody's stuff", these are among the best produced by anyone. These films are as good as Raging Bull, or Withnail And I or The King Of Comedy. The nineties, a decade often referred to as the one where "Woody lost it", in fact produced not only undisputed-masterpieces like Bullets Over Broadway, Husbands And Wives and Sweet And Lowdown, but also underrated slabs of genius like Deconstructing Harry and Celebrity.
He has yet to produce his three masterpieces of the 2000's, but he's still got six years, man, and the rate he works at, he'll probably have them out before the end of the week.
Article comments
1 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
time check
2 - Jim Carruthers
I really wanted to say something, but it's sooooo much. I know one of the first times I saw "Manhatten" I'd given blood and they gave me free tickets and a beer (really). However, his last bunch of movies aside from "Sweet And Low Down" have been only repulsive.