Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Woody Allen (But Were Afraid to Ask)

It’s safe to say no one’s ever had a film career quite like Woody Allen’s. First, he’s a four-time Oscar winner, and there are precious few writer/directors who can boast that accomplishment. That two of his Oscars came 34 years apart is a testament to another remarkable aspect of his career—his longevity. It’s been 46 years since his 1966 debut, What’s up, Tiger Lily?. And let’s not forget his indefatigability. Within that 46-year span he’s directed 43 films, a staggering number. For the last 30 years, in fact, he’s released at least one film every single year.

Within that massive oeuvre, it’s nearly impossible to definitively name the “greatest” ones, but these are a few of my favorites:

5. Hannah and Her Sisters: Seldom before have three family stories been woven together so seamlessly. Some of the best performances of any Allen film—Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest won Oscars, and strong cases could have been made for Mia Farrow and Barbara Hershey as well.
Sample quote: “The heart is a very, very resilient little muscle, it really is, I make a great story, I think, guy marries one sister, doesn’t work out, many years later he winds up married to the other sister, it’s…You know, how you gonna top that?”

4. The Purple Rose of Cairo: Prior to Rose, who would have guessed that Allen had it in him to be so sweet and unabashedly romantic? Mia Farrow is excellent, and Jeff Daniels has never been better.
Sample quote: ‘’I just met a wonderful man. He’s fictional, but you can’t have everything.’‘

3. Crimes and Misdemeanors: Another film that seemed to come out of nowhere. I don’t think anyone expected Allen to produce such a deep, penetrating, morally anguished drama. More amazing performances—one of the greatest by the great Martin Landau, Jerry Orbach and Sam Waterston are all highlights. It’s for good reason that this film is used in philosophy and religion classes.
Sample quote: “Show business is, is dog-eat-dog. It’s worse than dog-eat-dog. It’s dog-doesn’t-return-other-dog’s-phone-calls, which reminds me. I should check my answering service.”

2. Manhattan: Begin with the beginning, one of the most majestic openings to a film ever. Go through the music (Roger Ebert famously remarked “Gershwin is the second most important person in this film”). The performaces, yet again, are wonderful. The writing is sorrowful and playful at the same time. The saddest of romantic comedies, and the grown-up cousin to No. 1.
Sample quote: “Oh really, he was a genius, Helen’s a genius and Dennis is a genius. You know a lot of geniuses, y’know. You should meet some stupid people once in a while, y’know, you could learn something.”

1. Annie Hall: Simultaneously redefined and achieved the pinnacle of the romantic comedy. Wildly original. Impeccably written dialogue. Allen was able to capture everything that’s magical about Diane Keaton; she should still be sending him thank-you notes. Funny and touching and sophisticated and wonderful. And it never gets old. A conventional choice, but an unavoidable one.
Sample quote: “My grammy never gave gifts. She was too busy getting raped by Cossacks.”

(To see Paste critic Jeremy Medina’s version of “Best of Woody,” click here.)

This week, to celebrate the release of Allen’s To Rome With Love, we bring you Woody Allen from four different perspectives. In “How Woody Allen Never Grew Up,” Gabrielle Lipton argues that while Woody has changed and evolved over the years, he’s never really reached maturity (and that that’s a good thing). In “Woody Allen, Philosopher-Fool,” Curt Holman examines the tension between drama and comedy in Allen’s films. In “Woody Allen’s Love of Death,” Aaron Channon discusses the auteur’s changing attitudes towards the grim reaper. And in “A Life Without Woody,” Maryann Koopman Kelly recalls encountering the films of Woody Allen for the very first time—in college.

We hope you’ll enjoy our tribute to an American master.