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campaign image The Comedies of Woody Allen

Films, talks & events

The Comedies of Woody Allen

9 July — 9 September 2015

still from Annie Hall (Woody Allen, US 1977)
still from Annie Hall (Woody Allen, US 1977)

A total of thirty films by Woody Allen will be screened, supplemented by films by others in which he acts, documentaries about his work and classics that inspired him. Most of the films come from Eye's collection and are screened on celluloid, as Allen prefers to see it.

What makes Woody Allen one of the most brilliant comedians of the past hundred years? In The Comedies of Woody Allen, Eye highlights his extensive oeuvre, from the rarely seen 'early, funny ones' of the early 1970s to his latest film Irrational Man.

still from Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (Woody Allen, US 1972)
still from Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (Woody Allen, US 1972)
still from Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen, US 2008)
still from Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen, US 2008)

Eye pays tribute to Woody Allen, one of the most idiosyncratic filmmakers of his time. This versatile comic, with his recognisable alter ego of the neurotic intellectual, will reach the respectable age of 80 this year.

Woody Allen (1935) made his debut as a stand-up comedian in 1961, after which he wrote a number of successful plays for Broadway and took his first steps in film as an actor (including What's New Pussycat, Casino Royale), until it became clear to him that he wanted to make films. Since his debut film What’s Up, Tiger Lily (1966), Allen has directed 46 films, a significant number of which have been nominated for an Oscar.

still from Manhattan (Woody Allen, US 1979)
still from Manhattan (Woody Allen, US 1979)
still from Irrational Man (Woody Allen, US 2015)
still from Irrational Man (Woody Allen, US 2015)

Woody Allen has left an indelible mark on the comedy genre: romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally, the TV series Seinfeld and films by contemporary independent filmmakers like Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Frances Ha) are all indebted. to him.

At the same time, his work reflects film history, from Bergman and Fellini's art cinema to the comedies of Chaplin and The Marx Brothers. Allen's uniqueness is that he manages to bring together (and deride) high European culture and American popular culture in films that deal almost exclusively with relationships and are ultimately nothing more or less than moral narratives about our time.

still from Stardust Memories (Woody Allen, US 1980)
still from Stardust Memories (Woody Allen, US 1980)

Watch a general impression of the opening night:

campaign image The Comedies of Woody Allen
poster The Comedies of Woody Allen

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