James,
This was one fantastic piece. (THE SUMMER OF ANNIE HALL AT 40 – Issue: 7/19/17) Annie Hall has gone from an underrated classic that was showered with awards and accolades and put Woody Allen on the map as a serious filmmaker and then for the longest time became somewhat overrated in his incredible catalogue of work that transcends it. But now, looking back, as you did here, it is easy to see its impact and special place among his films, comedy films, American films, and great films of the 1970s, arguably the golden age of film, especially independent films made by out-of-studio system auteurs like Scorsese and Coppola, etc.
It is a shame that over the years comedies have gotten the short end of the critical stick and have hardly ever been considered high art, aside from Allen, who burst on the scene here with this film and made those who consider something a lasting piece of great art stand up and take notice. It is the same with the late Jonathan Demme’s masterpiece, Silence of the Lambs, which is the only horror genre film to win an Oscar for best picture, as did Annie Hall. Your take brought out many of these inconsistencies among those who hold only drama as a form of the best work, although in the case of Silence and Annie Hall there are elements of psychological and human drama that make them stand alone among the genres in which they reside.
As a film buff and a fan of perspective in pop culture, I truly appreciated your take on this. It was original, engaging, and made me want to watch it again with new eyes and a fresh perspective of where Annie Hall stands in the pantheon of great films from any era.
Thank you,
Gretchen Stapleton
Nice work. I think you’ve inspired me to watch it again.
Vincent Czyz
I was never a fan of Annie Hall. I must admit it is where I think Woody Allen lost his way. Soon after he would do the ultra-grim Interiors, a blatant rip-off of Berman and then tried to double-down with the solipsistic Manhattan – black and white and 70 millimeter and all; a far less funny film than Annie Hall, for sure. But I think your points are well-taken here. I am not sure writing about film is your best attribute, but I think your love of this movie as a fan is evident and it makes me want to reconsider it and not bring my prejudices to the table, as we all do with any kind of entertainment or art for that matter. Nevertheless, the pure jokes in Annie Hall do make it for me, if I can give it a nod that way. The characters becoming their own worst enemies, a comedy staple, and the use of New York City, as you rightly pointed out, as a looming metaphor for all of the anxieties and what that represented in the 1970s here in New York does resonate with me.
Again, I see Annie Hall as the beginning of this fun filmmaker and comedian becoming a bit self-absorbed and self-important and moving away from his strengths, and although Woody has returned time and again to straight comedy it is obvious it is not something he cherishes and it shows.
Aaron Gowens
JC,
You cannot sink something you have no intention of sinking. (THE UNSINKABLE ACA – Issue: 7/26/17) The GOP has a “long war” strategy in regards to healthcare. The GOP knows two things. One, they have complete control of Washington and it’s purse-strings thanks to campaigning on the repeal of the ACA and two, getting control of the dollars associated with healthcare is a dream come true. What folks fail to grasp and I have been saying for years is that the ACA is the warm-up to single-payer. The die is already cast and single payer is a reality in our lifetime. Yes, nearly everyone outside of Democrat enclaves want it repealed but when you are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars added to Congressional coffers…well, let’s just say Congress is out of fucks to give in regards to whether the people want this law repealed.
The GOP really did a great job here in winning control of Congress. Holding votes for a law you know the previous President would veto with great abandon makes for great optics but the truth is, we got played. Well, not me, I have seen through this since 2010 and have said as such.
People continually ask me; why is this so? It is simple. It isn’t the money itself that creates power. No sir, it is having the control to disburse that money (or not) that is the REAL power.
You watch, the weasel GOP is going to come back in the fall saying they tried to repeal but were unsuccessful and it is time to move on to tax cuts (which they won’t do either). They will let the ACA die because it needs to. Everyone believes that when the ACA crashes in a fiery wreck the GOP will now claim that it is proof that market-based works. You would be wrong. When the ACA crashes (and it will), the argument will then be “we tried it your way and it didn’t work. Now it’s our turn.” Hello single payer and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
To all of my conservative friends who felt they couldn’t vote for Trump because they have “principles”. You watch when Mitch McConnell takes those “principles” and breaks them off in your ass.
Peace,
Bill Roberts
Conservatively Speaking
How gutless is Mitch McConnell and these Republicans? They were so tough with Obama was there to save them the responsibility of killing hundreds of Americans by stripping them of health care. Oh, they loved their principles and their free market and all the tough talk about owning the legislature and “give us the presidency”, and now they are stuck with a dunce who wants to give everyone affordable health care and then lauds a bill that kills Medicare and leaves 24 million without anything because he needs a victory in this clusterfuck of an administration. Who did he fire today? What a fucking joke. And the Republicans are a joke. I was no fan of Obama and the Dems, but they got things done, they advanced an agenda, they had the guts to put something forth into law and stand by it for good or ill. This whole GOP takeover is one big jerk-off. When are they going to do anything…ANYTHING!
Fuck Republicans. I will never vote for another one. Ever.
And Trump needs to be impeached. Like, yesterday.
Sarah L.
Do yourself no favors and “like” this idiot at www.facebook.com/jc.author
James Campion is the Managing Editor of The Reality Check News & Information Desk and the author of “Deep Tank Jersey”, “Fear No Art”, “Trailing Jesus”, “Midnight For Cinderella” and “Y”. His new book, “Shout It Out Loud – The Story of KISS’s Destroyer and the Making of an American Icon” out now!
