Woody Allen's birthday

Woody Allen's birthday December 1st

December 1, 1935: Allan Stewart Königsberg was born in New York into a Jewish family, a character who would revolutionize comedy and film comedy. To many it will sound like a completely unknown name… since Allan at 17 changed it to Heywood Allen, shortened to Woody Allen. The boy, who had shown himself to be bright and restless in his school years, soon began writing jokes for famous showmen such as Ed Sullivan. It was the dawn of his career, which would lead him over the years to become a successful television author, then to try the lucky leap into cabaret as a protagonist. In 1965 he signed his first film script and in 1966 he shot his first feature film: the future director of internationally successful films was taking his first steps. From his truly extensive filmography, we have selected five titles that tell of Woody Allen's variety of expressive languages.

Annie Hall (1977)

Still considered one of Woody Allen's best films, this original comedy marks the beginning of the actor and director's great cinematic successes, obtaining four awards at the 1978 Oscars. The film tells the story of Alvy Singer (Allen), a stand-up comedian who recalls his sentimental history with his ex-girlfriend Annie (Diane Keaton), trying to understand the reasons for the breakup. The direction uses unusual techniques such as split screen, split screen to represent multiple scenes, or the protagonist who seems to speak directly to the viewer.

Manhattan (1979)

Another iconic film by the American director, "Manhattan" also stands out for its particular cinematic language: the film is shot in black and white, almost a suspended and timeless representation of the famous metropolitan panoramas. The plot touches on recurring themes in Allen's cinema, with a protagonist trapped between midlife crises and complicated relationships. Different nuances alternate, from "neurotic" comedy to sentimental atmospheres. In 2001, "Manhattan" was listed as a film preserved in the Library of Congress.

Everybody Says I Love You (1996)

Woody Allen decides to innovate his consolidated style, with a film in which different elements converge: from the usual comedy to the musical, in the dance scenes. The narrator is the teenager Djuna, known as "DJ", daughter of Joe (Allen) and Steffi (Goldie Hawn). It is she who recounts the sentimental vicissitudes of the people who gravitate around her: her divorced parents, the children of her mother's second husband... the narrator herself will experience an infatuation for an Italian she met in Venice during a holiday with her father. In fact, the events of the film unfold between three cities loved by the director: New York, Paris and precisely Venice.

Midnight in Paris (2011)

In this film by Woody Allen dominates a fantastic and surreal element. Already in "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985) the character of a film materialized in the real world. In "Midnight in Paris" the apparitions are great writers and artists of the past, from Ernest Hemingway to Salvador Dalì, who appear before the amazed eyes of the protagonist Gil. The young man is a Hollywood screenwriter who, tired of his job, goes on vacation to Paris, hoping to be able to finish his first novel. At night he will magically travel through time, meeting yesterday's intellectuals who will lead him to reflect: sometimes we mythologize the past, while we should face the present.