review #329

Rating: 10/10 (6 February 2011)

I have never seen a movie reviewed more than this one. That fact alone should say it all but it doesn't. This is not a review as such but just some commentary. The first is that I haven't thought about the fact that there are reviews here from people who were not even born when this movie was made. Never thought about that. Hmmm, I was a grown up 21 when it came out. Since I was born and raised in Brooklyn and NYC and lived here my whole life, I had always felt that this was "my" movie. Woody was considered, in my era and age group, an alien being in the land of Hollywood. He WAS one of us. I felt threatened that he made a real "movie" when AH was released. I had always considered him an underground NY guy, so, no one was gonna take him away from us. This is the reason I felt threatened. My only consolation was that now the rest of the world would finally "see" what an amazingly gifted artist we had here. OK, enough. You get the point. Now on to other goodies. First and foremost, Tony Roberts. I love this guy. That they (Woody & Tony) called each other Max thruout the movie was to me, an inside joke because best friends usually did this. In my case, my best friend Frank and me (rob) called each other Dukey. Always! Still do 55 years later. TR is such a natural, gifted actor that it was not acting he did, it was living! His oneness with his characters were incredible. Never for one minute did I see any of the actors here acting! That is how great Woody Allen is. He brings it out of his actors. Their characters are living human beings! Diane Keaton nailed it. Not only her beauty, for which she is one of the prettiest, sexiest and most gorgeous creatures ever seen on screen, look at her today, hasn't lost a drop! This trio - WA, DK and TR, who worked together in Play It Again Sam, could have been a rock group they are so great!! The last point I'd like to make is that Woody's genius is that he can make inanimate, animate! Unreal - real, funny-sad and so on. What a gift to be living in the same era as these three. Nuf said.