Innovative, Insightful and Marvelous

Rating: 10/10 (25 November 2015)

I was 16 and I hadn't seen a single Woody Allen film. I didn't even know how he looked, just had a vague recollection of his name. I got a pirated DVD of American films from the 70s and it had Annie Hall in it. It was the last film from the DVD that I saw. A lot of the philosophy in the film went over my head at that moment, but the humour left me in splits. There are times when you more than just like something, but you can't exactly give a reason why. I felt like that for the film. Of course I can give a thousand different reasons to like every Woody film now, but at 16, I couldn't. I just knew that I loved the film. And what I liked best in the film was the guy who played Alvy Singer, and when he broke the 4th wall to address us directly. I hadn't gone through the credits and didn't know that the guy was Woody himself. I had a slow dial up connection and made good use of it to find more information about the film. And that's when I learnt that Woody didn't just direct it, he wrote as well as acted in it. And Diane Keaton was his one time girlfriend. Hell, I wanted a girlfriend like Diane Keaton, its a completely different thing though, that in my teens, I ended up with someone like Mia Farrow, which pretty much messed things up a lot !! Anyway, after reading more about Woody and his many talents, I became fascinated with the man. Even more so because I could personally relate to him. He was short, shy, neurotic and had a lot to say. That pretty much summed me up as well. I so wanted to be like Woody Allen. The next plan of action was to watch as many Woody films as possible. I didn't have enough pocket money to buy over 35 original DVDs worth over 500 bucks each, and Downloading wasn't an option then. So I went around pirated DVD stores looking for films directed by Woody and within 2 months I managed to find around 20 !! Its been 9 years since then, and I've seen every single film written, directed or acted by Woody and I love every single one of them. Woody means different things to different people, but to me, he is the man who taught me to laugh at myself. And because I have a similar cynical world view to his, it was a terrific thing to learn. Also, I don't think anybody else understands Women better than Woody and watching and re-watching his films meant entering inside the mysterious minds of the fairer sex. Trust me, for all the guys who don't look like Brad Pitt or aren't sons of Warren Buffett, and want to get laid, watch Woody Films. His films also subtly introduced me to the intriguing and revealing world of Freud and Psychotherapy, and I've been hooked. Given a chance, I would exhume his brain and build a shrine around it !! Woody Allen and Annie Hall specially, mean the world to me.