Having the same problems. Forget posting, not even seen shit this year, sometimes not even the things I really want to watch.
Good luck with the job. You never know mang.
I applied for it with the energy as if it was in the bag but I'm living my day-to-day life in reality (where the chances of me getting a lectureship on my first attempt still without a full draft of my thesis let alone my PhD are fucking slim) as if I don't have a prayer. The job/person specifications were such (no PhD required, practical experience preferred, greater emphasis on publications than teaching, shit like that) that even now I'm a pretty strong candidate on paper, so I just couldn't pass up the chance however slim. I didn't want to live with "I wonder if I would've gotten that if I just would've applied" type thoughts rolling around in my head.
That said, I'm not exactly lining up a new place or calling moving companies to haul my shit out.
Have you submitted? Do we get a copy?
No, I haven't submitted. I'm not even done writing yet. That's why the pace has escalated of late. If I get this thing, that's going to put a very long pause on my writing, so I want to get as much done now while I still have free time. Best-case scenario, by the end of August I have a full draft, but that best-case scenario is virtually a pipe dream. Realistically, I'll probably end the summer with about 25% left to write (granted, it'll be the easiest 25% to write, which means it'll take the shortest amount of time, but it's 25% of material left all the same).
Obviously, this is not going according to plan, but I've worked hard over the last 5-10 years to become the type of person who lets opportunities dictate things rather than living with blinkers on and missing shit.
And when I do finish it, of course I'll pass around copies for the SMD. So much of the shit I'm dealing with is fueled by the conversations/debates/wars I've had in here with you guys
I'm travelling to London from Nottingham to see it, luckily because it coincided with a break away from work that weekend anyway (the next one, seeing it Saturday at the BFI Soutbank).
It's playing at Southbank? I don't know how I missed that. Do you know how long it's going to be there? Either way, let me know what the experience is like. I'm definitely going to try to get my ass down there for that.
I always thought you were nuts for not at least appreciating him. I'm glad you're trying him out. I recommended Crimes and Misdemeanours to Cav recently. I would for you as well for one of his dramas. Try Hannah and Her Sisters too.
I did him chronologically way back. Missed a few on the way.
Yeah, I'm doing it chronologically, too. After I rewatched
Annie Hall, I figured I'd pick up from there, but I went back and tried to watch some of his earlier stuff where he's just being a pure comedian and man is that shit
rough.
Play it Again, Sam, which he wrote and starred in but didn't direct, was interesting from a character perspective, but everything else -
What's New, Pussycat?,
What's Up, Tiger Lily?, and
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask - was fucking terrible (I didn't bother watching
Bananas or rewatching
Sleeper).
However, I rewatched
Manhattan and thought it was fantastic. Even better than
Annie Hall IMO. Right now, that's his best film in my book. I loved the scene with him lying on the couch talking into his tape recorder about why life is worth living. In that one sequence, there's more originality, honesty, and profundity than the entirety of
Interiors.
Manhattan is the type of thing where his true personality and his true vision can shine.
I also laughed more at
Manhattan than any other film of his. The funniest scene was when he saw Diane Keaton's ex-husband who she talked about as this "devastating" ladies man and he's an even tinier and schmuckier loser than him. I was dying when he called him a "little homunculus" <45>
And I loved the ending. His Bergman influence is obvious and well-documented, but that smile at the end, that's pure Chaplin. The ending of
Manhattan was
City Lights all the way.
Last night, I tried to watch
Stardust Memories, where he decided, having tried to make his own version of Bergman's
Cries and Whispers with
Interiors, he'd try with this one to make his own version of Fellini's
8 1/2. I think everything from Fellini after
La Dolce Vita is boring, self-indulgent nonsense with him trying to do ever-more crazy shit to cover over the fact that he'd already exhausted his artistic output and had nothing left to say. Needless to say, Allen going that route himself was a losing proposition. I cut out after half an hour and moved on to
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy. For that one, he went back to Bergmanland and offered his version of
Smiles of a Summer Night, and I thought it was brilliant. My rankings at the moment are
Manhattan,
Annie Hall, and
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy. We'll see if, after I'm done, it's still on the podium, but it definitely is now.
First off, I knew as soon as I saw that José Ferrer was in it that I'd at least like one thing if nothing else, but not only was Ferrer awesome as that pompous philosophy professor, the whole movie was great. And I think even funnier than the little homunculus scene from
Manhattan is in
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy when Mia Farrow has that really long monologue about Paris, how it's the best city for people in love because it allows them to really connect and experience each other in a unique way, and then she asks Ferrer if he agrees and he just responds, "I like large cities." For someone so smart, he didn't understand a single thing she said. Very clever
It's now on the list.
EDIT:
Actually, I've tried doing this with you before but I'm going to try again. I'll watch this if you watch this:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2389182/
Let me know if we have a deal.
Right now, my Woody Allen list has 31 films on it. At the moment, I'm on an Allen role and I'm going to keep going down that track for a while, but if not over the course of my Allen travels, then at the end for sure, I'm definitely up for watching
Cheap Thrills in exchange for
The Hidden Face.
Are you looking to get my take on anything in particular or just a general assessment? Because, for you, I'm definitely keen to hear your thoughts on whether you think the male lead's characterization helped or hurt the narrative functionality as well as on whether or not you like the way they mess with time and perspective.
