Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg; December 1, 1935) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, writer, actor, jazz musician, comedian and playwright. His large body of work and cerebral film style, mixing satire, wit and humor, have made him one of the most respected and prolific filmmakers in the modern era.[1] Allen writes and directs his movies and has also acted in the majority of them. For inspiration, Allen draws heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, European cinema, and New York City, where he was born and has lived his entire life.
Allen was born and raised in New York City, the son of Nettie (née Cherrie; November 8, 1906 - January 27, 2002), a bookkeeper at her family's delicatessen , and Martin Königsberg (December 25, 1900 - January 13, 2001), a jewelry engraver and waiter.[2] His family was Jewish and his grandparents were Yiddish- and German-speaking immigrants.[3] Allen has a sister, Letty (born 1943), and was raised in Midwood, Brooklyn.[4] His parents were both born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.[3] His childhood, while middle-class, wasn't particularly happy. His parents didn't get along, and he had a rocky relationship with his stern, tempermental mother [3]. Allen spoke Yiddish during his early years and, after attending Hebrew school for eight years, went to Public School 99 and to Midwood High School. During that time, he lived in part on Avenue K, between East 14th and 15th Streets. Nicknamed "Red" because of his red hair, he impressed students with his extraordinary talent at card and magic tricks.[5] Though in his films and his comedy persona he has often depicted himself as physically inept and socially unpopular, in fact Woody Allen was a popular student, and an adept baseball and basketball player.
To raise money he began writing gags for the agent David O. Alber, who sold them to newspaper columnists. According to Allen, his first published joke "was in a gossip column. It read: 'Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices—over people's salaries.'"[6]
At sixteen, he was discovered by Milt Kamen, who got him his first writing job with Sid Caesar. He began calling himself Woody Allen (although it's unclear if Allen ever legally adopted his stage name). He was a gifted comedian from an early age and would later joke that when he was young he was sent to inter-faith summer camp, where he "was savagely beaten by children of all races and creeds".[5]
After high school, he went to New York University where he studied communication and film. He was never committed as a student, however, failed a film course, and was eventually expelled.[7] He later briefly attended City College of New York.
To raise money he began writing gags for the agent David O. Alber, who sold them to newspaper columnists. According to Allen, his first published joke "was in a gossip column. It read: 'Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices—over people's salaries.'"[6]
At sixteen, he was discovered by Milt Kamen, who got him his first writing job with Sid Caesar. He began calling himself Woody Allen (although it's unclear if Allen ever legally adopted his stage name). He was a gifted comedian from an early age and would later joke that when he was young he was sent to inter-faith summer camp, where he "was savagely beaten by children of all races and creeds".[5]
After high school, he went to New York University where he studied communication and film. He was never committed as a student, however, failed a film course, and was eventually expelled.[7] He later briefly attended City College of New York.
After his false starts at NYU and City College, he became a full-time writer for Herb Shriner, earning $75/week at first.[6] At age 19, he started writing scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, Caesar's Hour and other television shows.[8] By the time he was working for Sid Caesar, he was making $1500/week; with Caesar he worked alongside Danny Simon, whom Allen credits for helping him to structure his writing style.[6][9]
In 1961, he started a new career as a stand-up comedian, debuting in a Greenwich Village club called the Duplex.[6] He contributed sketches to the Broadway revue From A to Z, and began writing for the popular Candid Camera television show, even appearing in some episodes. Together with his managers, Allen turned his weaknesses into his strengths, developing his neurotic, nervous, and intellectual persona. He quickly became a successful comedian, and appeared frequently in nightclubs and on television. Allen was popular enough to appear on the cover of Life in 1969 when Play It Again, Sam opened on Broadway.
In 1961, he started a new career as a stand-up comedian, debuting in a Greenwich Village club called the Duplex.[6] He contributed sketches to the Broadway revue From A to Z, and began writing for the popular Candid Camera television show, even appearing in some episodes. Together with his managers, Allen turned his weaknesses into his strengths, developing his neurotic, nervous, and intellectual persona. He quickly became a successful comedian, and appeared frequently in nightclubs and on television. Allen was popular enough to appear on the cover of Life in 1969 when Play It Again, Sam opened on Broadway.
His first movie production was What's New, Pussycat? in 1965, for which he wrote the initial screenplay. He was hired by Warren Beatty to re-write a script, and to appear in a small part. Over the course of the re-write, Beatty's part grew smaller and Allen's grew larger. Beatty was upset and quit the production. Peter O'Toole was hired for the Beatty role, and Peter Sellers was brought in as well; Sellers was a big enough star to demand many of Woody Allen's best lines/scenes, prompting hasty re-writes. This experience with meddling producers, egotistical stars, and directors ruining jokes, along with a similar experience on the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (for which he did uncredited rewrites of his own scenes), led Allen to decide that the only way filmmaking was worthwhile was if he was in control of the film.
Allen's first directorial effort was What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966 co-written with Mickey Rose), in which an existing Japanese spy movie was redubbed in English by Allen and his friends with completely new, comic dialogue.
Allen's first directorial effort was What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966 co-written with Mickey Rose), in which an existing Japanese spy movie was redubbed in English by Allen and his friends with completely new, comic dialogue.
His first conventional effort was Take the Money and Run (1969), which was followed by Bananas, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask), Sleeper, and Love and Death. "Take the Money and Run" and "Bananas" were both co-written by his childhood friend, Mickey Rose.
In 1972, he also starred in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, which was directed by Herbert Ross. All of Allen's early films were pure comedies that relied heavily on slapstick, inventive sight gags, and non-stop one-liners. Among the many notable influences on these films are Bob Hope, Groucho Marx (as well as, to some extent, Harpo Marx) and Humphrey Bogart. In 1976, he starred in, but did not direct, The Front (that task was handled by Martin Ritt), a humorous and poignant account of Hollywood blacklisting during the 1950s.
Annie Hall marked a major turn to more sophisticated humor and thoughtful drama. Allen's 1977 film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture – an unusual feat for a comedy. Annie Hall set the standard for modern romantic comedy, and also started a minor fashion trend with the unique clothes worn by Diane Keaton in the film (the offbeat, masculine clothing, such as ties with cardigans, was actually Keaton's own). While in production, its working title was "Anhedonia," a term that means the inability to feel pleasure, and its plot revolved around a murder mystery. Apparently, as filmed, the murder mystery plot did not work (and was later used in his 1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery), so Allen re-edited and re-cut the movie after production ended to focus on the romantic comedy between Allen's character, Alvy Singer, and Keaton's character, Annie Hall. The new version, retitled Annie Hall (named after Keaton's grandmother), still deals with the theme of the inability to feel pleasure. Ranked at No. 35 on the American Film Institute' s "100 Best Movies" and at No. 4 on the AFI list of "100 Best Comedies," Annie Hall is considered to be among Allen's best.
Manhattan, released in 1979, is a black-and-white film that can be viewed as an homage to New York City, which has been described as the true "main character" of the movie.[citation needed] As in many other Allen films, the main characters are upper-class academics, literati, and occasional twits. Even though it makes fun of pretentious intellectuals, the story is packed with obscure references that makes it less accessible to a general audience. The love-hate opinion of cerebral persons found in Manhattan is characteristic of many of Allen's movies including Crimes and Misdemeanors and Annie Hall. Manhattan focuses on the complicated relationship between a middle-aged Isaac Davis (Allen) and a seventeen-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway) – which presages Allen's complicated personal relationship with Soon-Yi Previn.
Between Annie Hall and Manhattan Allen wrote and directed the gloomy drama Interiors (1978), in the style of the late Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, one of Allen's major influences. Interiors is considered by critics as a significant breakthrough past Allen's "earlier, funnier comedies" (a line from 1980s Stardust Memories).
In 1972, he also starred in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, which was directed by Herbert Ross. All of Allen's early films were pure comedies that relied heavily on slapstick, inventive sight gags, and non-stop one-liners. Among the many notable influences on these films are Bob Hope, Groucho Marx (as well as, to some extent, Harpo Marx) and Humphrey Bogart. In 1976, he starred in, but did not direct, The Front (that task was handled by Martin Ritt), a humorous and poignant account of Hollywood blacklisting during the 1950s.
Annie Hall marked a major turn to more sophisticated humor and thoughtful drama. Allen's 1977 film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture – an unusual feat for a comedy. Annie Hall set the standard for modern romantic comedy, and also started a minor fashion trend with the unique clothes worn by Diane Keaton in the film (the offbeat, masculine clothing, such as ties with cardigans, was actually Keaton's own). While in production, its working title was "Anhedonia," a term that means the inability to feel pleasure, and its plot revolved around a murder mystery. Apparently, as filmed, the murder mystery plot did not work (and was later used in his 1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery), so Allen re-edited and re-cut the movie after production ended to focus on the romantic comedy between Allen's character, Alvy Singer, and Keaton's character, Annie Hall. The new version, retitled Annie Hall (named after Keaton's grandmother), still deals with the theme of the inability to feel pleasure. Ranked at No. 35 on the American Film Institute' s "100 Best Movies" and at No. 4 on the AFI list of "100 Best Comedies," Annie Hall is considered to be among Allen's best.
Manhattan, released in 1979, is a black-and-white film that can be viewed as an homage to New York City, which has been described as the true "main character" of the movie.[citation needed] As in many other Allen films, the main characters are upper-class academics, literati, and occasional twits. Even though it makes fun of pretentious intellectuals, the story is packed with obscure references that makes it less accessible to a general audience. The love-hate opinion of cerebral persons found in Manhattan is characteristic of many of Allen's movies including Crimes and Misdemeanors and Annie Hall. Manhattan focuses on the complicated relationship between a middle-aged Isaac Davis (Allen) and a seventeen-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway) – which presages Allen's complicated personal relationship with Soon-Yi Previn.
Between Annie Hall and Manhattan Allen wrote and directed the gloomy drama Interiors (1978), in the style of the late Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, one of Allen's major influences. Interiors is considered by critics as a significant breakthrough past Allen's "earlier, funnier comedies" (a line from 1980s Stardust Memories).
1980s films, even the comedies, have somber and philosophical undertones. Some, like September and Stardust Memories, are often said to be heavily influenced by the works of European directors, most notably Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini.
Stardust Memories features a main character, a successful filmmaker played by Allen, who expresses resentment and scorn for his fans. Overcome by the recent death of a friend from illness, the character states, "I don't want to make funny movies any more," and a running gag throughout the film has various people (including a group of visiting space aliens) telling Bates that they appreciate his work, "especially the early, funny ones".[11]
However, by the mid-1980s, Allen had begun to combine tragic and comic elements with the release of such films as Hannah and Her Sisters (winner of three Academy Awards) starring British actor Michael Caine, and Crimes and Misdemeanors, in which he tells two different stories that connect at the end. He also produced a vividly idiosyncratic tragi-comical parody of documentary, titled Zelig.
He also made three films about show business. The first movie is Broadway Danny Rose, in which he plays a New York manager; then, The Purple Rose of Cairo, a movie that shows the importance of the cinema during the Depression through the character of the naive Cecilia. Lastly, Allen made Radio Days, which is a film about his childhood in Brooklyn, and the importance of the radio. Purple Rose was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best films of all time, and Allen has described it as one of his three best films, along with Stardust Memories and Match Point.[12] (It is worth noting that Allen defines them as "best" not in terms of quality, but because they came out the closest to his original vision.)
Before the end of the eighties he made other movies that were strongly inspired by Ingmar Bergman's films. September is a remake of Autumn Sonata, and Allen uses many elements from Persona[citation needed] in Another Woman.
Stardust Memories features a main character, a successful filmmaker played by Allen, who expresses resentment and scorn for his fans. Overcome by the recent death of a friend from illness, the character states, "I don't want to make funny movies any more," and a running gag throughout the film has various people (including a group of visiting space aliens) telling Bates that they appreciate his work, "especially the early, funny ones".[11]
However, by the mid-1980s, Allen had begun to combine tragic and comic elements with the release of such films as Hannah and Her Sisters (winner of three Academy Awards) starring British actor Michael Caine, and Crimes and Misdemeanors, in which he tells two different stories that connect at the end. He also produced a vividly idiosyncratic tragi-comical parody of documentary, titled Zelig.
He also made three films about show business. The first movie is Broadway Danny Rose, in which he plays a New York manager; then, The Purple Rose of Cairo, a movie that shows the importance of the cinema during the Depression through the character of the naive Cecilia. Lastly, Allen made Radio Days, which is a film about his childhood in Brooklyn, and the importance of the radio. Purple Rose was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best films of all time, and Allen has described it as one of his three best films, along with Stardust Memories and Match Point.[12] (It is worth noting that Allen defines them as "best" not in terms of quality, but because they came out the closest to his original vision.)
Before the end of the eighties he made other movies that were strongly inspired by Ingmar Bergman's films. September is a remake of Autumn Sonata, and Allen uses many elements from Persona[citation needed] in Another Woman.
His 1992 film Shadows and Fog (1992) is a black and white homage to German expressionists and features the music of Kurt Weill. Allen then made his critically acclaimed drama Husbands and Wives (1992) which received two Oscar nominations; Best Supporting Actress for Judy Davis and Best Original Screenplay for Allen. His film Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) combined suspense with dark comedy, and starred Diane Keaton, Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston. In the late 1990s he returned to lighter movies, such as Bullets Over Broadway (1994), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director followed by a musical Everyone Says I Love You (1996): Allen's first and only to date. The singing and dancing scenes in Everyone Says I Love You are similar to the musical starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, but the plot is comical. The comedy Mighty Aphrodite (1995), in which the Greek and Roman tragedies play a large role, won an Academy Award for Mira Sorvino. Allen's 1999 jazz mockumentary Sweet and Lowdown was also nominated for two Academy Awards for Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress). In contrast to these lighter movies, Allen veered scathingly dark and satirical towards the end of the 1990s with Deconstructing Harry (1997) and Celebrity (1998). Allen made his only sitcom "appearance" via telephone in the 1997 episode, "My Dinner with Woody" of the show Just Shoot Me!, an episode paying tribute to several of his films.
Woody Allen (született Allen Stewart Konigsberg, New York, 1935. december 1. – ) amerikai író, színész, filmrendező és filmproducer. Komikus rendezőzseni, és sok más dicséretet is sikerült kivívnia magának a különcségei ellenére. Allen zsidó családban született. Szülei, Martin Konigsberg és Nettea Cherrie, és nővére, Letty, Flatbushban éltek, Brooklynban. Héber iskolában tanult hét éven keresztül, majd átiratkozott a Midwood High állami iskolába. A beceneve "Vörös" volt, mert vörös volt a haja. Hogy pénzt szerezzen, elkezdett poénokat írni David O. Alber ügynöknek, aki ezeket eladta egy újságnak. Allen első publikált vicce a "I am two with Nature." volt. 16 évesen elkezdett írni szövegeket előadóművészeknek, és ekkor használta először a Woody Allen nevet.
A gimnázium után beiratkozott a New York-i egyetemre, ahol kommunikációt és filmművészetet hallgatott. Nem sokat járt be órákra, az első filmes vizsgáján megbukott. Az egyetemet otthagyta, és később City College of New Yorkban fejezte be tanulmányait.
19 évesen darabokat kezdett írni a The Ed Sullivan Show-nak, a The Tonight Show-nak, Sid Caesarnak, Art Carney-nak és másoknak. 1957-ben megnyerte az első Emmy-díját. Bob Hope, az ismert komikus szövegírója is lett.
Prózákat és darabokat kezdett írni 1960-ban, új műfajjal, a stand-up comedyvel próbálkozott, valamint ötletgyártó volt a kandi kamera televíziós show műfajában. 1961-ben úgy döntött, maga is elő tudja adni saját szerzeményeit, s hamarosan népszerű alakja lett a Greenwich Village-i kluboknak és egyetemi campusoknak. 1965-ben Clive Donner rendező felkérte a Mi újság, cicababa? című film forgatókönyvének megírására, amelyben egy kisebb szerepet is eljátszott. Ennek sikere után Allen maga is megpróbálkozott a rendezéssel, újravágott egy alacsony költségvetésű japán kémthrillert, amelyben amerikai színészek szinkronizálták a japánokat. A végeredmény a What's Up, Tiger Lily? lett, mely 1966-ban pozitív fogadtatásban részesült, akárcsak egy évvel később a Casino Royale című James Bond-paródia, amelynek a forgatókönyvét is írta, valamint szerepelt is benne. David Niven alakította Sir James Bondot, a koros 007-es ügynököt, Woody kettős szerepet játszott: Jimmy Bond volt, a habókos unokaöcs, és egy titkos szervezet ütődött feje. Aztán tényleg rendezett, a Fogd a pénzt és fuss! című krimivígjáték forgatókönyvét is ő írta, s övé volt a főszerep is, Virgil Starkwell – a megrögzött tolvaj élettörténete megnevettette a nézőit.
Ezt a mozit számos vígjáték követte, többek között a Zöldségek, a Minden, amit tudni akarsz a szexről – ennek zárótörténetében Allen egy, a versenyben lemaradt spermiumot alakított. Majd a Hétalvó rendezője, forgatókönyvírója, zeneszerzője és főszereplője volt. Miles Monroe-t játszotta, egy Greenwich Village-i bioélelmiszerbolt-tulajdonost, akit 1973-ban vakbéllel operálnak, de a műtét nem sikerül, ezért az orvosok lefagyasztják a pácienst, aki kétszáz évvel később ébred fel. Az igazi áttörést az 1977-es Annie Hall című filmje jelentette, amelyért George Lucas és Steven Spielberg elől elvitte a legjobb rendezőnek járó Oscar-díjat. A történet egy neurotikus, bizonytalan komédiaszerzőről szól, Alvy Singerről, aki őrülten beleszeret egy énekesnőnek készülő lányba, Annie Hallba. Őt Diane Keaton alakította, aki szintén Oscar-díjat kapott.
A gimnázium után beiratkozott a New York-i egyetemre, ahol kommunikációt és filmművészetet hallgatott. Nem sokat járt be órákra, az első filmes vizsgáján megbukott. Az egyetemet otthagyta, és később City College of New Yorkban fejezte be tanulmányait.
19 évesen darabokat kezdett írni a The Ed Sullivan Show-nak, a The Tonight Show-nak, Sid Caesarnak, Art Carney-nak és másoknak. 1957-ben megnyerte az első Emmy-díját. Bob Hope, az ismert komikus szövegírója is lett.
Prózákat és darabokat kezdett írni 1960-ban, új műfajjal, a stand-up comedyvel próbálkozott, valamint ötletgyártó volt a kandi kamera televíziós show műfajában. 1961-ben úgy döntött, maga is elő tudja adni saját szerzeményeit, s hamarosan népszerű alakja lett a Greenwich Village-i kluboknak és egyetemi campusoknak. 1965-ben Clive Donner rendező felkérte a Mi újság, cicababa? című film forgatókönyvének megírására, amelyben egy kisebb szerepet is eljátszott. Ennek sikere után Allen maga is megpróbálkozott a rendezéssel, újravágott egy alacsony költségvetésű japán kémthrillert, amelyben amerikai színészek szinkronizálták a japánokat. A végeredmény a What's Up, Tiger Lily? lett, mely 1966-ban pozitív fogadtatásban részesült, akárcsak egy évvel később a Casino Royale című James Bond-paródia, amelynek a forgatókönyvét is írta, valamint szerepelt is benne. David Niven alakította Sir James Bondot, a koros 007-es ügynököt, Woody kettős szerepet játszott: Jimmy Bond volt, a habókos unokaöcs, és egy titkos szervezet ütődött feje. Aztán tényleg rendezett, a Fogd a pénzt és fuss! című krimivígjáték forgatókönyvét is ő írta, s övé volt a főszerep is, Virgil Starkwell – a megrögzött tolvaj élettörténete megnevettette a nézőit.
Ezt a mozit számos vígjáték követte, többek között a Zöldségek, a Minden, amit tudni akarsz a szexről – ennek zárótörténetében Allen egy, a versenyben lemaradt spermiumot alakított. Majd a Hétalvó rendezője, forgatókönyvírója, zeneszerzője és főszereplője volt. Miles Monroe-t játszotta, egy Greenwich Village-i bioélelmiszerbolt-tulajdonost, akit 1973-ban vakbéllel operálnak, de a műtét nem sikerül, ezért az orvosok lefagyasztják a pácienst, aki kétszáz évvel később ébred fel. Az igazi áttörést az 1977-es Annie Hall című filmje jelentette, amelyért George Lucas és Steven Spielberg elől elvitte a legjobb rendezőnek járó Oscar-díjat. A történet egy neurotikus, bizonytalan komédiaszerzőről szól, Alvy Singerről, aki őrülten beleszeret egy énekesnőnek készülő lányba, Annie Hallba. Őt Diane Keaton alakította, aki szintén Oscar-díjat kapott.
Első felesége Harlene Rosen volt, majd 1966-ban elvette Louise Lasser színésznőt, aki számos korai filmjében is feltűnt. 1969-ben elváltak, majd Allen évekig élt együtt Diane Keatonnal, később pedig Mia Farrow-val, akitől fia is született. Mia Farrow örökbefogadott gyermekei közül a még középiskolás Soon-Yivel Allen szexuális kapcsolatba került. Szexuálisan molesztálta másik örökbefogadott kislányukat, a hétéves Dylant is. A botrány 1992-ben robbant ki, majd éveken át tartó pereskedés következett, amit Woody indított Mia ellen minden hiteles bizonyíték nélkül a gyermekek elhelyezését illetően, ezzel elterelve a figyelmet a gyermekmolesztálási ügyéről. 1993. június 07-én a legfelsőbb bírósági határozat szerint Mr.Allen „...önteltsége, ítélőképességének hiánya, elszánt támadása és ezzel minden eddig okozott seb elmélyítése okot ad rá, hogy további kapcsolatot a gyermekekkel csak gondos megfigyelés mellett tarthasson”. Végül Woody 1997-ben feleségül vette Soon-Yit, két gyermeket nevelnek, s most boldogan élnek. Allen hétfőnként Eddie Davis New Orleans Jazz Bandjével klarinéton játszik a New York-i Carlyle kávéházban.
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