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#031 Woody Allen: Annie Hall vs. To Rome with Love

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Download MP3 In today's episode Nate and Austin compare Woody Allen's best and worst rated films, Annie Hall (1977) and To Rome with Love (2012), respectively. Nate continues to talk about Midnight in Paris throughout, Austin breaks the fourth wall, and Nate reminds Austin to watch Midnight in Paris. Check back next Sunday at 7pm PST where we will compare Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (1936) and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), his best and worst rated films.
Also check out this interview of Woody Allen where he talks about Annie Hall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBmtQpDHJeY

To Rome with Love Notes

Worst Rated

PLOT: The lives of some visitors and residents of Rome and the romances, adventures and predicaments they get into.
  • Ratings: IMDb 6.3 | RT 44% C / 40% A
  • Released: 2012
  • Director: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris, Manhattan)
  • Writer(s): Woody Allen
  • Cinematographer: Darius Khondji (Se7en, Midnight in Paris)
  • Notable actors: Judy Davis, Flavio Parenti, Roberto Benigni, Alison Pill, Alessandro Tiberi, Alessandra Mastronardi, Alec Baldwin, Fabio Armiliato, Woody Allen, Jesse Eisenberg, Penelope Cruz
  • Budget: $19 million
  • Box office: $73.2 million
  • Fun Facts:
    • The term 'Ozymandias Melancholy' was invented by Woody Allen for his 1980 movie Stardust Memories (1980).
    • To Rome With Love was originally titled The Bop Decameron, before being changed to Nero Fiddled. Woody Allen changed it when he realized that few people understood the title's loose reference to The Decameron, a medieval collection of novellas.
    • Woody Allen's first acting role in five pictures and six years. His last was in Scoop (2006).

Annie Hall Notes

Best Rated

PLOT: Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditzy Annie Hall.
  • Ratings: IMDb 8.1 | RT 98% C / 93% A
  • Released: 1977
  • Director: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris, Manhattan)
  • Writer(s): Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
  • Cinematographer: Gordon Willis (The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II)
  • Notable actors: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Paul Simon, Shelley Duvall, Janet Margolin, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum
  • Budget: $4 million
  • Box office: $38.3 million
  • Fun Facts:
    • Won Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
    • Diane Keaton's real name is Diane Hall and her nickname is Annie.
    • The scene where Alvy and Annie are at their psychiatrists, which looks like a split screen scene, was actually shot simultaneously on one set with an adjoining wall.
    • Alvy's (Woody Allen's) sneezing into the cocaine was an unscripted accident. When previewed, the audience laughed so loud that director Allen decided to leave it in, and had to add footage to compensate for people missing the next few jokes from laughing too much.
    • Annie's outfits, which caused a brief fashion rage, were Diane Keaton's own clothes.
    • At 93 minutes, it is the second shortest film to win the Best Picture Oscar. The shortest film to win the Best Picture Oscar is Marty (1955) at 91 minutes.
    • According to Tony Roberts, in the scene where Rob picks Alvy up from jail, Woody Allen was unaware that Roberts was going to pull the green visor down on his coat. Allen ad-libbed the line "Are we driving through plutonium?" They shot a second take during which Allen changed the line to "Are we driving through a field of bees?" The first take is the one in the film.
  Intro music: Calm The Fuck Down - Broke For Free / CC BY 3.0  
 

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