He shaped the image of New York like no other. Woody Allen is considered the prototype of the East Coast intellectual: he is neurotic, despises the dream industry and loves jazz. Now he’s turning 86.
This man is really a phenomenon. Despite turning 85 on December 1st, Woody Allen is not thinking of retiring. On the contrary: he continues to make films, one per year, for which he hires the crème de la crème of Hollywood and which premieres at major festivals. An end to his creative phase does not seem in sight: In December 219, his film “A Rainy Day in New York” was released in German cinemas. His latest work “Rifkin’s Festival” celebrated its world premiere at the San Sebastián Film Festival in September this year, but there has not yet been a German release date.
The future filmmaker was born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in the New York borough of Brooklyn, the son of a Jewish diamond cutter. Although not Orthodox himself, the parents sent their son to a Hebrew school. As a teenager he made good money as a gag writer and at the tender age of 16 he took on the stage name Woody Allen. He soon rose from joke supplier to screenwriter, for example for the “Ed Sullivan Show”. After successfully writing the screenplay for the 1965 film “What’s New, Pussy?” Allen first directed a film in 1969. “Woody the Unlucky Raven” was the first mockumentary in film history, a film that comes across as a real documentary, but is purely fictional and parodies the genre.
Allen achieved cult status with the episode film “Everything you always wanted to know about sex, but never dared to ask” from 1972. It is the satirical film adaptation of a sex education book that was famous at the time, but it immediately targets the entire enlightenment mania of the 1970s. It is here that Sigmund Freud’s strong influence on Woody Allen’s work can be seen for the first time, which is still influential today. During his student days, Allen had already consulted a psychoanalyst on the advice of his dean – a visit with consequences for film history.
Woody Allen doesn’t want to be the eternal clown
His early films were often a series of gags that repeatedly touch the line to silliness. These include “Bananas” (1971), “The Sleeper” (1973), but also “The Last Night of Boris Grushenko” from 1975, which is set during Napoleon’s Russian campaign. Here, however, a new tone comes into play for the first time: Although this film is also a piece of clothing, it also contains some profound thoughts about life and death. Fittingly, the film is also called “Love and Death” in English. It is considered a bridge to his later, more serious films. Woody Allen is clearly trying to escape the entrenched image of being the eternal clown à la Charlie Chaplin.
This effort soon bore fruit: “Der Stadtneurotiker” (original title: “Annie Hall”) became an artistic triumph in 1977 and gave Woody Allen two Oscars in the categories of Best Director and Best Original Screenplay: At 42, Woody Allen had reached its climax. The film broke new ground in terms of both content and form. The director and author created his very own genre here – the Woody Allen film. The focus of these autobiographical films is a middle-aged Jewish man who lives in New York, is intellectually exaggerated and highly neurotic. The artist stayed away from the awards ceremony in distant Hollywood – the passionate clarinetist stayed in his native New York and played with his jazz band.
Success with the New York trilogy
With his film “Manhattan” after that, Woody Allen built on the success of “Der Stadtneurotiker” in 1979. Here, too, the focus is again on a Jewish intellectual who has a complicated relationship life and who otherwise struggles with life. The parallels between the main character Isaac Davis and Woody Allen are obvious: Like Davis, Allen was divorced twice at the time – and also has a weakness for young girls. In 1954 Allen married the then 16-year-old philosophy student Harlene Rosen; the marriage was divorced in 1959.
From 1966 to 1969 he was married to the actress Louise Lasser, who later starred in three of his films. After that he was in a relationship with Diane Keaton, who starred in a total of eight of his films between 1971 and 1993, including “Manhattan”. For her role in “Der Stadtneurotiker” she received the Oscar for best leading actress. “Manhattan” is the second part of the so-called New York trilogy, which ends in 1980 with “Stardust Memories”.
Since 1980 Woody Allen was in a relationship with actress Mia Farrow. She starred in many of his films between 1982 and 1992. Also in “Hannah and Her Sisters”, his greatest triumph of the 80s. Woody Allen received his third Oscar in 1987 in the category of Best Original Screenplay for his film about the turmoil of a New York artist family.
Woody Allen and Mia Farrow were together until 1992. Together, the couple had two adopted children, Dylan and Moses, and a son, Satchel Farrow. From her marriage to the pianist and conductor André Previn, Farrow brought the adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn into the marriage. She was the reason for the trigger for the dramatic breakup: In 1992, Farrow discovered nude photos of the then 22-year-old Soon-Yi Previn, which Woody Allen took. Allen then confessed to having a relationship with her adopted daughter.
Working for Woody Allen is an honor
Woody Allen’s affair with his partner’s adopted daughter turned into a scandal in the USA, and Allen was at times considered persona non grata. The court called Allen’s behavior towards the children “abusive and callous”. As a result, the director shot outside his hometown of New York for the first time in 21 years in 1996. The musical film “All say: I love you” is set in Venice and Paris, among others.
Even if he couldn’t pay high fees, he got the most sought-after actors of his time for all of his films. Woody Allen has long been considered an honor to work for. Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn and Drew Barrymore played here. Two years later he was able to win over Leonardo DiCaprio, Charlize Theron, Melanie Griffith, Winona Ryder and Kenneth Branagh for his film “Celebrity”. His reputation as an artist hadn’t been scratched at the time.
That should change over time: In the course of the #MeToo movement, Kate Winslet, who had shot the film “Wonder Wheel” with Allen in 2017, distanced herself from the director. The publication of his autobiography “Apropos of Nothing” (German edition: “Quite by the way”) was accompanied by disagreement.
In his private life, however, Allen seems to have found happiness: Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn married in December 1997, and the couple adopted two children, Bechet and Manzie, named after the jazz musicians Sidney Bechet and Manzie Johnson. The family lives in a posh townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
New start in the old world
Artistically, there is no slack in the filmmaker’s late work. After shooting two classic New York films with “Anything Else” and “Melinda und Melinda” in 2003 and 2004, he dared a furious new start in the Old World in 2005: With “Match Point” Woody Allen reinvented himself. Inspired by his new muse Scarlett Johansson, he shot a dark thriller that won over both critics and audiences. Other London films followed, including “Scoop”, “Cassandra’s Dream” and “I see the man of your dreams”.
Even in old age, Allen never slacks off in his pace of work and shoots an average of one film a year. And masterpieces still regularly jump out of it. Including the humorous time travel comedy “Midnight in Paris” with Owen Wilson, for which Allen received his fourth Oscar in 2012. His film drama “Blue Jasmine” was also recognized at the Academy Awards. For her portrayal of a woman who goes through a dramatic fall from high society lady to homeless, Cate Blanchett received the Oscar for best actress.
That’s exactly why actors love working with him: Everyone helps them win prizes and trophies. Despite the allegations of abuse on the part of his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, the director can still win high-ranking stars for the collaboration. In “A Rainy Day in New York” these included Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez, Jude Law and Rebecca Hall, to name a few. In his current film “Rifkin’s Festival” Oscar winners Christoph Waltz and Gina Gershon. Another film is already planned for the coming year.
Many still find it an honor to work with the great Woody Allen. As long as it stays that way, he’ll probably keep making films. Even at the age of 85.
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