Kirjahaku

With thirty-five years of personal film-making behind him, Woody Allen is one of the most distinctive, uncompromising and accomplished of all American directors.One of the great practitioners of film comedy, Allen progressed from the slapstick of Take the Money and Run and Bananas, through the sophisticated Freudian one-liners and existential pratfalls of Annie Hall and Manhattan, to the complex moral studies of Crimes and Misdemeanours and Husbands and Wives. In the meantime Allen's own angst-ridden on-screen persona has entered the folklore of the movies to the same degree as Chaplin's tramp or Groucho Marx's cigar-toting know-it-all.This candid, thoughtful and humorous career-length interview with Stig Björkman - editor of a similar volume on one of Allen's own heroes, Ingmar Bergman - traces the path of his career, his motivations and inspirations, and of course his nigh-legendary anxieties. Newly updated, the book contains extended discussion of such recent Allen triumphs as Bullets Over Broadway, Mighty Aphrodite, Deconstructing Harry and Sweet and Lowdown.

Over the course of his long directing career, Woody Allen has portrayed contemporary American life with an unmistakable mixture of irony, neurotic obsession, and humor. Woody Allen on Woody Allen is a unique self-portrait of this uncompromising filmmaker that offers a revealing account of his life and work. In a series of rare, in-depth interviews, Allen brings us onto the sets and behind the scenes of all his films. Since its original publication, Woody Allen on Woody Allen has been the primary source of Allen's own thoughts on his work, childhood, favorite films, and inspirations. Now updated with one hundred pages of new material that brings us up to his Hollywood Ending, Woody Allen on Woody Allen is a required addition to any cinephile's library.

Woody Allens Storys, Szenen und Parodien sind Klassiker der komischen Literatur. Spottlustig, sprachverliebt und mit unverwechselbarem Humor schreibt er über Leben und Tod, Intellektuelle, Hitlers Friseur, Psychoanalytiker, Liebe und Sex, sein hassgeliebtes New York und befasst sich darüber hinaus mit der wichtigen Frage, ob man im Jenseits auch duschen kann.

Wie beginnt man eine Affäre mit Madame Bovary? Womit trickst man den Tod aus? Und was, wenn die Impressionisten Zahnärzte gewesen wären? Die hier versammelten besten Storys, Szenen und Parodien ? längst Klassiker der komischen Literatur ? werden nicht nur die Fans von Woody Allens Filmen überzeugen, dass er ein brillanter und virtuoser Erzähler ist.

Surreal, absurd, rich in verbal play, bitingly satirical and just plain daft in the mode we have grown to love from his finest films, this flight-of-fancy collection includes tales of a body double who, mistaken for the film's star, is kidnapped by outlaws;

Although Woody Allen is best known for his cult movies, he is also a writer of outstanding wit and skill. Dip into this collection of fifty-two pieces for hilarity, deadpan weirdness, and some extremely outlandish ideas. Do you want to hear about the time Hitler went for a haircut? Or why Woody reveres Socrates? Have you ever wondered what would have happened if the Impressionists had actually been dentists? You can learn much about history – the piece on the invention of sandwiches is eye-opening – or modern life in this laugh-out-loud collection of thoughts, observations, diaries and stories from one of the most original minds and wonderfully comic voices of our time. ‘It’s no secret that Allen’s short stories are just as entertaining and accomplished as his films . . . Allen’s witty stories satirise contemporary society and classic modern literature in a style that is characteristically breathless, off the cuff and brilliant’ Observer

A humor classic by one of the funniest writers today, SIDE EFFECTS is a treat for all those who know his work and those just discovering how gifted he is. Included here are such classics as REMEMBERING NEEDLEMAN, THE KUGELMASS EPISODE, a new sory called CONFESSIONS OF A BUGLAR, and more.

New York comedian Alvy Singer reflects ruefully upon a failed relationship. When he first met Annie Hall on a tennis date, she was an insecure wallflower in trousers, vest and tie. But they shared a self-deprecating sense of humour, plus certain deep-seated neuroses, and love soon blossomed. Alvy supported Annie's hopes for a singing career and encouraged her to broaden her talents. But ironically, her increasing self-assurance, coupled with Alvy's obsession with death and his seeming inability to enjoy himself ('Life is divided between the horrible and the miserable'), spelt trouble for their affair.Annie Hall is a bittersweet comedic masterpiece, rich in irony, invention, romantic insights and classic Woody Allen one-liners. It won Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture of 1977.

Comedy Characters: 3 male, 8 female Interior Set Allan Felix has this thing about Humphrey Bogart. If only he had some of Bogart's technique...Bookish and insecure with women, Allan's hero, Bogey comes to the rescue, with a fantastic bevy of beauties played out in hilarious fantasy sequences. Fixed up by friends with gorgeous women, he's so awkward that even Bogey's patience is tried. Allan mostly resembles a disheveled, friendly dog and this is what ultimately charms his best friend's wife, Linda into bed. It's a tough life, making it in the world of beautiful people but if you can't be a hero it helps to have one..."Hilarious...a cheerful romp. Not only are Mr. Allen's jokes and their follow ups, asides and twists audaciously brilliant, but he has a great sense of character."-The New York Times "A funny, likeable comedy that has a surprising amount of wistful appeal."-New York Post

Comedy Woody Allen Characters: 18 male, 2 female (doubling possible). Bare stage, simple props. A maniacal killer is at large and Kleinman is caught between conflicting factions with plans on how to catch him. Kleinman, a logical man in a mad world, is indecisive and insecure; he doesn't want to get involved but everyone is after him to make a choice. He is even accused of being the culprit. When Kleinman confronts the maniac (who looks no different from anyone else), he is stabbed. Everyone rushes off to pursue the still elusive killer.

Set in an empty Greek amphitheater this mad play within a play switches back and forth between ancient Athens and modern Broadway. A Greek actor and a writer are discussing how to end a play. Actors including Doris Levine from Great Neck Blanche DuBois and Groucho Marx pop out of the audience. Peppered with metaphysical and philosophical questions the play skids along farcically until the actor and writer conclude that it lacks a beginning as well as an end.

Each play is an absurdist take on marital infidelity, one instance set on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and the other in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Fred Savage, a homicidal, paranoid, schizophrenic vagrant ex-copywriter, has been stalking a screenwriter for weeks, convinced that his prey stole his idea - in fact, his life - to create a successful movie plot. In an orthodontist is hosting her sister and golf-mad brother-in-law, a plastic surgeon, at her grand suburban house. When a couple who once owned the building stops by, they spark an old fashioned sex farce that is full of verve and cunning.

A bittersweet comedy by the author of Play it Again Sam, Don't Drink the Water and other favorites, premiered on Broadway at Lincoln Center starring Beatrice Arthur as long-suffered Enid matriarch of the Pollack clan. Errant husband Max, 13-year-old Steve and Paul, amateur magician and narrator of the story. Set in 1945 Brooklyn (Canarsie section), The Floating Light Bulb is an evocative drama of a family in crisis leavened by wit, charm and hope.

Short Plays / Comedy / 2m, 3f / 3 ints. This long-running Off Broadway hit features the work of three gifted playwrights. David Mamet's AN INTERVIEW is an oblique, mystifying interrogation. A sleazy lawyer is forced to answer difficult questions and to admit the truth about his life and career. The why and where of the interrogation provide a surprise ending to this brilliant twenty minute comedy. In HOTLINE by Elaine May, a neurotic woman with enough urban angst to fill a neighborhood calls a

Comprising the classic bestsellers Getting Even, Without Feathers, and Side Effects, this definitive collection of comic writings is from a man who needs no Introduction. Really-this book has no Introduction. The Insanity Defense reveals many sides of Woody Allen as he holds forth on the most human of urges ("Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only for food: frequently there must be a beverage"); reflects on death ("I don't believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear"); and notes the effect on history wrought by trick chewing gum, the dribble glass, and other novelties. There is also an inspiring story of the futile race to beat Dr. Heimlich to the punch: "The food went down the wrong pipe, and choking occurred. Grasping the mouse firmly by the tail, I snapped it like a small whip, and the morsel of cheese came loose. If we can transfer the procedure to humans, we may have something. Too early to tell." All Woody Allen fans will cherish this uproarious treasury-and those who don't enjoy The Insanity Defense are just plain crazy. "If you don't care if you break into helpless whoops of laughter on buses, trains, or wherever you happen to be reading it."-Chicago Tribune, on Without Feathers "Brilliant flights of fancy whose comic detail and inspired silliness are at once dramatic and controlled."-The New York Times, on Side Effects

Here, in his first collection since his three hilarious classics Getting Even, Without Feathers, and Side Effects, Woody Allen has managed to write a book that not only answers the most profound questions of human existence but is also the perfect size to place under any short table leg to prevent wobbling. In hysterical flights of inspirational sanity we are introduced to a cast of characters only Allen could imagine: Jasper Nutmeat, Flanders Mealworm, and the independent film mogul E. Coli Biggs, just to name a few. Whether he is writing about art, sex, food, or crime, he is explosively funny. In "This Nib for Hire," a Hollywood bigwig comes across an author's book in a little country store and describes it in a way that aptly captures this magnificent volume: "Actually," the producer says, "I'd never seen a book remaindered in the kindling section before." Praise for Mere Anarchy INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER "The stories in Mere Anarchy deliver the same joys and foibles that have been with its author from the start."-Janet Maslin, The New York Times "Uproarious . . . In each story the ornate and the vulgate slam together and make it rain polysyllabic absurdity."-The Wall Street Journal "Nostalgically enjoyable . . . The stories in Mere Anarchy deliver the same joys and foibles that have been with its author from the start."-The New York Times "Brilliant neurotica . . . unfailingly entertaining . . . an] obsessive and seriously funny book."-Los Angeles Times Book Review "Like the Carnegie's one-pound sandwiches, Allen's literary slapstick is . . . comedy on wry."-USA Today

Asher Baum is quietly losing his mind. Can you blame him? A middle-aged Jewish journalist turned novelist and playwright, consumed with anxiety about everything under the sun, Baum's turgid philosophical books receive tepid reviews and his prestigious New York publisher has dropped him. His third marriage is on the rocks and he suspects his handsome and successful younger brother may have seduced his Harvard-educated wife. He is uneasy with her close relationship with her son, a more successful author than he, and suspicious of her closeness with their neighbour in Connecticut. And in a moment of irrationality, he has impulsively tried to kiss a pretty young journalist during an interview that she is about to go public with. Is it any wonder Baum has started talking to himself? Strangers shake their heads and walk around him on the street. Meanwhile he learns a startling secret that could cause havoc should he expose it. Should he keep it to himself or reveal it and blow up his marriage? What's with Baum? is Woody Allen's first novel and it is everything you would expect of him--and more. A portrait of an intellectual crippled by neurotic concerns about the futility and emptiness of life; an amusing glimpse into the New York publishing establishment; above all, a highly entertaining, tightly plotted, beautifully wrought piece of fiction from one of America's greatest and most versatile cinematic and literary talents.

The long-awaited, enormously entertaining memoir by one of the great artists of our time.In this candid and often hilarious memoir, the celebrated director, comedian, writer, and actor offers a comprehensive, personal look at his tumultuous life. Beginning with his Brooklyn childhood and his stint as a writer for the Sid Caesar variety show in the early days of television, working alongside comedy greats, Allen tells of his difficult early days doing standup before he achieved recognition and success. With his unique storytelling pizzazz, he recounts his departure into moviemaking, with such slapstick comedies as Take the Money and Run, and revisits his entire, sixty-year-long, and enormously productive career as a writer and director, from his classics Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah and Her Sisters to his most recent films, including Midnight in Paris. Along the way, he discusses his marriages, his romances and famous friendships, his jazz playing, and his books and plays. We learn about his demons, his mistakes, his successes, and those he loved, worked with, and learned from in equal measure.This is a hugely entertaining, deeply honest, rich and brilliant self-portrait of a celebrated artist who is ranked among the greatest filmmakers of our time.

The Enormously Entertaining Memoir by One of the Great Artists of Our Time—Now a New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller. In this candid and often hilarious memoir, the celebrated director, comedian, writer, and actor offers a comprehensive, personal look at his tumultuous life. Beginning with his Brooklyn childhood and his stint as a writer for the Sid Caesar variety show in the early days of television, working alongside comedy greats, Allen tells of his difficult early days doing standup before he achieved recognition and success. With his unique storytelling pizzazz, he recounts his departure into moviemaking, with such slapstick comedies as Take the Money and Run, and revisits his entire, sixty-year-long, and enormously productive career as a writer and director, from his classics Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah and Her Sisters to his most recent films, including Midnight in Paris. Along the way, he discusses his marriages, his romances and famous friendships, his jazz playing, and his books and plays. We learn about his demons, his mistakes, his successes, and those he loved, worked with, and learned from in equal measure. This is the hugely entertaining, deeply honest, rich and brilliant self-portrait of a celebrated artist who is ranked among the greatest filmmakers of our time.

I sine stærkt underholdende erindringer fortæller Woody Allen om et liv som instruktør, standupkomiker, forfatter, musiker og skuespiller – og som familiefar og ægtemand. Et ofte tumultarisk liv, der tager sin begyndelse i Brooklyn, New York. Allen giver et levende indblik i sin 60 år lange filmkarriere, fra klassikerne Annie Hall, Manhattan og Hannah og hendes søstre og frem til nyere film som Midnight in Paris og A Rainy Day in New York. Det er en historie om fejltagelser og succeser – og om de mange kunstnere og skuespillere, Woody Allen har mødt på sin vej. Om hans venskaber, ægteskaber og romantiske forhold. Ligesom han i bogen giver sin version af forholdet til skuespilleren Mia Farrow.