Annotated Outline for Woody Allen Auteur Paper

Personality On Display: Woody Allen

Introduction/Auteur Review/Thesis Statement(2-3 paragraphs but all encompass into similar subject):

When Woody Allen makes a film, you feel his personality in every frame. Woody Allen is not an auteur in the way that you can find several director signatures throughout his films (though there are a few) but in the way you can feel his persona almost like a spirit hanging over the film. This takes auteur theory into a much more thoughtful and deeper state than I had originally anticipated

Sleeper(the exception to the rule) (1 paragraph)

Sleeper is exceptionally different from most of the Woody Allen films I watched. It is more of a Mel Brooks/Benny Hill style comedy with jazz tribute to the silent film era. What is indeed present though is Woody Allen riffing on 70s popular culture in his usual neurotic demeanor. The film is largely a kind of strange social commentary on the 70s and kind of a fantasy world of Woody Allen. It is notable that in the most offbeat and unrealistic of all the Woody Allen movies I watched it is the only one where he ends up with the girl in the end.

Annie Hall (Perfection) (1 paragraph, possibly 2 if I get really excited)
Annie Hall is what I would consider the framework for Allen's best films. It seems that the movies relationship is fictional but the life and aspects of Alvy Singer who is played by Woody Allen, are very autobiographical. Several times throughout Annie Hall, Woody Allen breaks the fourth wall(where the audiences sits outside the films world and watches) and speaks directly to the audience about his problems. His personality is most evident here because he is talking to us directly.

Manhattan (1 paragraph)
The opening dialouge of Manhattan is reminiscent of Annie Hall as Woody Allen speaks of his love for a city that appears to be losing its luster. The film itself is presented in black and white as if to add a more old timey feel. It makes me think of old movies that take place in Manhattan and how people who had never seen the city itself back in the black and white era recognized it in that color. This is Woody's love note to Manhattan. It also has the possibility of foreshadowing some relationships in Woodys actual life. (Ending up with a 17 year old?)

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1 paragraph)
A look at the darker side of Woody Allen. Crimes and Misdemeanors is a mixture of two stories. One about a successful man who is brought to call upon murder of his mistress, and the other about a failing director who falls in love while working on a documentary about his brother in law. While the side about the failed director is the usual Woody Allen plot where nothing turns out right, its contrast to the dead serious story of murder and cheating. This would become another framework that is delved into further in Match Point.

Match Point (1 paragraph)
This was the only film I watched that didn't have Woody Allen himself in a starring role. His presence was still felt as we are exposed to relationships, betrayal, and murder. We still see it all come together based around an opening monologue and its continuing reference of luck (like in the game of tennis) throughout the movie. Here we have no common Woody story but his focus on the inner workings of the human mind and complicated relationships is unmistakable.

Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs)
Woody Allen is one of the most personal directors of our time. He brings his personality into his films so much that they become unmistakable. He may not have many signatures, but that is irrelevent. After watching several of his movies, you feel like you know him personally.