Charles Dickens / Seperating the Artist from the Art
Posted by erin at April 8, 2004 03:27 PMLast night I watched Annie Hall with Alison, because she somehow made it through film school without having seen it.
Now, Woody Allen has made rather a lot of films, and some of them are very good. Some of them, like Annie Hall and Love and Death are some of my favorite movies, although I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a real Woody Allen fan, per say. It was interesting watching Annie Hall again, having lived in New York for several years now. When I first saw it, in 1997, living in Michigan, it seemed like the film was taking place in some alternate universe of Jewish people and intellectual snobs that was very different from the world I lived in. Now that I've been in New York for some time and hung out with intellectual snobs I better understood jokes like,
"I heard commentary and dissent merged to form dysentary."
Because I like the film so much, as well as other Woody Allen films, I am able, to a certain extent, to seperate the man from his art. I enjoy his films, even if I dissaprove of a lot of his... well... life choices.
Alison, and perhaps some of her friends (although not present, but said so later), perhaps, cannot make the separation. Alison blurted out several times, "He married his daughter! I can't believe he married his daughter!" I can't believe it either, but I can stop thinking about it for the two hours it takes to watch a film I enjoy. Plus Annie Hall took place before all the media scandal. Why did the media have to make such a big deal about it, anyway? It is horrible, and scandalous, and weird, but thanks to years of media hype, wonderful films are now less enjoyable.
And now for something completely different. All y'all's monthly book report has made me painfully aware that I can only read about 12 books per year, if that. That means, with a life expectancy of 76 years, 24 of which have already elapsed, I can only read 624 more books in my life.
Well, I was going to then demand that you choose which one of Charles Dicken's books I should read, but now that I look at the actual numbers, 624 is rather a lot of books.
Comments Individual Archive Index
April 8, 2004 05:57 PM, Halifax said:
Don't read Dickens; you'll probably like Jane Austen better anyway if you're so set on reading a Victorian.
Or read Christmas Carol.
One might suggest that if you really understood the commentary/dissent joke you would have employed more capital letters.
Try watching Manhattan with full knowledge of WA's future; much more disturbing.
April 8, 2004 06:07 PM, Maggie said:
If you're really worried that you don't read enough books, you can try to swap some of anime-watching time for book-reading time. But you're probably not that worried.
You should read "Wuthering Heights" by Bronte instead of Jane Austen or Dickens. Online version: here.
April 9, 2004 08:53 AM, Rick said:
The Commentary/Dissent joke may be my favorite line from that whole film. The Methodone addict line is probably a close second.
In Woody Allen's defense the girl was not his physical daughter (and I believe she wasn't his adopted daughter either, only Mia Farrow's) I believe she was of legal age when their affair started. Now of course, what he did was wrong and he abused a position of authority, but his actions weren't significantly worse than those of plenty of other celebrities.
I can't get over how people who refuse to watch Woody Allen films have no problem with Roman Polanski, who drugged and raped a 13 year old girl and then fled the country before his trial, which anyway you look at it, is a million times worse than Woody Allen. If I had to guess, I'd say Hollywood hates Allen because he snubbed one of their own (Mia) while Polanski's (and most other celebrety's) victim was a nobody.
Anyhow, Top 5 Woody Allen films:
1. Purle Rose of Cairo
2. Annie Hall
3. Crimes and Misdemeanors
4. What's Up Tiger Lily?
5. SleeperHannah and Her Sisters or Husbands and Wives may belong on there, but it's been a while since I've seen them. I can't believe I still haven't seen Interiors.
April 12, 2004 08:32 AM, thecomicman said:
the only Dickens' book worth a damn is "A Tale of Two Cities," but you should probably not read it anyway. don't read any Austen either. she's horrible.
April 13, 2004 05:43 PM, John said:
HUSBANDS AND WIVES is pretty good too. And just as prescient as MANHATTAN, if not more. He dumps Mia Farrow in good part due to his growing infatuation with Juliette Lewis (who was really, really young when the film was made)
Also, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS is really good. And of course the ones previously mentioned.
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