5 Woody Allen Movies You Haven’t Seen

Maybe if Woody Allen Didn’t Make So Many Movies, We Wouldn’t Need This List

“You know what my philosophy of life is? That it’s important to have some laughs, but you gotta suffer a little too, because otherwise you miss the whole point to life.” – Danny Rose (Woody Allen)

Woody Allen will always be one of my favorite directors/writers. Though it’s hard and somewhat sleazy of me to reduce such a prolific career into a list, I find it my duty to bring lesser-known Woody Allen films to the five people who read this blog – who knows, maybe the director himself would find such a list humbling. I should start with a disclaimer: I haven’t seen every Woody Allen movie, but I’m working very hard at doing so. Do I like them all? Goodness no. In fact, I thought “To Rome With Love” was a disaster. My favorite? “Hannah and Her Sisters.” I’m giving you, the reader, some credit assuming you have seen that one. Anyways, here are five Woody Allen movies you most likely haven’t seen. One more thing, I’m not going to even go into my critique or analysis of the movies, since I’ll never be able to do as good of a job as “Every Woody Allen Movie.”

5. Broadway Danny Rose (1984) Starring Mia Farrow Just before his long run of “intellectual, Anglo-saxon Manhattanites having marital problems” movies, Woody was cranking out some of his finest comedy work. “Broadway Danny Rose” has some of my favorite gags. Even at its most silly, the film maintains a sense of self-reflexivity and existentialist anxiety. 4. New York Stories – Oedipus Wrecks Segment (1989) Part of an anthology film consisting of three parts – the other two directed by Scorsese and Coppola. It’s short, funny, and takes place in New York. If you’re one of those “movies are too long” people, then this one’s for you. 3. Bananas (1971) Woody Allen plays a bumbling New Yorker. Is it his best? No, but It’s still a solid comedic performance; some even consider this his finest bumbling. One more thing, an at the time unknown Sylvester Stallone is in it. 2. Zelig (1983) Woody Allen’s version of a “mockumentary” has more heart than many real documentaries. Also, this is Woody at his most creative.

“I would like to apologize to everyone. I… I’m awfully sorry for, for marrying all those women. It just, I don’t know, it just seemed like the thing to do.” – Leonard Zelig

1. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) This is just an all around solid piece of cinema. Woody crafts a humorous murder mystery with all the classic movie references you can handle. Not to give anything away, but the final “showdown” scene in the old theater is one of my all time favorite Allen scenes. There’s your list, now go out and watch them.