Sarah Jessica Parker Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams lead an all-star cast in The Family Stone. Join the eccentric Stone family for a holiday gathering filled with unexpected surprises. Before the festivities are over love affairs will unravel new ones will form outrageous secrets will be revealed and the family will come together like never before.

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Other Products of Interest

• Failure to Launch (Special Collector's Edition)
• In Her Shoes (Widescreen Edition)
• Rumor Has It... (Full Screen Edition)
• The Wedding Date (Widescreen Edition)
• Because I Said So (Widescreen Edition)

Woody Allen apenas necesita presentaciones: guionista, actor y director, uno de los más importantes de los últimos 40 años (de 1968 es "Toma el dinero y corre"), durante los que nos ha dejado películas, imágenes y frases para el recuerdo.

Es uno de esos neoyorkinos orgullosos de serlo, burgués, judío y neurótico, carne de psiquiatra (o psicoanalista en sus películas), con incontinencia verbal, sarcástico, irónico pero, en el fondo, entrañable.

¿Mi película favorita?...Difícil elegir entre dos: "La Rosa Púrpura del Cairo" (metacinematográfica y preciosa) o "Misterioso Asesinato en Manhattan" (memorable la secuencia en el ascensor: la Keaton, un neurótico y el cadáver).

A continuación, frases memorables del cineasta de las gafas de pasta y el clarinete:

Soy lo suficientemente feo y lo suficientemente bajo como para triunfar por mí mismo.

Sólo se vive una vez, pero una vez es más que suficiente si se hace bien.

Hay dos tipos de personas: los buenos y los malos. Los buenos duermen bien, pero los malos parece que se lo pasan mejor cuando están despiertos.

El hombre consta de mente y cuerpo, pero el cuerpo es el único que se divierte.

No es que tenga miedo a morirme, es tan solo que no quiero estar allí cuando suceda.

Lo asombroso de cuando uno está enamorado es que experimenta un impulso de cantar. Hay que resistirlo a toda costa, y debe procurarse también que el macho ardiente no recite las letras de las canciones.

Se suicidó, era el mayor intelectual que he conocido, y dejó una nota que decía "salgo por la ventana".

El aspecto positivo de la muerte es que es una de las pocas cosas que pueden efectuarse estando cómodamente tumbado.

Acabo de conocer a un hombre maravilloso; es de ficción, pero no se puede tener todo.

El sexo sin amor es una experiencia vacía. Pero como experiencia vacía es una de las mejores.

Yo fui expulsado del colegio por copiar en el examen de metafísica; miré en el alma del muchacho que se sentaba al lado de mí.

El dinero no lo es todo, pero es mejor que la salud. A fin de cuentas, no se puede ir a la carnicería y decirle al carnicero: -Mira que moreno estoy, y además no me resfrío nunca; y suponer que va a regalarte su mercancía (A menos que el carnicero sea un idiota).

No quiero alcanzar la inmortalidad mediante mi trabajo, sino simplemente no muriendo.

Si Dios me hiciera una señal, como abrirme una buena cuenta en un banco suizo.

No creo en las relaciones extramatrimoniales. La gente debería aparearse para siempre, como las palomas, o los católicos.

Hoy soy una estrella. ¿Qué seré mañana? ¿Un agujero negro?.

La diferencia entre la muerte y el sexo es que la muerte es algo que puede hacer uno solo y sin que nadie se ría después de tí.

Para el ejército me declararon inutilísimo. Si hubiera una guerra yo sólo serviría de rehén.

Cuando escucho a Wagner durante más de media hora me entran unas ganas de invadir Polonia...

Métodos de desobedencia cívica:

• Huelga de Hambre: en ella los oprimidos renuncian al alimento mientras no sean satisfechas sus exigencias. Los políticos solapados acostumbran a ponerles bizcochos al alcance de la mano o tal vez queso de cabra, pero hay que resistir. El problema que plantea la huelga de hambre es que al cabo de unos ciertos días se puede estar francamente hambriento, sobre todo cuando camiones con altavoces han sido pagados para desfilar anunciando -Um... que pollo!-. Una variante para aquellos cuyas convicciones políticas no sean tan radicales, es dejar de comer cebollinos.

• Sentada: se efectúa el traslado al lugar previsto y se procede a sentarse, pero hay que estar sentado todo el tiempo. De otro modo, como se estaría es en cuclillas, postura que carece de significado político.

• Manifestaciones: el aspecto clave de una manifestación es que tiene que ser visible. Si una persona se manifiesta con carácter privado en su domicilio no constituye técnicamente una manifestación, sino meramente una acción estúpida o comportarse como un asno.

The setting is Manhattan, the mystery is a murder and the murder is a mystery. Married couple Larry and Carol Lipton (Woody Allen and Diane Keaton) live in a high-rise Manhattan apartment, where it's easy to suspect but difficult to prove. After their neighbour Lillian House unexpectedly dies, Carol's imagination is fueled by a screening of Double Indemnity, and she begins to suspect Lillian's husband Paul of murder. Larry is unenthused by the prospect of spying on nice Mr. House, but recently-divorced Ted (Alan Alda) is keen to investigate with Carol, leaving Larry more suspicious of foreplay than foul play.

The proceedings are deliberately manufactured and wildly farcical, from Rear Window-inspired snooping in Paul's apartment to a stopped lift containing a corpse; as Larry nervously quips, "claustrophobia and a dead body, this is a neurotic's jackpot!" The camera work is also strangely hyperactive for a Woody Allen movie, full of nauseating handheld cameras and distracting zoom-ins. The tense moments, however, are more effective than you would expect. It is this, and the strength of the dialogue and stars, that make the film a joy to behold regardless of its shortcomings. If you like Woody Allen, you'll forgive him his foibles, and I do.

As an amateur film-buff I got a kick out of the references to various classic films, as I do with many of Woody Allen's films. As well as the Double Indemnity reference and Hitchcock-style plot, the ending is an elaborately-staged homage to the famous shootout scene from The Lady From Shanghai, in an extreme case of art in which life appears to imitate art. It even references Allen's own work, as the murder plot itself is a leftover from Annie Hall, and the reunion of Allen and Keaton makes their characters apparently greying versions of Annie and Alvy.

It falls into a certain category of Woody Allen films from which I derive particular pleasure. Nostalgic pieces like The Purple Rose of Cairo, Radio Days and Broadway Danny Rose draw their inspiration from a bygone era of filmmaking, and indeed of life itself. Much like Everyone Says I Love You is a fond tribute to the musical comedy as well as a parody of the innate absurdity of said genre, Manhattan Murder Mystery pokes Hitchcock lovingly but painfully in the ribs. They really don't make 'em like that anymore, but when Woody Allen draws inspiration from 'em, it's as close as anyone can get without it feeling like an anachronism.

In honor of Governor Sarah "Caribou Barbie" Palin's selection as the V.P. candidate, I'm sending this post from somewhere deep in the North Woods of Minnesota. (Okay, true confessions: I'm actually on a walking/riding trail in an Illinois forest preserve, no more than 100 yards from an intersection featuring a stoplight and a mini mart. But I did have to step over a lot of horse shit on the trail on my way to this ACTUAL stump, from which I will now deliver a rousing political speech.)

Hey, speaking of horse shit, how about that V.P. choice by Senator McCain?!

So, is this a bold, "maverick" choice by a maverick leader? (Here's an idea: let's get Maverick star James Garner as a back-up VP option... cowboy presidents play almost as well as war heroes in the Red States).

Or is Palin's selection-- as many center-to-left pundits are calling it-- a Hail Mary pass with the clock running out?

At first, I did not have strong opinions on the choice when it was announced. I thought: "Alaska? That's cool. I also liked that she's not a career politician, but a young reformer and supermom (I refuse to demean myself and my country by referring to her as a "hockey mom"... this is the U.S.A., not Canada or Norway!) I liked that her faith -- similar to Obama's-- seems genuine and keeps her grounded, that it's not some cloak to put on or take off whenever it's politically expedient to do so.

I knew the pick was gimmicky, a Republican attempt to win over some of the Hillary supporters and Reagan Democrats that are on the fence about Obama but don't like McCain. So Palin was potentially a smart move, the "high risk/high reward" option that the party went with, since Huckabee, Giuliani, Ridge, Lieberman and Romney -- the other front-runners for VP-- all had their downsides, either religious or political. I acknowledged that her whole "beauty queen/bowhunter" persona and obvious charisma might go a long way toward winning over those voters for whom image is everything (though they'd deny it), and for whom McCain therefore seems out-of-touch and cranky, plus risky due to his age.

She was certainly the most interesting option. I mean, look at her:

She's like Diane Keaton with an Uzi, only not so California Flaky Liberal. What's not to love, at least if you're a thirty-to-sixty something evangelical or working-class Catholic suburbanite with strong "family values", and a belief in "woman's intuition" as the missing ingredient in American politics?

Then the story broke on Monday about Palin's teenage daughter being pregnant, and I got off the fence. I now see the Palin pick for what it is: a slimy, hypocritical, gender-pandering, manipulative end-around, designed to dupe certain American voters yet again into irresponsible single-issue voting ...that issue being abortion (as if I had to tell you). 

Even though a vote for McCain/Palin would go against  the country's best interests in terms of the economy, national security, environmental responsibility, and experienced, wise government overall, religious conservatives were likely to love the pick because of Palin's staunchly pro-life position (a position which McCain does not exactly share when it comes to stem cells, by the way, nor does his wife Cindy). The Palin pick was designed to be a sexy but heavyhanded olive branch, offered to influential religious and social conservatives like Focus on the Family's James Dobson, who until recently had all but given up on this election and on McCain.

Dobson and some of the megachurchers were probably starting to come back around anyway. But I'm sure McCain's also been hearing the quiet buzz about the Obamicans, and therefore noted with some concern Barack's realistic nod in his DNC speech to work at reducing abortions. (What Barack actually said, in checking the DNC transcript: "We may not agree on abortions, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.")

Ah, but that was all before the Bristol Palin teenage pregnancy story hit. Spin it all they want, that poor girl was the real  hurricane-force problem that the Republicans were wringing their hands about behind closed doors Monday, not some storm with a scary German name.

When I heard the news item, I immediately thought: is this really happening? Did they actually not know the girl was pregnant when they picked Sarah Palin? It sounds more like the plot twist in a David Mamet or Oliver Stone movie, the ironically amusing or gut-wrenching development which causes everyone to show their true colors. (I also thought of the book and movie Primary Colors, for obvious reasons.)

Sex has been the "wild card" in American presidential politics at least since FDR's day, maybe even since Jefferson's day. (Anyone remember Gary Hart?). In the Clinton era, lacking any substantive crime or policy-related issue to drag Bill and Al Gore down with, it took Monica-gate to send the Democrats limping out of the White House. That, and abortion. (I think Gore, also an evangelical Christian, is pro-choice.)

Thus, when I heard the Bristol Palin story, I thought, "Maybe they're so calculating that they actually did know, but went ahead anyway, just to make it look like they tried  to get a woman on the ticket, and now they're going to drop her during the convention and go with the man they really wanted in the first place (whoever that is)."

Nah. They ain't that smart, and they know we ain't that dumb. Besides, I know teens. I've been one. I've taught them. The poor girl was probably terrified to tell anybody she was pregnant (five months?!?), and then the whole rushed and mysterious process of vetting and selecting her mom went down before Bristol had a chance to come clean about her situation.

My opinion: McCain's team didn't know, because Sarah Palin didn't know, or else she chose not to tell them about it. If she told them up front as they claim now -- if she filled out the exhaustive and "intrusive" vetting questionnaire and included it on there --then let's see the document. Plus I've seen the videotape from before the "official" pregnancy announcement, and the kid can obviously be seen hiding her baby bump with a jacket. I seriously doubt McCain's handlers would have allowed a practically unknown VP candidate with such an obvious potential liability to go forward if they had known. 

But forward she went. And the Palins' hand was forced, so that the "October surprise" of this election wouldn't turn out to be a bouncing baby boy or girl. So then the McCains and Dobsons of the world had to do some major spin-control, saying they did know all along, but went ahead anyway because it didn't matter. Now they're saying the situation is one more example of Sarah Palin sacrificially living out her pro-life, pro-family values, because 1) they're obviously going to keep the baby, and 2) after all, we're all human, we all make mistakes, and we have to love our children no matter what they do. 

As I predicted, Obama has taken the high road. He made a statement saying that it was "off-limits" for a campaign to get into anything related to a candidate's family life. He also reminded us that he himself was born to an 18-year-old girl. Yeah, Barack's no dummy. He'll let the situation speak for itself: ambitious Sarah Palin, the ultimate token candidate, outed by her own family as a foolish hypocrite unable to manage her own household, let alone the nation.

And let me "out" myself on this: I'm basically pro-life. As a pacifist and a Christian-- taking God at his word when He said He knew me in the womb, and that He also said "judge not, lest ye be judged"-- I'm opposed to the taking of any life, whether it's an embryo's or a death row inmate's. But I'm also aware that my own is an extreme minority position (especially the pacifist portion of it).

In framing abortion and the conditions that lead to it as an economic and educational problem, not just a religious one, I seek to address the problem through social activism, not legislation. We need to curb the destructive messages about sexuality in the media, and do so in our families AND schools, while also acknowledging that Pandora's box is already open. We can't legislate morality, nor can we re-parent every child of every messed-up family. That means effective and consistent birth control messages should be pressed even harder than we're pressing the messages about drinking, drugs, the climate crisis, immigration, whatever social problem you want to bring up. It means we should support adoption much more strongly than we do as a nation, not just in principle but with better policies and support for women to bring babies to term. And it means attacking poverty as a "pro-life" issue, no less so than abortion. An unborn baby in Alaska has no more and no less value in the eyes of God than one born with AIDS in Africa, or with fetal alcohol syndrome in Detroit, or with a silver spoon in its mouth like Geoge Bush and John McCain had.

Abortion is certainly a sin. So are lying, cheating, and stealing (elections included).

So I'm not attacking the Republicans or the Palins for their pro-life position, just for their cynicism, self-involved policies, and narrow-minded clumsiness. I honestly wish some Republican would come along who doesn't insult the intelligence of the American public. A few years back I wondered if McCain was that guy. But he's changed. I don't trust him anymore.

In contrast, I don't agree with Obama on about 25% of his positions, but I do trust him. I'm further left on some issues, like specific foreign policy situations, and further right on others, like abortion. But I'm not a single-issue voter. And I know I'm an odd bird. I also recognize we've been presented with nothing but  "baby-killers" as candidates, from both parties, for as long as anyone can remember. It all comes down to who you define as the babies, and how old they are (isn't an 18-year-old, unnecessarily killed in Iraq, still a "baby" to his or her mother and father?).

These issues are all related. For example, in China, where abortion has become commonplace, they're courting American political and economic interests like crazy. So does the presidential candidate with the smartest and most just anti-China policy therefore end up being the true pro-life candidate, simply by virtue of condemning that nation's multitude of human rights abuses (at every age)?

Ultimately, it comes down to which candidate has the widest scope, the clearest vision, in their plan to preserve and improve the lives of as many babies (and grownups) as possible. So yes, the focus should not be on a candidate's family life, but on their good judgment and character, as seen in their family as well as their local, state and national policy record. On the family front, with her willingness to put her own daughter in harm's way, all the hard evidence I see regarding Sarah Palin so far is pretty damning.  

Heck, even Hollywood head case and former wild-ass teenager Lindsay Lohan can see that, as she points out on her blog this week. It took a small child to point out that the proverbial emperor had no clothes on. Maybe through her own mistakes, Lindsay's wised up enough to help us all get wise.

Tomorrow: some analysis of Palin's RNC speech tonight, and some troubling background on her "natural resources" agenda and record in Alaska.

Woody Allen wrapped up the '70s with Manhattan, a film with faultless tone and beautiful black-and-white cinematography from Gordon Willis. The movie received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Writing and one for Best Supporting Actress (Mariel Hemingway). AFI lists Manhattan at #46 on their “100 Years…100 Laughs” compilation and the U.S. Library of Congress has deemed it “culturally significant.”

Allen’s film is intricate, but not excessively so. The writer/director stars as Isaac Davis, a 42-year-old comedy writer with two divorces behind him. Long before George Constanza, he has a lesbian ex (Meryl Streep). Isaac is also in a relationship with a 17-year-old girl, Tracy (Hemingway), but he sees no future in it. While spending time with his friend Yale (Michael Murphy), Isaac discovers that he might be in love with Yale’s mistress, Mary (Diane Keaton).

Manhattan is about sorting out one’s closet, about living within the untidiness of relationships and emotions, and about establishing integrity. Isaac struggles in his relationship with Tracy, spending half of the film trying to break up with her. He loves spending time with her, yet doesn’t see a future in it because he doesn’t feel she is exceptional enough for him. Like many of the other characters in the film, save Tracy, Isaac is driven by his self-worth and by his sense of what he “deserves.”

Mary, too, is driven by what she “deserves.” She spends time with Yale, a married man, yet tells herself (and Yale) that she deserves better because she is gorgeous and intellectual. Yale is also driven by this same sense of pat superiority and this circle of individuals feeds off of one another continuously. Isaac’s only “out” lies with Tracy, yet his incapacity to be with her keeps him locked in the same rotation.

The splendour of Manhattan lies in the tangled sophistication of Allen’s characters. They rise like unlit skyscrapers over the title city and knit like telephone wires. The men in Allen’s film cannot deal with the notion of love, instead choosing to hide behind their words. This is likely why both men fall for Mary, who is the classic epitome of the pseudo-intellectual and provides them with a sense of similarity. Mary isn’t genuine in any way, shape, or form within her relationships, but she does give both men what they want.

It is Tracy who is more exigent, of course. The incongruity lies in her age, that she is able to be finally more grown-up than any other character in the film. She is the only character in the film that doesn’t live in the past and, as such, Allen has each other individual move around her like swirling moons. Tracy exists in the present, while Isaac, Yale, Mary, and the others all exist in the shards of past relationships. They all muse about what might have been, while only Tracy appears to have an incandescent outlook.

With this focus, Allen builds his Manhattan. It is a love letter about being in love in Manhattan. The music, Gershwin, elevates the proceedings even further and gives the film an everlasting feel. The locations, a veritable map of classic Manhattan landmarks, are brought to life with Willis’ cinematography and Allen’s direction. The visuals and the soundtrack create a perfect experience, giving true sensitivity to scenes in which characters simply eat Chinese food in bed.

Allen's acting is good here. It is a misnomer to suggest that he plays the same character in all of his films, although many of his facial expressions and mannerisms are alike. Here, Allen’s Isaac may well be as gripping a character he’s ever played. He quits his job in a sudden sneezing attack of ethics, fulfills his yearnings based around reflective immaturity, and is intrinsically egocentric. In the end, we hope Tracy goes to London, lock, stock, and barrel. She must.

Woody Allen’s Manhattan stands out as one of his best films. It is profound, complex, elegant, amusing, and, at the same time, intensely vacant. There is a sort of depressing isolation to the film and we watch the characters swirl around each other without direction. There is a lack of impulse control, a lack of altruistic love, and in all probability a lack of authentic love within the hearts of most of these characters. Tracy, however, will go on with fond memories of Manhattan. And so will we.

10/10

A través 500 páginas de anécdotas plagadas de humor, la obra que se conocerá en septiembre describe todas las facetas del genio neoyorquino.

El próximo 12 de septiembre, el periodista Eric Lax lanzará a la venta una de las biografías más completas de la vida del reconocido cineasta Woody Allen.

Conversaciones con Woody, de 500 páginas y decenas de imágenes, relatará al lector los pensamientos, gustos y todas las facetas del trabajo del cineasta neoyorquino: su labor como guionista, actor, director o compositor, a través de anécdotas plagadas de humor.

"Pienso que no he aportado nada verdaderamente significativo al cine... Soy un humorista de Brooklyn y Broadway que ha tenido mucha suerte". Así, con honestidad brutal, se definió Allen en alguna de las conversaciones íntimas que mantuvo con el periodista a lo largo de más de tres décadas.

En formato pregunta-respuesta, Allen Stewart Konigsberg, el verdadero nombre de Woody, recuerda sus orígenes y evolución en el mundo de la creación.

PREGUNTA-RESPUESTA. La obra, que en español será editada por Lumen, muestra la trayectoria vital e intelectual de la que opina sin tapujos. Habla de sus ídolos Bob Hope y Groucho Marx, de sus actores favoritos, como Marlon Brando, Alan Alda, Michael Caine, John Cusack o Jack Nicholson, y también de sus conocidas musas inspiradoras, entre ellas Diane keaton, Mia Farrow, Scarlett Johansson o Charlize Theron.

Clase magistral para quienes recién empiezan y no tanto en el mundo del cine, Allen opina sobre los directores que más admira y que más le han influido, como Charles Chaplin, Orson Welles, John Huston, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Vittorio De Sica o Jean Renoir.

En el libro, Allen se remonta a la década de sus inicios, la del 50, cuando llegó a enviar más de 50 chistes por día a los diarios de Nueva York. A los 16 años fue contratado por la cadena NBC, como plan de desarrollo de nuevos guionistas y fue enviado a Hollywood para trabajar en el programa Colgate Comedy Hour.

Con solo 22 años, ya escribía para el humorista Sid Caesar y en 1960, cuando tenía 24 años, había multiplicado por 80 su primer salario. "Hasta llegar a la adolescencia yo tenía a Hope como ejemplo a seguir e intentaba hacer chistes y soltar ocurrencias con gracia. pero cuando crecí y fui más culto...quería escribir dramas...Mi pretensión era escribir como Ibsen y Chejov", responde Allen a una de las tantas preguntas de Lax.

La entrevista recorre detalladamente la labor del artista. Qué tal, Pussycat?, Toma el dinero y corre, Bananas, Sueños de un seductor, El dormilón, Interiores y Manhattan.También Zelig, La rosa púrpura de El Cairo, Hannah y sus hermanas, Otra mujer, Maridos y mujeres son algunas de las tantas películas a las que Allen hace mención.

SU LUGAR EN EL MUNDO. Allen deja constancia de su fascinación por Madrid y Barcelona."Pensaba que serían unas ciudades bonitas y nada más, pero son increíbles. España es un mercado muy importante para mis películas. En Europa me suele ir bastante bien. En Estados Unidos, como ya se sabe, ni siquiera el hecho de contar con el apoyo de la crítica se traduce en un éxito de taquilla", dice el neoyorquino.

PRÓLOGO. El periodista, colaborador habitual de The New York Times, Atlantic, Vanity Fair y Esquire, entre otros medios, señala en el prólogo que Woody Allen es la antítesis del personaje que interpreta en la pantalla, el hombre desesperado y en crisis.  

"En el mundo real es el dueño de su trabajo y de su tiempo. El análisis que hace de sí mismo es del todo acertado: 'soy una persona seria, un trabajador disciplinado, un escritor vocacional, interesado en la literatura, el teatro y el cine'", dice Lax.

Gracias al maestro Ramón me enteré hace unos meses que mi película preferida de Woody Allen no la había dirigido él. Busqué en internet y resulta que el neurótico neoyorquino aún no se sentía del todo seguro detrás de la cámara, por lo que tuvo que recurrir a un director como Herbert Ross. Curioso es que tampoco tenía este hombre mucha experiencia. Cosas de Woody ....

El caso es que "Sueños de un seductor" es un tremendo homenaje a Humphrey Bogart en general y a "Casablanca" en particular. Allan (Woody Allen) es un crítico de cine recién divorciado de una mujer bastante liberal. Sus amigos, Dick y Linda (fantástica Dian Keaton), intentan conseguirle algún ligue para animarlo un poco pero cada intento acaba en fracaso por la torpeza de Allan.

El Woody Allen prototípico aparece cada vez que una falda le pasa por delante de las narices. Increíble es la escena donde intenta impresionar a una compañera del trabajo de Linda y acaba destrozando su cuarto de estar. O cuando se lleva a una cita a un tugurio de moteros .... Allan sufre de alucinaciones por partida doble: por un lado está Bogart, que no duda en aconsejarle seguridad y aplomo en si mismo. Por el otro, su ex que no para de recordarle lo poca cosa que es. No es de extrañar que los planes le salgan de esa manera al pobre.

El marido de Linda es un yuppie en toda regla. Su vida va de avión en avión y sólo le interesan los negocios y las fluctuaciones de la bolsa, por lo que Linda va pasando cada vez más tiempo con Allan. No tarda en aparecer el espíritu de Bogart para recordarle que es la única mujer con la que tiene afinidad, así que una cena íntima en casa será el "ahora o nunca" para él. Tendrá que luchar entre el amor de su vida y la amistad de su mejor amigo, algo parecido al triángulo amoroso de "Casablanca" entre Rick, Ilsa y Viktor Laszlo. Como de costumbre no contaré el final, pero quien haya visto la mítica película de Curtiz ya se puede hacer una idea de cómo acaba la cosa.

Hilarante de principio a fin, con un Woody Allen y una Diane Keaton magníficos, para mí es la cima cinematográfica del genial judío neurótico. Gran mérito tiene el crear un arquetipo, al igual que hicieran en sus tiempos Chaplin o los Hermanos Marx. Lástima que con el paso del tiempo se fuera repitiendo en exceso, pero están ahí sus primeras obras para recordarnos a ese urbanita inseguro, hipocondriaco y entrañable que forma parte de lo mejor de la historia del cine.

Os dejo un par de escenas tremendas:

Un maleante manda a matar la familia de Rosa.

Last week, while pretending to work from home, I overheard a discussion on Radio 4 about the best dresses in the movies. Jenni Murray and her guests were expounding the virtues of Grace Kelly in Hitchcock's Rear Window, Diane Keaton in Annie Hall and, of course, Marilyn Monroe in that white dress in The Seven Year Itch.

Best Dressed: Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot

I didn't have to think twice about what my first choice would be. It's Marilyn again, but a little more subtle this time, wearing a well-fitted, tassled, ‘20s-style black number in Some Like It Hot. The dress clings to her every curve - in all the right places of course - and swishes in time as she shimmies along a train carriage singing ‘Running Wild' and strumming a ukulele. You can see the dress in action at the end of the trailer here (though the poor quality of the video doesn't do it justice).

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I suppose when all is said and done, it comes down to a matter of personal taste. Do you go to the movies to escape into a fantasy world, or do you go looking for truth? That's not to say that there isn't truth to be found in fantasy, certainly that can be said of Tolkien's work, but I suppose I just prefer my truth served cold.

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'Manhattan' es considerado un clásico en la historia del cine. La célebre película de Woody Allen se estreno en 1979. Una inteligente película que nos habla de las relaciones sentimentales a través de la inmadurez emocional.

La historia gira alrededor de Isaac Davis (Woody Allen). Un cuarentón neoyorquino que después de dos fracasos matrimoniales, mantiene una relación con una chica de diecisiete años (Mariel Hemingway).

Mientras, su última esposa (Meryl Streep) está apunto de publicar un libro donde cuenta las vivencias sexuales de Isaac. Por otra parte, su mejor amigo (Michael Murphy), mantiene una relación extramatrimonial con una mujer (Diane Keaton).

La película contiene un excelente guión (ingenioso, magnifico, certero y eficaz) realizado por Woody Allen y Marshall Brickman. Pero tango que destacar la cuidada fotografía (grandes planos de una Manhattan en blanco y negro) de Gordon Willis.

Woody Allen está enamorado de Manhattan, y así lo demostró en esta gran película con un final agridulce (cosa típica tratándose de una película de Allen).

Trailer Original

Escena de apertura (declaración de amor hacia Nueva York)

Frases memorables de 'Manhattan'

''Él era tan duro y romántico como la ciudad que amaba. Tras sus gafas de montura negra se agazapaba el vibrante poder sexual de un jaguar. Nueva York era su ciudad y siempre lo sería.'' 

"Yo estoy chapado a la antigua, no creo en las relaciones extramatrimoniales. La gente debería aparearse para siempre como las palomas... o como los católicos"

"- cuando al fin tuve mi primer orgasmo el médico me dijo que no era el adecuado
- ¿Tuviste uno no adecuado? Yo nunca los he tenido así, y el peor que tuve fue uno que me costó dinero"

"Me divorcié porque mi mujer me dejó por otra mujer (...) Bueno, me lo tome bastante bien dadas las circunstancias, solo intenté atropellarlas a las dos con mi coche"

"- ¿Qué tipo de perro tienes?"
- Lo peor, un salchicha, para mí es un sustituto del pene
- Ah, pues en ese caso deberías tener un gran danés, ¿no?"

"Mi psicoanalista me advirtió de tu bisexualidad, pero eras tan guapa que cambie de psicoanalista"

"Yo creo que el cerebro es el más sobrevalorado de los órganos"

"...Y nada significan, porque nada que valga la pena puede ser entendido por la mente"

"¿Por qué la vida merece ser vivida? Bueno, supongo que hay cosas que hacen que la vida merezca la pena vivirse. Por ejemplo, Groucho Marx y Willie Says; y el segundo movimiento de la Sinfonía Júpiter; y la grabación de Potatohead blues por Louis Armstrong; y las películas suecas; y La educación sentimental de Flaubert; y Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, las fabulosas manzanas y peras de Cézanne, los cangrejos de Sam Wo, y el rostro de Tracy."

"_Não quero o que não posso ter.
_Você vive nos Estados Unidos da América?"

Huhu! Um filme com com uma quadrilha feminina! Muito bom! E fora do politicamente correto. O que temos nessa história?

Bridget (Diane Keaton) fica sabendo pela vizinha que a sua casa está à venda. Ao questionar o marido, Don (Ted Danson), esse lhe diz que por conta de estar desempregado, estão com muitas dívidas.

Inconformada, ela sai à caça de um emprego. Após várias tentativas, a dica vem de sua ex-empregada. Ser faxineira no Banco de Reserva Federal. E ela fica deslumbrada com todo aquele dinheiro. Mais, como entra em todas as salas, inclusive na que monitora tudo, descobre uma falha na vigilância. Com isso elabora um plano para um roubo perfeito.

Mas para isso precisará de outras pessoas que também trabalham lá dentro. Bridget consegue convencer mais duas funcionárias. São elas: Nina (Queen Latifah) e Jackie (Kate Holmes). Então as três conseguem o impossível que é roubar aquele banco. Tudo estava indo bem até que...

Paro por aqui para não lhes tirar a surpresa. Por fim, amei o filme! Nota máxima!

Por: Valéria Miguez (LELLA).

Loucas por Amor, Viciadas em Dinheiro (Mad Money). 2008. EUA. Direção: Callie Khouri. Elenco: Diane Keaton, Ted Danson, Katie Holmes, Adam Rothenberg, Queen Latifah, Roger R. Cross, Stephen Root. Gênero: Comédia, Crime, Drama, Romance. Duração: 104 minutos.

Assistir "Noivo Neurótico, Noiva Nervosa" ("Annie Hall" no título original) foi uma experiência interessante. Conheço pouco de Woody Allen e esse é o único filme dele a integrar a lista dos 100 melhores de todos os tempos da Bravo! Alugamos ele e "Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol", de Glauber Rocha. Mas esse eu vou assistir amanhã.

O filme, basicamente, conta a história de Alvy Singer (interpretado por Woody), que foi casado com duas mulheres e então conhece Annie e quer ficar com ela, mas isso não é tão fácil assim. Ele é um homem extremamente estranho, altamente complexado pelo fato de ser judeu e ter sido criado em uma família insana no Brooklyn, em Nova York. Em alguns momentos quer levar Annie à sério, mas não quer mais um casamento. Ao mesmo tempo, não quer outros relacionamentos. Fica pertubado pelo fato de que ela usa entorpecentes ao fazer sexo (há cenas de experimentação de cocaína perto dos dois e Woody recusa, ela não diz que sim nem que não e aí há uma cena hilária). Ela o chama de volta, quando acham que tudo acabou. E aí é ele que quer voltar, mas ela se recusa. Uma confusão.

Por sua interpretação, Diane Keaton ganhou o Oscar de melhor atriz. O filme também ganhou as estatuetas de melhor diretor, para Woody Allen, melhor roteiro (escrito por Allen em parceria com Brickman) e melhor filme em 1978. Woody foi indicado a melhor ator, mas não levou.

É um filme bom, engraçado, mas que nos leva a refletir. O final é, particulamente, bastante sério. E nos leva a pensar montes de coisas, especialmente quem possui relacionamento sério.

Eu recomendo e agora fiquei um pouco mais curiosa para conhecer os outros de Woody, particulamente Zelig, do qual já ouvi tantas pessoas falando bem.

"There's an old joke - um... Two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly.

The... the other important joke, for me, is one that's usually attributed to Groucho Marx; but, I think it appears originally in Freud's "Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious," and it goes like this - I'm paraphrasing - um, "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member." That's the key joke of my adult life, in terms of my relationships with women."

- Alvy Singer

The pitchable element: no need for one. My dad saw this in the cinema when it came out, loved it, and hadn't seen it since.

The length: 93 minutes including credits

The verdict: comedies should not be watched alone. As to any rule, there are of course exceptions, but my -purely anecdotal- evidence is this: I liked Annie Hall the first time I watched it, by myself. I liked it a lot, in fact, enough to buy it, and I thought it was very, very funny. But I don't remember laughing out loud.

With my dad, however, I laughed out loud several times, even at the most predictable jokes (like Alvy sneezing the coke away, for instance). Somehow, by myself, I could appreciate the humor but I wasn't really able to ENJOY it. But now, watching it again, this time in good company, I enjoyed it immensely. The one-liners are funny, the tricks that break the fourth wall work, and Diane Keaton is glorious (why is she stuck in all these crappy rom-coms nowadays?)

That, and of course the following quote is probably one of the truest things anyone has ever said about relationships:

I thought of that old joke, y'know, the, this... this guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, "Doc, uh, my brother's crazy; he thinks he's a chicken." And, uh, the doctor says, "Well, why don't you turn him in?" The guy says, "I would, but I need the eggs." Well, I guess that's pretty much now how I feel about relationships; y'know, they're totally irrational, and crazy, and absurd, and... but, uh, I guess we keep goin' through it because, uh, most of us... need the eggs. Alvy Singer

Hablar de “El Padrino” es hablar posiblemente de una de las mejores películas de toda la historia del cine y una de las obras maestras más importantes del séptimo arte.

Está basada en el libro de Mario Puzo “The Godfather”, que fue su obra cumbre y que permaneció 67 semanas como best seller en Estados Unidos, llegando a vender más de 21 millones de ejemplares desde su salida en 1969.

Sinopsis: Don Vito Corleone es el jefe de una de las cinco familias que ejercen el mando de la Cosa Nostra en Nueva York en los años 40. Don Corleone tiene cuatro hijos; una chica, Connie, y tres varones, Santino, o Sonny, como le gusta que le llamen, Michael y Freddie, al que envían exiliado a Las Vegas, dada su incapacidad para asumir puestos de mando en la ”Familia”. Cuando otro capo, Sollozzo, al rechazar el Padrino intervenir en el negocio de estupefacientes, intenta asesinar a éste, empieza una cruenta lucha de violentos episodios entre los distintos grupos.

La película presenta un retrato preciso y profundo de una época y un ambiente, pero sobre todo es una crítica subrepticia a la sociedad norteamericana, las relaciones intrafamiliares, la práctica política y sus esquemas morales tratados sutilmente como trasfondo del guión mediante asuntos relativos al mundo de la mafia, la inmigración, la relación de pareja, los sistemas de dominación familiares, la violencia criminal y su asociación política.

Parte del atractivo visual y estilístico de la obra consiste en la interpretación de la figura de Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). En la secuencia inicial de la película Michael se nos presenta con rostro angelical, incluso Coppola emplea filtros especiales que reducen sus arrugas y combinados con la iluminación y el maquillaje nos enseñan un Michael mucho más joven, recién abandonada la adolescencia. El brutal cambio que se opera en su alma cuando asume la herencia de sangre de los Corleone se refleja también en su rostro, que en la última escena es ya el de un hombre maduro, complejo, que mira directamente a los ojos y miente con todo su corazón.

Trailer

Título Original: The Godfather

Duración: 175 minutos

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Argumento: Mario Puzo

Guión: Francis Ford Coppola & Mario Puzo

Música: Nino Rota

Reparto: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, James Caan, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Richard Castellano, Sterling Hayden, Gianni Russo, Rudy Bond, John Marley, Richard Conte, Al Lettieri, Abe Vigoda

Presupuesto: 6.200.000$

Recaudación: 150.000.000$

Premios: 3 Oscars de la Academia de Hollywood (Mejor Película, Mejor Actor – Marlon Brando, Mejor Guion Adaptado), 5 Globos de Oro.

Fue escogida como la tercera mejor película de todos los tiempos por detrás de “Ciudadano Kane” (1941) y “Casablanca” (1942), aunque más tarde se situaría en segundo lugar por detrás ya solo de “Ciudadano Kane”.

Fascinante compendio de cine de Coppola. La compleja historia de una familia mafiosa liderada por un implacable padre de familia y hombre de honor (inmenso Marlon Brando) y cuyo poder hereda su hijo más pacífico (asombroso un primerizo Al Pacino de mirada gélida) es, ante todo, un ejercicio narrativo de insuperable nivel: la brillante disección de todos los personajes, el ritmo magistral que alterna largas secuencias familiares con creíbles escenas de acción, y una ambientación perfecta consiguen un film que entró "violentamente" entre los mejores clásicos de todos los tiempos... para alzarse con el título de obra cumbre del cine moderno. (Pablo Kurt: FILMAFFINITY)

"El padrino son palabras mayores. Las dos primeras partes están entre las 10 mejores películas de la historia del cine." (Carlos Boyero: Diario El Mundo)
"Coppola inventa una nueva mirada para el cine y amplía los horizontes de una industria que pedía a gritos savia nueva" (Luis Martínez: Diario El País)
"Una obra maestra" (Fernando Morales: Diario El País)

Título original: Smother

Gênero: Comédia

Ano: 2007

País:EUA

Duração: 92 minutos

Língua: Inglês

Classificação: 12 anos

Diretor: Vince Di Meglio

Elenco: Diane Keaton, Dax Shepard, Liv Tyler e Mike White.

Sinopse: Quando Noah Cooper é demitido de seu trabalho ele acha que seus dias não podem piorar. Mas, quando chega em casa, ela já esta cheia e vai à loucura quando Marilyn, mãe superprotetora de Noah chega com seus cachorros na cidade, precisando de um lugar para ficar. A história piora quando Noah precisa lidar com a pressão de arrumar um novo emprego, uma esposa que quer desesperadamente um filho e, o pior de tudo, uma mãe que não pára de incomodá-los

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- AGENTE 86

Título original: Get Smart

Gênero: Comédia

Ano: 2008

País: EUA

Duração: 110 minutos

Língua: Inglês

Classificação: 12 anos

Diretor: Peter Segal

Elenco: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, The Rock, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, Masi Oka e Terry Crews.

Sinopse: Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell), agente 86, tem a missão de combater os vilões que trabalham para o sindicato do crime chamado KAOS. Ele unido a sua companheira agente 99 (Anne Hathaway) tem como objetivo salvar o mundo da conspiração.

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- CINTURÃO VERMELHO

Título original: Redbelt

Gênero: Ação, Drama

Ano: 2008

País: EUA

Duração: 99 minutos

Língua: Inglês

Classificação: 14 anos

Diretor: David Mamet

Elenco: Rodrigo Santoro, Alice Braga, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Emily Mortimer, Joe Mantegna.

Sinopse: Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) é um mestre lutador que se afasta do circuito de competições para comandar uma escola que ensina luta autodefensiva em Los Angeles. Até que numa noite ele salva o famoso ator de filmes de ação Frank (Tim Allen) de ser espancado numa boate. Em agradecimento, o astro consegue trabalho para Mike na indústria de cinema. E é justamente aí que tudo conspira para que ele participe de competições de luta.

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- A QUESTÃO HUMANA

Título original: La question humaine

Gênero: Drama

Ano: 2007

País: França

Duração: 143 minutos

Língua: Francês

Classificação: 16 anos

Diretor: Nicolas Klotz

Elenco: Mathieu Amaric, Michael Lonsdale, Edith Scob

Sinopse: Psicólogo de uma coorporação petroquímica investiga um dos executivos da empresa. A experiência afeta seu corpo, sua mente, sensibilidade e vida pessoal. Prêmio da Crítica na Mostra de Cinema de São Paulo 2007.

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- O GUERREIRO DIDI E A NINJA LILI

Gênero: Infantil

Ano: 2008

País: Brasil

Duração: 95 minutos

Língua: Português

Classificação: Livre

Diretor: Marcus Figueiredo

Elenco: Renato Aragão, Lívian Aragão, Vanessa Lóes

Sinopse: No início do século vinte, um mestre oriental fica responsável pela educação de Lili, a filha de um oficial europeu convocado para a guerra.

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IMDB

(1979, Woody Allen)

Perhaps the quintessential Woody Allen movie. In fact, it's a trip down Woody Lane.

The Woody checklist:

1. New York - Um, check.
2. Mia Farrow, Diane Keaton or Louise Lasser - Keaton, check.
3. Ingmar Bergman references - Check, in the "Academy of the Overrated" scene.
4. Marx Brothers references - He names Groucho as one of the reasons why life is worth living.
5. Features Woody - Check.
6. Features Woody as a writer or movie director - Writer, check.
7. Features characters are hopelessly neurotic - Hoo-boy, are they ever.
8. Features intellectuals who are ponderous - Yep.
9. Features bad marriages or failing relationships - Mm-hmm.
10. Features a beautiful girl who's way too young to be involved with Woody - Mariel Hemingway, who plays a 17 year old. Creepy!!!!

Still, despite all of this, I really enjoyed this movie, especially Keaton and Michael Murphy. And of course, cinematographer Gordon Willis and Woody capture a romantic vision of New York for all times. The first four minutes with Gershwin playing behind are a virtual postcard that the Mayor's office couldn't have produced any better.

5.0/5.0