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With the upcoming DVD release of CASSANDRA'S DREAM, acclaimed comedy director/writer/actor Woody Allen's gargantuan filmography continues to expand. But can that even be considered a good thing at this point?

Woody Allen

Genre of choice:
Comedy

Filmography:
What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
Take the Money and Run (1969)
Bananas (1971)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)
Sleeper (1973)
Love and Death (1975)
Annie Hall (1977)
Interiors (1978)
Manhattan (1979)
Stardust Memories (1980)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
Zelig (1983)
Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Radio Days (1987)
September (1987)
Another Woman (1988)
New York Stories (1989)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Alice (1990)
Shadows and Fog (1992)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Don't Drink the Water (1994)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Celebrity (1998)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Small Time Crooks (2000)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Hollywood Ending (2002)
Anything Else (2003)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Match Point (2005)
Scoop (2006)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)

The Best

1. ANNIE HALL - Woody Allen's Best Picture-winning career highlight ANNIE HALL is one for the ages, consisting of some of the funniest gags, wittiest writing, and most wonderful performances you're likely to find in a romantic comedy. A must-see for all film buffs.

2. MANHATTAN - This is Allen's darker, more real companion piece to ANNIE HALL, as well as an homage to the place he calls home. It’s a movie of substance as well as hearty laughs, courtesy of the biting dialogue that Allen is so well known for.

3. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS - Allen tries his hand at something deeper and more profound that what he's usually accustomed, and it pays off beautifully. It's at once a hilarious satire and a somber, affecting drama, and together the film makes for a very insightful study of good and evil.

4. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS - This tale of a neurotic family combines the best elements of what Woody Allen has been praised for in the past: clever dialogue, compelling characters, touching storytelling, and more laughs than you can shake a stick at.

5. MATCH POINT - A very different kind of Woody Allen movie, for which you can read my DVD review HERE.

The Worst

1. CELEBRITY - A generic, scattershot effort featuring Allen at his worst: pretentious rambling cynicism. Like all of Woody's films, it has its moments, but as a whole its kind of worthless (especially when there are so many better films to check out in his repertoire).

2. ANYTHING ELSE - A frustrating romantic comedy that feels like a jumbled compilation of Allen's better films. Jason Biggs stars in the title role, which as always is essentially Woody Allen, but his inability to play the "Allen" character is notable.

3. SCOOP - Scarlett Johansson falls flat as she tries her hand at playing the "Allen" character in this forgettable, unfunny comedy in which the only highlight is seeing Hugh Jackman as a possible serial killer.

Hidden Gem(s)

DON'T DRINK THE WATER - By Woody Allen standards, this ranks actually pretty low, but seeing as how the film was made-for-TV it's easy to look past that and just appreciate it for what it is: a remake that's better than the Jackie Gleason original.

Style/Trademarks

New York - Almost all of Woody Allen's films take place in New York, his home and birthplace.

The "Woody Allen" Character - Woody Allen has perfected his neurotic, nervous, intellectual persona in his films (who's often times a writer), and has even had other actors play it. Some of the actors to have done so include: John Cusack (Bullets Over Broadway), Kenneth Branagh (Celebrity), Jason Biggs (Anything Else), Will Ferrell (Melinda and Melinda), and Scarlett Johansson (Scoop).

Title Sequence - Most of Allen's films begin with the same type of title sequence, incorporating black-and-white title cards and jazz music.

Psychoanalysis - Many of Allen's movies contain a scene dealing with a character undergoing psychoanalysis.

Themes/Inspiration - Woody Allen draws inspiration from his life in his films, and always applies various aspects of the following subjects: literature, philosophy, psychology, sexuality, Judaism, and European cinema.

Mono - Allen mixes and releases his films in Mono sound, which has become a rarity in today's technologically advanced world.

Behind the Camera

To earn money at a young age, Woody Allen (birth name: Allan Konigsberg) wrote gags for an agent that were sold to newspaper columns. He attended NYU after high school, but failed a film course, and was later expelled. At 19, he began writing scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show, among others. He eventually went on to start a new career as a stand-up comedian, and wrote for the TV show Candid Camera. He also wrote plays for Broadway.

Allen wrote the premise behind HOLLYWOOD ENDING on the back of a matchbook, found it years later, and then decided to make it.

He has more Oscar nominations for writing (14) than anybody else. All of them are for the "Written Directly for the Screen" category.

He refuses to watch his movies once they've been released.

He has made 8 films with Diane Keaton, and 13 with Mia Farrow.

He does not allow his films to be edited for TV or airline broadcasting.

Upcoming Projects

Woody Allen's latest film is VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (Joblo's Preview Page), which stars Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, and Rebecca Hall. It's airing at the Cannes Film Festival this month, and reportedly features a sex scene with Cruz and Johansson, and then another that's a threesome (with Bardem). You can watch the trailer HERE.

He's also got another project in the works due out in 2009, but not much is known about it at this point (not even its title). Woody Allen and Evan Rachel Wood star, and rumored are: Larry David, Ed Begley Jr., and Patricia Clarkson.

Overall

Once a comedic genius, Woody Allen has been on a slow but steady downward slope of mediocre films since the '80s. Every now and then he'll come out with a gem, but finding it involves sorting through a lot of recycled material. Still, he continues to remain one of the better filmmakers in Hollywood, if only because even his weaker films are always at least mildly entertaining.

What are your favorite/least favorite Woody Allen films? Submit your choices in the Strike Back section below!