An interview with Woody Allen is rare enough but to hear him give his takes on some classic cinema — that is, without going absolutely nuts over Ingmar Bergman — is another thing entirely. But that’s what he did when he was a recent guest on Bill Maher’s podcast.
Appearing on Club Random with Bill Maher, Woody Allen was asked about some iconic movies. Starting off with The Godfather, Allen said, “Godfather II I thought was great, the period work…I thought there were good pictures but [that] was great filmmaking.”
Moving onto the James Bond movies, Woody Allen fessed up that he’s not a fan. However, he did turn up in 1967’s Casino Royale spoof. “I was a moronic enterprise and I was in it in a small way. I was just starting out and at that point in my life I had to do anything in film to get a foothold…I saw the first James Bond film and it was fine but I was never moved to see another one.”
On Lawrence of Arabia, Woody Allen found David Lean’s epic movie to be “technically impressive. I thought a lot of the acting in it was cornball. And I meant to like it…I criticize these things [but] I couldn’t make a film that impressive if I tried my whole life.” And while Allen and Lean don’t belong in the same breath, you’d be hard-pressed to find a truly researched greatest movies ever list that would skip out on Annie Hall and Manhattan.
Moving on through the ‘60s, Woody Allen was a decent enough fan of The Graduate, although we can’t help but consider his true life and the central dynamic between Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin…Outside of those, Allen also shared his take on Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard and the Marlon Brando-starring A Streetcar Named Desire.
As for more recent movies, Woody Allen admitted he did skip out on Best Picture winner Anora. Maher then said it’s OK to just watch what you want, saying he still hasn’t bothered seeing Vittorio de Sica’s 1948 essential The Bicycle Thief (aka Bicycle Thieves). When he asked Allen to describe the plot, Maher shot back, “Are you sure this is not Pee-wee’s Big Adventure?” Allen then admitted he hadn’t seen Tim Burton’s picture, either. Nor had he ever even heard of Twilight!
Outside of movies, Woody Allen also opined throughout the 90-minute interview on topics ranging from aging to cancel culture to working with the current president.
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