By Sony Pictures Classics announced the other day that Midnight in Paris is now Woody Allen’s highest grossing film of all time in North America. It’s a sad fact to realize when you take into account that he has written and directed 42 films in more than 40 years. Midnight in Paris has grossed $41,792,695 to date and this is his 4th film with Sony Pictures Classics. Woody has worked with a ton of production companies in the past, so this is no surprise to me.
I’m probably one of–if not the–biggest Woody Allen fan of my generation of 20-somethings. There’s just something about his films that really hits home on an emotional level with me. However, that hasn’t really resonated with many people my age. I guess it’s because he tells more mature kinds of love stories; usually ones that are very complex and smartly written, which aren’t very easy to digest.
Hit the jump to see my in-depth analysis of Woody Allen’s film-making history…
[Via Sony]
His most popular film to date is Annie Hall, but there are countless others that have had a similar impact on me: Husbands and Wives, Hannah and Her Sisters, Anything Else, Small Time Crooks, Manhattan… There is such a rich history to Woody’s films and such an engrossing feel to them that it’s hard not to be put in a trance by their charm.
When I saw Midnight in Paris, I was taken aback at Woody’s broad approach to the film. It’s like a soothing lullaby that gets you in the mood to be wooed, and for the most part, it puts you under its spell… but then you quickly find that it doesn’t really have the depth of his earlier films, which is disappointing… but perhaps that’s the smart way to go about things…
Funny story *Puts on trademark Woody glasses*, I remember seeing a film of his called Hollywood Ending about a director who goes psychosomatic blind in the middle of production and tries to fake his way through it without getting caught. Hijinks ensue, for sure, but in the end his work was a flop… except in France. The director goes on to make his living there because his work isn’t appreciated in the states (adding a touch of irony to this news post). I always thought it was interesting how Woody’s films serve almost as a chronicling of his own life while he still manages to be able to step back and make them wholly entertaining.