by
      Kirby
      Ferguson
     
     
      ,
      #ith
      the
      scandal
      of
      last
      year,
      Woody
     
     
      Vj
      @
      Allen’s
      name
      has
      become
      a
      snicker-
     
     
      snicker,
      nudge-in-the-side
      joke.
      The
      fact
     
     
      that
      his
      return
      to
      fame
      came
      in
      such
      a
      way
      isa
     
     
      depressing
      commentary.
      Since
      the
      eighties,
     
     
      Allen’s
      prolificacy,
      inconsistency
      and
      nihilism
     
     
      have
      scared
      off
      all
      but
      a
      dedicated
      minority
      of
     
     
      fans.
      Still,
      Woody
      Allen
      at
      his
      best
      is
      one
      of
     
     
      America’s
      greatest
      film
      makers.
     
     
      Woody
      Allen’s
      career
      is
      best
      experienced
      as
     
     
      a
      series
      of
      peaks;
      his
      exhausting
      prolificacy
     
     
      insures
      he
      can’t
      be
      brilliant
      every
      time
      out.
     
     
      These
      peaks
      (Annie
      Hall,
      Manhattan,
      Hannah
     
     
      and
      Her
      Sisters,
      Crimes
      and
      Misdemeanours)
     
     
      are
      the
      consummation
      of
      less
      successful
      earlier
     
    
   
   
    
     
        
     
     
        
        
     
    
   
   
    
     
      EMRE
     
    
   
   
    
     
      )
     
     
      ,
     
    
   
   
    
     
      efforts.
      His
      real
      gift,
      of
      course,
      is
      his
      ability
      to
     
     
      make
      us
      laugh.
      Before
      the
      benchmark
      Annie
     
     
      Hall,
      Allen
      produced
      a
      series
      of
      wacky,
      hilari-
     
     
      ous
      comedies,
      shoddily
      directed
      affairs
      with
     
     
      plot
      and
      characters
      being
      subordinate
      to
      the
     
     
      nonstop
      gags.
      Of
      these,
      Love
      and
      Death
      is
      the
     
     
      funniest,
      and
      possibly
      his
      funniest
      ever.
      His
     
     
      next
      film,
      Annie
      Hall,
      was
      the
      culmination
      of
     
     
      his
      earlier
      work.
      An
      imaginative
      film
      with
     
     
      actual
      characters,
      Annie
      Hall
      remains
      his
      best
     
     
      loved
      and
      most
      influential
      film,
      and
      is
      the
     
     
      virtual
      blueprint
      for
      the
      modern
      romantic
      com-
     
     
      edy.
     
    

    
     
      Allen
      hinted
      at
      his
      nihilism
      by
      following
      up
     
     
      Annie
      Hall
      with
      the
      bleak
      drama
      Interiors,
      the
     
     
      first
      of
      a
      trilogy
      of
      dour
      Ingmar
      Bergman
      de-
     
    
   
   
    
     
      rivatives.
      Drained
      of
      their
      humour,
      Allen’s
     
     
      films
      make
      his
      world
      of
      analysts
      and
      infidelity
     
     
      and
      bohemian
      angst
      seem
      petty,
      which
      could
      be
     
     
      a
      triumph
      depending
      on
      how
      you
      see
      things.
     
     
      Allen
      rebounded
      in
      1979
      and
      released
      Man-
     
     
      hattan,
      a
      dramatic
      comedy
      which
      finds
      him
     
     
      going
      for
      more
      life-like
      situations
      and
      present-
     
     
      ing
      some
      gorgeous
      cinematography
      --
      far
      re-
     
     
      moved
      from
      his
      amateurish
      earlier
      efforts.
     
     
      Once
      again
      Allen
      bit
      the
      hand
      that
      fed
      him
      in
     
     
      1980
      and
      unleashed
      Stardust
      Memories,
      a
      fairly
     
     
      traditional
      Allen
      comedy
      except
      for
      its
      nonstop,
     
     
      grotesque
      images
      of
      his
      fans,
      shot
      in
      unforgiv-
     
     
      ing
      black
      and
      white.
      But
      for
      those
      who've
     
     
      attended
      Allen’s
      films
      at
      the
      theatre,
      the
     
     
      perspective
      of
      Stardust
      Memories
      is
      actually
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Woody
      Allen
      on
      the
      set
      of
      Crimes
      and
      Misdemeanours