CHUD.com Community › Forums › SPECIFIC FILMS › Films in Release or On Video › Deconstructing Harry (1997)
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Deconstructing Harry (1997)

post #1 of 4
9/25/10 at 2:29am
Thread Starter 
Of all the film genres Woody Allen plays around in, I always forget that this film is a French New Wave riff.

Very funny and filthy, but it's hard to tell if Woody is being honest about his realtionship with his work, or if he's just fucking with how audiences view his work. It feels too over the top hostile and negative to be completely real and too raw and honest to be completely fake, so I'm gonna guess it's a little from column A, a little from column B.

Carly gets a kick out of seeing Woody Allen say "fuck" and "cunt". I can't disagree.
Reply
post #2 of 4
9/25/10 at 3:09am
This is a very good movie. When it came out, I recall it was somewhat waved away as middle tier Woody, but I'd put it in at least his top ten. I like seeing people like Billy Crystal and Julia Loius Dreyfuss act like total scumbags in it. The relationship between Woody and the prostitute is fantastic. 'Waitressing must be the worst goddamn job of all time".

This came out right after Everyone Says I Love You, and they go great together. It's kind of like good and evil.

So that new Woody flick is supposed to suck, right? I'll probably check it out anyway.
Reply
post #3 of 4
9/26/10 at 1:41am
I always heard that this was supposed to be his tribute to Philip Roth, more so than his own image. I've never read anything that confirms that, but it seems to be the general consensus, and being, let's just say, familiar (Roth is my all-time favorite author and I'd kill each and every one of you to shake the man's hand), with the guy's work, there are definitely some obvious parallels, though more on a thematic level than biographical. Anyway, I love the movie, especially since it was the first Allen film I ever saw. I give this one a viewing or two a year.

Also: I've heard that Roth and Allen weren't particularly keen on one another, which I think is funny, since they're probably two of the most like-minded contemporaries in terms of subject and style that's ever been seen. Their ex-wives even released tell-all books about them at the same time (rumor also had it that Mia Farrow dated Roth after Allen, if you can believe it).
Reply
post #4 of 4
9/26/10 at 1:59am
I enjoy this movie so very much. The way Woody plays with different filmmaking techniques is so much fun.

Two favorite moments (among many): Bob Balaban, Woody Allen, his son and a hooker singing together in the car.

Woody's scene with Billy Crystal as the devil. That scene is incredible.

ETA: Another moment: The end when it's panning through all of Harry's acquaintances and characters and Toby Maguire's character looks the women around him up and down.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Films in Release or On Video
CHUD.com Community › Forums › SPECIFIC FILMS › Films in Release or On Video › Deconstructing Harry (1997)