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Product Description
Woody Allen was born in Brooklyn, New York, in the spring of 1952, when Allen Stewart Konigsberg, who was born in the Bronx on December 1, 1935, settled on the name as a suitable cover. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
The strength in this tightly-written, engaging biography is in the way Eric Lax details the growth of the former Allan Konigsberg not just as a performer but as a person, clearly defining moments that have shaped him and have contributed to his artistic output in some form or another as a stand-up comic, actor, writer and director.
Following Allen for four years prior to the release of his 1990 film Alice, Lax highlights the reasons why his subject is a genius, thus producing what was the book's biggest flaw; certain passages contain flourishes of sycophantic praise, with statements extolling Allen's genius unnecessary when the reader is most likely appreciative of him in the first place.
Anecdotes and one-liners come thick and fast throughout the telling of Allen's progression from awkward school truant to Hollywood film director, and if you are not familiar with Allen already you may find the inundation of names of various comics, writers, directors, producers, agents, family, friends, girlfriends and wives disorienting.
The final chapter sags below the level of quality of the previous four, as Allen's meticulous attention to detail when directing is hammered home until your head is sore. Whereas chapters prior told of various passages of Allen's life as writer, comic, actor and so forth with a compelling warmth, the close of this biography feels somewhat colder, meandering to a point where you feel uncertain if Lax knows how he will end it satisfactorily. Full of peculiar segways and digressions, the author pads pages out with extraneous details, never more so than when he lists alphabetically all the actors that Allen has directed. Budding directors may find it a trove of valuable information, but only if they can wade through the fluff.
That said, this is still a stellar biography that in turns fascinates, illuminates and educates anybody wishing to know more about Woody Allen.
It turned out that by accident I had picked out just the right book. Eric Lax delivers over 400 pages of what seems to be a very detailed and reliable account of Woody's life. Contrary to the tabloid-like obsession with Allen's women which many writers of today appear to revel, Lax's primary emphasis is on his work, influences, and progress as a comedian. A special section was added to the end of the book to summarise the events of the last ten years (the first edition of this biography was published in 1991), including the row with Mia Farrow and Woody's marriage to Soon-Yi Previn. But it remains a biography of the man it boasts in the title, not a collection of second-hand conjectures and prejudices about what he might seem to be. Indeed, this is left to the army of Woody admirers who like to derive his character from the roles he has played or written.
The shattering of preconceived images that surround the private self of Woody Allen is probably one of the major strengths of Lax's book. Woody is shown as somebody who has been engaging in his beloved trade for years and now shows genuine surprise about all the fuss that is being raised around his straightforward life. Nevertheless, I refuse to buy such a portrayal, simply because I am one of those blind followers who have merged Woody on-screen with the real-life Woody. True or not, it is an illusion I am prepared to live, for that is the main attraction of his movies.
I loved the description of Allen's writing process, the self-taught editing process, and I had a different appreciation of the cinematographer's responsibility after I finished this book. The mechanics of Mr. Allen's film making were just as fascinating to me as the character Woody Allen.
Thank God that there is still one American filmmaker who is neither concerned with ratings or box office gross. If his movies run over budget, he makes up the difference!
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