In Contention

Tag: Annie Hall

  • Guardian does the ‘all-time greatest’ meme

    Ah, lists. The gift that keeps giving — particularly in the world of film blogging, where they provide snappy short-form content, invite numerous comments and generate multiple hits when spread across a zillion pages.

    Last year’s flood of end-of-decade countdowns surely satisfied even the most ardent list fanatic for a good few months, but with no such milestone to mark this year, The Guardian has returned to an old chestnut: the greatest films of all time.

    The gimmick they’ve used for the project (the results of which have been unfolding on their website over the past week) is to subdivide the larger collective according to genre: the 25 best comedies, romances, action films, and so on. As if any all-time best isn’t prone to enough criticism, this doubles the opportunities for debate: now we can kvetch not only about the films that made the cut (or didn’t), but whether they’ve even been categorized correctly.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1977 and 1978

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    Hey, that “Star Wars” thing was nominated for Best Picture in 1977. The blockbuster game-changer was beaten by the romantic comedy game-changer “Annie Hall,” in what has to be one of my favorite Best Picture wins ever. It would be 21 years before another comedy won the top prize in “Shakespeare in Love,” which is another one of my favorite Best Picture wins. More good comedies please!

    Sir Stevie Spielberg earned his first Oscar nomination for directing “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” but saw the film lose out on a Best Picture nod to “The Goodbye Girl.” That film earned Richard Dreyfuss the honor of becoming the youngest Best Actor winner until Adrien Brody, decades later.

    “The Deer Hunter” bummed everyone out enough in 1978 to take home Best Picture and Director statues. The only real competition came from “Coming Home,” as anti-Vietnam films were suddenly back in vogue.

    1977 was also Bob Hope’s last turn as Master of Ceremonies (his eighteenth). No more quips like this one, “Tonight we set aside petty differences, forget old feuds, and start new ones.” Luckily, 1978 was the first of many Johnny Carson hosting gigs with gems like, “I see a lot of new faces. Especially on the old faces.”

    But here’s what had to watch from home.

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  • POLL: the most influential films of all time, round two

    Keir Dullea in 2001: A Space OdysseyWe’ve made it to the second round in our mammoth series polling In Contention readers for a list of the most influential films of all time.  “Annie Hall,” “Psycho” and “The Wizard of Oz” squeezed past the competition to become our final trio to move on to the next stage.  We’re getting very close now, having whittled down the original set of 66 movies to 20, all of which you’ll find listed in the sidebar poll this week.

    I’ve decided to shake things up a bit in the second round and give more of a voice to everyone, as I’m sure the consistent picking of five and then three titles has made for more than a few hair-pulling moments.  This time, you get to decide on your choice of 10 films from our consolidated 20.  In a nutshell: of the 20 films to the left, what are the 10 films you deem the most influential films of all time?

    When all is said and done, we’ll have 10 clear victors (which will go on to form our list) and 10 clear honorable mentions.  Next week, we’ll take our top 10 and, in the third and final round, have one more poll to determine the ranking order!

    If you’re somewhat confused, be sure to read up on the background of this series here.  Now…get your votes in!

  • RIP Charles H. Joffe

    We sure are losing a lot of valuable talents this year.

    You have probably already heard about the passing of Charles H. Joffe, the veteran comic manager best known as Woody Allen’s longtime producer, and the co-winner of the 1977 Best Picture Oscar for “Annie Hall.” (Not as well known is that he guided the early careers of such other comic giants as Billy Crystal and Robin Williams.)

    There isn’t much to add to what has already been said elsewhere, but as a devoted fan of Allen’s films (all of which Joffe, with partner Jack Rollins, produced or executive-produced), I can only state my admiration for his loyalty and longevity within that working relationship. Not many producer-director teams can claim a five-decade span. Allen himself has paid tribute with the following statement: “When he was at the top of his game, nobody was better.”

    Of course, Joffe and Rollins were executive producers of Allen’s latest, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Here’s hoping the largely positive word on the film so far means Joffe’s career ends on a high note.