Broadway Danny Rose
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Movie Reviews of Broadway Danny Rose
Movie Review: Woody Allen's Ulysses; Woody Allen's morality play; The Gospel According to Woody
Summary: 5 Stars
Accept. Forgive. Love.
This movie within the context of the Allen opus reads like his Guernica: the last time his whole heart, soul and mind were into his work, before the excruciating life and divorce and custody battle with his complicated co-star here.
We must remember this film was still designed for the Big Screen. We may only imagine now upon our tiny screens the enormous power of his co-star's forty foot full frontal face at the effective finale of this film, within a crowded movie theatre united in one emotion. Devastating, exhilerating, a catharsis of a spiritual power rare in cinema. And I write this without resorting to a spoiler.
Acceptance. Forgiveness. Love.
This is Woody Allen's Leopold Bloom living decently and kindly within a vicious world. Unfortunately the philosophy of life proposed by Farrow's character of do unto others before they do unto you has become our society's common code, at least until this ultimately disasterous code brings its own fatal reward.
Accept. Forgive. Love.
See this film again. And again. It rewards, like James Joyce, another viewing. For instance, follow throughout the tantalizing motif of vision: the glasses which mask Mia's face, the glasses which sharpen Woody's, the loose eyelid of one criminal, the remarkable cameo of the one-eyed Davis, the eyes of the inflatable balloons, the blind xylophonist, the way Tina's husband met his end, etc. Surely there is a message here, as eyesight is repeatedly stressed, and one feels within this film such things are important and thought as in Joyce.
This film was filmed in the early eighties, reflecting earlier times, and so we see three piece suits. But what struck me especially is how thin we once were, and Woody continues to be. In fact in this film one of the meatier characters is played by Mia Farrow, which tells you how skeletal are so many of the others. And where is the traffic? We see Danny Rose's Volare speeding across the bridge to New Jersey, with not another sedan in sight! How can this be? And watch for the brief cameo of the Twin Towers. The product placements are shameless, perhaps as parody (Coke, several beer brands, etc.)
See this film again. Think of the narrative quirks, and find their reason. For instance, Barney Dunn in front of a beautiful young woman in downtown Manhattan brags about an impossible cruise and weeks in Puerto Rico, after establishing his is a hopeless act. And yet Rose takes him disasterously at his word. We cannot get it until we realize Dunn was making it all up to impress the young lady.
Unlike today, things hold together in this film, DO yourself a favor and see it again. The French subtitles and especially the French soundtrack are really very well done. I only noticed on error of conjugation in the Spanish subtitles near the end at the closing credits. I so wish more films included a Spanish over dubbed soundtrack as well, so I could share them with my Spanish speaking friends. But the French is really well done, and you feel like you are watching a French art film, especially in black and white as it is.
Acceptez. Pardonnez. Aimez.
You should here Farrow's character recite it, in Frnech. Exquisite. And in Black and white. May this film never be unfortunately coloraized as was the great black and white epic: The Gospel According to St. Matthew, not after all of the trouble and expense Woody went through to film in black and white after that format died and before digital cameras made it all the push of one button. That goes along with the retro theme, and it must never be colorized! Woody went to a surprising amount of trouble and expense to be able to film in black and white in the eighties when the technology was no longer available, and this enhances and places the work immeasurably, ineffably.
Accept. Forgive. Love.
How many films bear this message anymore? I believe for this reason this film is on the Vatican's list of all time 100 great movies. See it and see why.
Movie Review: Small, unpretentious, underrated gem
Summary: 5 Stars
I-I don't mean to be facetious or didactic, but-- this is one of Woody Allen's truly great films, and a Little Film That Could. Those who dismiss most of Allen's movies because "he plays the same character every time" probably include this among them. Yet a second glance reveals something he hasn't done much before or since: For the first time, his nebbish character, with all the classic Allen neuroses and stammers, doesn't condescend. He doesn't judge. He doesn't lecture. He listens. This is easily one of the most sympathetic characters Allen ever created. In fact, cardboard mafia goons aside, every character in this picture is sympathetic--another unusual feat for Allen. Everyone is doing what they feel is the right thing at the time they are doing it, and the result is sad, pathetic and heartbreaking, and the resolution to it all genuinely sweet. I can't think of another Allen film that signs off on as satisfying a note--certainly not the defeatist Annie Hall or the cloying, contrived Hanna and Her Sisters or the insincere Radio Days or the pointless Celebrity. No, this is about as perfect a Woody film as you'll ever see.
The final scene, where Allen is playing Thanksgiving Day host to a rag-tag bunch of has-been or never-been showbiz acts, has to rank up there as one of the most pathos-laiden moments put on film. We feel for these people, these "freaks" who have no home and no one to love them, because Allen's Danny Rose--a man with very limited means that have just become even more limited through the actions of Mia Farrow's Tina Vitale--genuinely cares for them. The line about frozen turkeys being cheaper than the real thing "and just as good," breaks my heart every time I hear it. Allen does not play up any of this. His very detached--though never cold or distant--visual style is a perfect compliment to the material. This is a great example of emotion without sentimentalization.
The performances are terrific. As stated, though Allen is riffing on his old persona, he's not "superior" or abrasive here. Nick Apollo Forte, as washed-up lounge act Lou Canova, is perfect as a washed-up lounge act, even though he had never acted before. Various comedians (Milton Berle, Sandy Baron, and even Allen's own long-time producer Jack Rollins) play themselves with a simple naturalness--and I think "simple naturalness" is the key here, for much of the film's strength is that it feels almost improvised and never self-consciouly tries to be "great." And of course, as with many Woody pictures, New York itself is one of the stars, though we are shown some of its seedier side here. But when the day is done, it's Mia Farrow, as the brassy Italian girlfriend ("A cheap blonde?!? Can you imagine Lou with a cheap bl--err, um...") who steals the show. Acting with her hips and her gum-smacking as much as her face (we only get a clear shot of her eyes in one scene where she peers into a bathroom mirror in a sort of self-confessional state), she deserved an Oscar nom, but didn't get one. She could go from serious depth in her character to slapstick in a blink--the shootout in the warehouse with the helium is still one of my all-time favorite Allen bits. And at the end, when she returns and quotes one of his bits of wisdom back to him, her character suddenly takes on a new dimension because we realize the "cheap blonde" really had been listening and absorbing his life's lessons all along.
Unfortunately, a great movie is given rather shabby DVD treatment. This seems to be par for the course with Woody films--I find it hard to believe he approves of this, but at the same time would think a man as powerful as Allen could demand better. What you get here is the film (in a decent though not spectacular transfer; it's a little soft and faded) and the trailer. Th-th-that's all folks. Oh well, if that's the only way to get it, that's the only way to get it. Broadway Danny Rose will survive long after Interiors, Stardust Memories, Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, Celebrity, Shadows and Fog, and many others, are forgotten for the pretentions many of them are. --And-and, I mean that with all due respect.
Movie Review: About as charming as the stage from which is borrows its name...
Summary: 5 Stars
Loud, abrasive and genuinely charming, `Broadway Danny Rose' is one of Woody Allen's `hidden gems'. Not many have had the pleasure to its company since not many have even heard of it. It has taken a backseat to his more famed work, yet in my opinion, this is one of his best ventures.
The film follows a talent agent, Danny Rose, as he attempts to `do right' by his most talented act, washed up singer on the verge of a comeback, Lou Canova. Canova is two-timing his wife with the obnoxious (in a god way) Tina Vitale. Canova has a big opportunity come his way and the only way he feels he'll make the most of it is if Vitale is there, but Canova's wife presents a problem and so Canova convinces Danny to pose as his beard, picking up Vitale and sporting her as his girlfriend. When Danny (hesitantly) goes to pick up Tina, he is met with an adventure he never expected, an adventure that includes fortune tellers, gangsters, parade balloons and betrayal.
With influences stemming from all walks of cinema (from De Sica to Bogart to Bogdanovich to obvious Jazz Era adoration), `Broadway Danny Rose' is chuck full of reasons to love it.
One cannot really call Woody Allen a great actor. To be bluntly honest, he has one character that he plays in every film. Sometimes he hits the nail on the head, other times he falls short. It all really depends on the film he's crafted around his shtick. Here, he works beautifully (and I have to say, the tenderness with which he plays his final scenes adds a really nice touch here). Nick Apollo Forte is genuinely effective here and deserved a nomination as Supporting Actor, for he shines up beautifully. This film BELONGS to Mia Farrow though. She is a revelation as Tina. It reminds me in a way of Michelle Pfeiffer's turn in `Married to the Mob', but Farrow has a little more edge and spunk to her turn here. She chews up every ounce of scenery, adding depth and color to what could have been a clichéd stock character. She is fun, witty, charming (in her own little way) and adorably OVER-THE-TOP!
With gags that almost always land (the helium scene is priceless) as well as banter that reminds me of the best of Tarantino (having the story told by a group of comics was genius) and performances that were all ROBBED of Oscar nominations (I give my win to Farrow BTW), `Broadway Danny Rose' deserves more than a standing ovation, it deserves pleadings for an encore!
Movie Review: Broadway Woody Allen
Summary: 5 Stars
If I had to name my favorite director, I'd have to say it is John Ford. If I had to name my favorite current director, I'd say Woody Allen without a second thought. The only bad movie I've seen associated with him was "What's New Pussycat?" which, I understand turned out so bad in his estimation that he decided never to be associated with a film that he didn't have control over. He has been in control ever since. Allen's movies explore so many different aspects of our modern life that it is hard to characterize them. The one I watched last night, for example, was "Broadway Danny Rose" which, I GUESS would come under the category of comedy but it was so much more.
Woody plays the title role as a small time theatrical manager who had his one shot at the big time. We come to hear this story through another one of Allen's many creative avenues of perspective: a group of small-time comics trading stories over a lengthy lunch at the local deli in Manhatten. As they each try to "one up" the others's stories, the stage is set, the characters identified, their background and personalities developed and we drift into the one "best" Broadway Danny Rose story as promised by the narrating comic.
We have already found out that Danny Rose is more a sucker than a talent scout and more a baby-sitter than a booking agent. His one possible draw to any sort of jackpot is a washed up Italian singer whose one medium hit from years ago has brought him back in a nostalgia craze. Things start to work out until Danny has to pick up the singer's girl friend on the sly on the day of his big appearance. Anything and everything goes wrong with Danny and Tina and that is the gist of the movie. The many different characters, situations, and attempted solutions weave into a sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant yet always compelling movie. In the end we see the innocent, compassionate man who was pushed just a bit too far. But then again...well, you really out to see "Broadway Danny Rose". It is a great example of the scope of the actor, writer and director whose control over creativity creates another movie that can be appreciated in so many different directions.
Movie Review: I just saw this wacky and beautiful film
Summary: 5 Stars
Although I love film and love watching many of them, I'm not certain how many films Gordon Willis made with Woody Allen, but it's obvious this was one of them along with "Manhattan." The thing I love about these films is the look of them, while every Allen film is unique and beautiful for different reasons, these are beautifully photographed in a way that I feel is unique and personal while capturing New York and the various locations as natural and personal locations that are large and, yet, intimate, in a way. The black and white photography is great as well and it's too bad more films aren't make in this way today. Allen himself has changed a bit over time, but is still good. He just hasn't made films with visuals this funny in a long time. For some reason I find the virtuoso water glass performer to be both hilarious and seriously entertaining. Maybe it's that I've never seen an act such as that being touted as if she were a top notch talent to be booked by a zealous, and goofy, New York agent. When she reappears in the film later, we see her perform and are just entertained.
Another thing that I just didn't expect was Mia Farrow's great performance as an Italian flirt who's current fling is Allen's unsteady top client. She's a selfish and egotistical person who's both trying to save and undermine Allen's agent. One thing is for sure about her performance: I was expecting her usual diminuative, beautiful performance again, and that's not what we have here, but what's here is even better than that and makes this movie adventurous. I had never heard of this film when it came on TV, but watching it made me wonder why, since it's so charming in the storytelling. I believe the reason it's not more known is because it doesn't really contain the analytical approach to topics found in his more famous works. Instead, it's a story analysis about a man who cares about marginalized talents and so people connect with it on a marginal way and forget about it. I hope that more people discover it because it's truly a gem.