Posterized: Woody Allen's Filmography
Sunday, August 7, 2016 at 9:20PM 
Will Cafe Society win Oscar attention? It certainly looks handsome.Woody Allen's Cafe Society is the prolific auteur's 46th full length theatrical feature. He's been so regular a presence at the movie theaters he even makes speedy Clint Eastwood look like a slacker. In fact, though he's got his first television series due in September starring himself, Miley Cyrus and Elaine May (the six episode season will be called Crisis in Six Scenes and debut on September 30th), it won't be slowing down his theatrical output since he's already working on the 47th feature as well (which will star Kate Winslet and Justin Timberlake as previously noted).
It's too early in Cafe Society's run to know where it will stack up in terms of success, but it appears to be tracking to be one of his mid-range pictures, the kind that do fine but are neither true hits nor flops. We shall see. But for now let's look back at that highly prolific theatrical career. His pictures have earned a total of 52 Oscar nominations and 12 wins and they were once so popular they finished in the top ten hits of the year (can you imagine? Ah the 1970s when moviegoers were far crazier about what they'd turn out for)
How many of his 47 films have you seen (we're including the omnibus film New York Stories because why not)? All the posters and waves of his career are after the jump...
Act 1 The Early "Silly" Films (1966-1975)
Act 2. Woody Gets Serious and Self-Reflective. But Still Cracks Jokes (1977-1983)
Act 3. Steadily Immersed in Dramedies. Steady Quality. Steady Attrition of Fans, Though (1984-1990)
Act 4 Return to Comedic Focus, Angrier Films, Increasingly Inconsistent Quality, Personal Turmoil (1991-1999)
Act 5. Autopilot (?).
Quality All Over the Place; You Just Never Know If You're Getting Great Woody, Stale Woody, or Lousy Woody Until You're Watching It. Plus a Sudden Wanderlust with New York City No Longer a Given (2000-Now)
So how many have you seen?
P.S. Woody Oscar Trivia. The order of which categories tend to reward his films.
- Original Screenplay (16 nominations / 3 wins -- roughly a third of his pictures get nominated)
- Supporting Actress (10 nominations / 4 wins)
- Director (7 nominations / 1 win)
- Production Design (5 nominations / 0 wins -- this one surprised me)
- Actress (3 nominations / 2 wins)
- Best Picture and Supporting Actor (3 nominations / 1 win each)
- Actor and Costume Design (2 nominations each)
- Film Editing and Cinematography (1 nomination each)
- Score, Song, Sound, Visual FX, Adapted Screenplay, Makeup and Hair (never nominated)
Reader Comments (43)
Kristen Stewart up for #11?
This is just wonderful. I have seen every one of these films and this collection of images made me feel....OLD. Mostly, it made me want to revisit "Cassandra's Dream," which I found to contain two heartfelt performances. Yeah for Colin and Ewan. Now they are two long overdue Oscar nomination candidates.
Everything but Cafe Society.
Best Picture and Supporting Actor (3 nominations / 1 win)
Annie Hall won Best Picture and Michael Caine won Supporting Actor.
Act 1 & Act 2 films I will always love, but I don't look forward to his films anymore. Maybe if he worked on the scripts a little more.. but there will always be Annie Hall.
I love the fact that
while some of his classmates whimpered
to be nominated
he won the Oscar and did not
attend the ceremony.
I haven't seen 'Cafe Society' yet, but that one aside, I've seen 'em all. And I'm proud to say that.
Everything except Cafe Society, but I also need to revisit Cassandra's Dream, which I never quite finished.
Of the recent phase of his, Blue Jasmine, Midnight in Paris, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona are definitely the best.
If his career were an Oscar year
Best picture: Husband and Wives. Runner-up: Manhattan
Best directing: Manhattan Runner-up: Husbands and Wives
Best screenplay: Hannah and Her Sisters Runner-up: Annie Hall
Best Actor: Sean Penn, Sweet and Lowdown Runner-up: Jeff Daniels, The Purple Rose of Cairo
Best Actress: Diane Keaton, Annie Hall Runner-up: Gena Rowlands, Another Woman
Best Supporting Actor: Martin Landau, Crimes and Misdemeanors Runner-up: Chazz Palminteri, Bullets Over Broadway
Best Supporting Actress: Judy Davis, Husbands and Wives Runner-up: Dianne Wiest, Bullets Over Broadway
Only 22? I have work to do.
As much as I am #TeamStarWars (10 years old when it came out), I can't complain of that Oscar for "Annie Hall". What a movie!
I've seen thirty-eight of his films and with the exception of "Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex", I've not seen any of the early Silly films.
As for "Cafe Society" . . . meh. It's fine but it just feels lazy, particularly the ending.
When Café Society opens by the end of August, I will have seen every single one of them. I know I'll go. It's like a tradition. I'm not crazy about his last films, but he has been my favorite director for decades and I'm loyal.
Beautiful posters.
I've never seen "Tiger Lily" and I didn't finish "Anything else" and "Melinda". My favorite ones: "Interiors", "Manhattan" and "Midnight in Paris". "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" I found very offensive towards women and reflecting the views of a very old American man on the so called "European Lifestyle" (see Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut"). Some of the posters are very different from the ones we got in Europe. It's a pleasure to watch them.
Mortified to say that I've only seen 32, but he kinda lost me from the late '90s through the early '00s.
Take the Money and Run is still in my Top 5.
My Favourites:
1. Manhattan Murder Mystery
2. Another Woman
3. Hannah and Her Sisters
/3rtful -- exactly thats why i wrote (3/1) in each of those categories his films have been nominated 3 times and won once.
paul --i've never seen that one! I started doing the "annual woody" thing accidentally really in 1984 (my brother took me to Broadway Danny Rose on a whim). and it wasn't an intentional "i do this every year" but it became that way because the next two films were all time greats.
it wasn't until Cassandra's Dream (which i don't even remember coming out) that I missed one again. I miss the days when tehy were always worthwhile beause the stinkers are more frequent now. For me the nadir is 100% the early Aughts 2001-2004 was the longest stretch of "what is happening?"
I've seen them all except the new one. I've been following Woody for a very long time - the first one I saw during its original run was Sleeper. Some real masterpieces, some moderately successful films, and a few outright stinkers. He's just amazingly prolific.
That said... I wish he would put more effort into the writing of his films these days: the weak ones seem like first drafts, and even the good ones are lazy and redundant at times.
(For example: everything that takes place in the past in Midnight In Paris is pure gold, but the present-day story is extremely sloppy. Gil and Inez are so mismatched that I don't believe they were EVER a functional couple, her parents are less-than-one-dimensional conservative stereotypes, and the magical ending - where Gil runs into the Cole Porter-loving Parisian girl and they enjoy the rain together - is too neat, even for a film that's largely fantasy. Back when his magical endings were special - like in Hannah and Her Sisters - they were a delightful surprise, but now it's just lazy writing.)
And boy, he's made some awfully terrible films recently - like To Rome with Love and Magic in the Moonlight - that aren't quite balanced by winners like Midnight and Paris and Blue Jasmine.
But overall, what a remarkable career for this American original!
@ Nathaniel
It was one of the first movies I ever saw on my own as a kid and I saw it at the 68th Street Playhouse, which closed in the summer '97, sadly. The following summer I moved to Los Angeles. Coincidence? Nah. ;-)
I've seen thirty three- favorites "Sleeper", "Annie Hall" "Interiors" "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Everyone Says I love You"
35 for me. I was doing great until I hit Act 3 then I'm missing everything between Bullets Over Broadway to Small Time Crooks (both of which I really like so I'm not sure what happened).
Absolute favorite: Hannah and Her Sisters-everything just comes together perfectly.
Other favorites:
Radio Days
Cassandra's Dream
Match Point
Bullets Over Broadway
Small Time Crooks
Purple Rose of Cairo
I know it's wildly venerated but I loathe Annie Hall and can barely tolerate Manhattan.
The first one I saw at the movies was Deconstructing Harry when I was 14, since Small Time Crooks I never missed one at the theater.
I can't never decide if my favorite film is Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo or Hannah and Her Sisters.
The ones I have to catch up are the first two and Café Society, which opens in Rio later this month.
I've seen 41 of these - missing Tiger Lilly, Life and Death (I remember renting a DVD copy that wouldn't play once), September, Shadows and Fog, Broadway Danny Rose (tried streaming it once but it wouldn't load) and Café Society (not out here in the UK yet).
I LOVE some of these and I almost always find something to enjoy in his movies. Manhattan Murder Mystery is one of my favourites. It's probably the first Woody movie I ever saw and I just find it hilarious (the scene with the glasses or the one with the tape recorders!). Keaton is SO charming in it and the supporting cast (Huston! Alda!) are also great. And, fun fact, it has Zac Braff as Keaton and Allen's son in a blink-and-you-miss-him bit part. I also really like Match Point and Blue Jasmine of his more recent efforts and, of course, some of this all time greats (AH, Hannah and her sisters).
On the other hand, many of his latests efforts have been repetitive and un-ambitious. Like a spoof made by someone trying to make a Woody-type movie. Magic in the Moonlight was very average.
Hoping to see Café Society soon. I quite like most of the cast and the reviews aren't too bad!
Will totally look forward to Cafe Society.
Interiors is painfully underrated.
The Best of all is of course Hannah and her Sisters imo
Only 27. I've seen 0 of Act 1, which perhaps correlates with my favorite being Interiors (arguably one of his least "silly"). Which Act 1 should I start with?
33. And I'm looking forward to seeing Cafe Society, even though I'd completely forgotten I'd seen Irrational Man and 3 other of his "Act 5" films until you posted this list. Given the strength of his earlier work, I still try to see each film.
/3rtful -- exactly thats why i wrote (3/1) in each of those categories his films have been nominated 3 times and won once.
You're combining categories and wins (6/2) makes more sense.
It's surprising this will be Winslet's first team up with Allen, they seem like such a natural fit.
/3rtful -- no. because the list is in order of which categories get most attention. It would be wrong to place Picture & Supporting Actor higher than production design and actress
Rami -- really? i actually can't picture her in one of his movies so we'll see.
DrG -- Sleeper is really fun.
Yah I think she has that comedic energy that will thrive in a Woody Allen film , its a type of pace that not many actors have naturally. I guess I am thinking of her tiny part in Extras.
It's surprising this will be Winslet's first team up with Allen, they seem like such a natural fit.
Her acting style seems at odds with his directorial sensibilities. Allen was late to use Marcia Gay Harden, Parker Posey, Goldie Hawn. I'm sure there are others but I can't think of them right now.
I've seen them all except for Interiors, and I'm saving that one until after Woody has passed away so that even after he's dead and I've seen his official last movie, I'll still have one left. I don't really know why, it's just something I decided to do.
The only Winslet performance that I can picture in a Woody Allen movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Being verbal is not really her strengh (except for Eternal Sunshine and Steve Jobs).
Winslet was supposed to play Nola in Match Point but dropped out at the last minute, which is how ScarJo got the part.
Joel6- HA! Except for the opening credits of Manhattan, I am totally with you! Always afraid to share my feelings on those two highly-touted films...
Only 17...gosh guess I set the low bar. But my favorites r annie hall, bullets over broadway and blue jasmine. The worst is the last I saw, magic in the moonlight, anything else in a close second. I didn't expect any love for cassandra's dream, I remember being hated by critics, i'll give it a shot.
I like Woody Allen movies that are not Typical Woody Allen movies... does that male sense???
A few of my favorites are: Match Point, Interiors, Bullets Over Broadway, Blue Jasmine ..
Nat... this is YOUR blog site so continue to do whatever You feel is the correct way to distribute info to us!!
35. There are two big chunks in the later years when I tuned out. Only three in Act V, although I may go see Cafe Society tonight. Celebrity was godawful, so when the reviews for the five movies following Sweet and Lowdown were even worse, I couldn't bring myself to see any of them.. Then everyone got all excited by Match Point, which I thought was a competently made, mediocre-to-decent movie, and I gave up again for awhile.
Favorites - Hannah and Her Sisters is one of the best movies ever made. I also love Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo and the good parts of Radio Days.
45 - Cafe Society haven't premiered here in Denmark yet.
And I haven't seen What's Up,Tiger Lily?.
^HASN'T!
I've seen the lot. He's a favourite filmmaker of mine. So many excellent films here.
I think I've seen 35, but honestly, some of them from the late '90s/early '00s run together, so I'm not entirely sure. That was his worst period; Match Point basically saved it. I saw Cafe Society this weekend and thought it was very enjoyable, though it comes after a couple of films that were dreadful (I skipped the last one because it looked so terrible), so that may color my perception.
My favorite Woody Allen movies are Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Interiors, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Blue Jasmine, Match Point, and Bullets Over Broadway.
I've seen 15. So quite a lot to catch up.
My top 3 would be The Purple Rose of Cairo, Radio Days and Everyone says I love you.
And I find Bananas really bananas, in a positive way. It's so hilarious!
I want to see Small Time Crooks. Sounds like a fun story/movie.