A Woody Allen evening. Last week was also Woody Allen related. Bill hasn’t seen much, if any Woody Allen films. I have seen quite a few, and quite a few times. So I’ve been renting them through Netflix. Last week was Annie Hall. Classic 1970’s film that Bill hadn’t seen before. In a way it’s like seeing them for the first time through his eyes. But then again I can watch these over and over, and I have.

It was fun to see Annie Hall and look at Manhattan as it was in 1975. Definitely not how it is now. Not as sanitized. And the rent for Annie’s apartment with the terrace was $400. Outrageous! It really is a classic film, great scenes and really funny lines. I am amazed how some of the lines have worked their way into my everyday language. Due to copyright laws they can’t be reprinted here. That, and I’m lazy.

Tonight we watched Hannah and Her Sisters and Radio Days. I first saw Hannah up in Boston, 20 years ago, could be very close to the day. I was with Steve Saporito and we took the train from Newark NJ to Boston to see the Fall in their first American appearance on this particular tour. It was damn cold out and we had nowhere to go so we went to see Hannah and Her Sisters.

I loved it and got choked up at the end. Great characters and stories. As I get older I find some things in the movie ring true. And I am still knocked out by the restaurant scene where the three sisters sit and have a heated discussion. It opened my eyes to some New York City architecture. Lot’s of actors that are famous today, playing minor or background characters. Sam Waterson, who is one of Bill heroes playing a love interest for Dianne Weist and Carrie Fisher.

Bill was hooked up to IMDB and kept checking who’s who. Julia Louis Dreyfuss and John Turturro. We watched Radio Days afterwards, and I pointed out Seth Green. That was fairly easy since he plays Woody Allen and therefore in almost every scene. I didn’t really like Radio Days when it first came out. Found it too nostalgic, but with time passing by and me becoming nostalgic, for someone else’s nostalgia.

Bill would love to act in a Woody Allen film. He’s finding the characters to be so finely tuned. And the writing is great too. I also have Sleeper and Manhattan in my Netflix queue, but now plan to add Purple Rose of Cairo, after seeing Jeff Daniels at the end of Radio Days. Jeff reprises a character from Purple Rose. Perhaps two characters?

Now we’re watching the Aristocrats. Very raunchy. 180 degrees from the pristine Manhattan humor of Woody Allen. It is really nasty.

Right now it’s snowing very hard and quite windy. The Nor’easter has arrived, promising 12 inches but probably delivering only six. Weather and men, who knew they would be so similar?

also feeling a whole lot better. 24 hour bug, ya heard?