Matthew Oquendo

New York City in Black and White. The genius of Gordon Willis and George Gershwin on display, starring the city’s greatest local, Woody Allen

MANHATTAN(1979)

Woody Allen has directed over 47 feature films in the past the 50 years, starting in 1966. I’ve seen all of them except the one coming out later this year (I know. I have no life). He’s also written all of them (a few with a co-writer) and acted in a lot of them but due to age, has refrained from the stage as of late. Let’s not forget his theatrical plays, touring jazz band, as well as his stand-up comedy acts. Because of this, Woody Allen is an artistic juggernaut. He is, perhaps, the last of his kind and he continues to work.

Let this be a lesson: if you want to be successful at anything, you must continue to work. “Stay busy” as the saying goes. Allen claims the reason he makes movies and indulges in other art forms is because it is the “ultimate distraction” to the bigger problems in life such as death, despair, and ultimately, the meaningless of human existence. But let that figure sink in for a second…

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