Spoilers herein.
Woody's films, enjoyable or not, represent a walk though all the larger philosophical observations and experiments in film. Most of those - at least in this period - have to do with how the camera distorts reality.
We get this in the reinvention of history overlain on the very nature of a fake documentary. It is echoed in the story, of course, which gives Woody a chance to mug and romance his new girl. (She `saves' him.)
Anyone who thinks this is about a man needs to have his license to watch Woody revoked.
I consider this a practice session for his best film: `Sweet and Lowdown,' which deals with these same issues, in the same way but so much more subtly and powerfully. That's in part because Woody's biggest liability as a director is Woody the actor, and he substituted the best folded actor in the world. But it is also because `Sweet' didn't have the distraction of manipulating old film.
Still, this is a pretty sweet idea, the idea of having a character be sufficiently powerful that he is able to actually modify existing filmed history.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
Woody's films, enjoyable or not, represent a walk though all the larger philosophical observations and experiments in film. Most of those - at least in this period - have to do with how the camera distorts reality.
We get this in the reinvention of history overlain on the very nature of a fake documentary. It is echoed in the story, of course, which gives Woody a chance to mug and romance his new girl. (She `saves' him.)
Anyone who thinks this is about a man needs to have his license to watch Woody revoked.
I consider this a practice session for his best film: `Sweet and Lowdown,' which deals with these same issues, in the same way but so much more subtly and powerfully. That's in part because Woody's biggest liability as a director is Woody the actor, and he substituted the best folded actor in the world. But it is also because `Sweet' didn't have the distraction of manipulating old film.
Still, this is a pretty sweet idea, the idea of having a character be sufficiently powerful that he is able to actually modify existing filmed history.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.