Woody's short humor is hilarious. It simply has to be read by anyone who appreciates prose humor. If you are about to get run over by a bus, postpone doing so and go out and buy this book. If you have jumped off a bridge, put off hitting the ground until reading this book. You will not be disappointed. Even if you don't like his movies (I myself am only a fan of his earlier work in the 70s) give his fiction and articles a try, because they are nothing like the whiny humor he does on film. How can you do that on the page anyway? Completely different kinds of humor, the written humor far surpassing the filmed humor, in my opinion.

As it says on the jacket (or sleeve?) of one of these 3 books, it is dangerous reading on a bus because its nearly impossible to not burst out laughing. I was waiting at a bus stop recently in San Francisco and a lone young man reading a paperback book was unable to suppress his laughter. I took a surreptitious look at the title and I wasn't suprised to discover that it was 'Side Effects'! I treasure my copy of "The Complete Prose.." and I highly, strongly recommend it to everyone! I've given it as a gift and the recipients have always been amazed at how incredibly, ceaselessly, mercilessly funny it is. READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! -the empress of adverbs

Disillusioned by, "Interiors" or "Hannah And Her Sisters"? Think Woody is just not funny? Man, are you wrong. This book (which contains pretty much everything Woody wrote in book form) just kills you from the beginning & never stops. As goofball and irreverent as you'd expect from a comedic genius(Think, "Bananas" or "Take the Money and Run"- era Allen), don't be frightened off by the fact that Allen's later movies quit being side-splittingly funny. This book recaptures all the great, classic humor that made the Woodman famous to begin with!

Whenever I teach a class for actors, I recommend Moss Hart's autobiography, ACT ONE. It is simply the finest book I know about the theatre and what it was like to work on Broadway in the 1920's thru the 1950's. It was a true tragedy that Hart died so young, robbing not only his family of husband and father, but the world of a great playwright and director and chronicler of his times.

This is a funny, perceptive, first-hand account of life in the fast lane of one of the best playwrights Broadway has ever produced. An obsessive worker (it was the stress of his constant work that ultimately killed him), a perfectionist, a brilliant upstart, Hart teamed with George S. Kaufman to write some of the best and funniest plays of the first half of the 20th century...and even today. Is there really a better play about a family coping through love during the Depression than "You Can't Take It With You?" (That was a rhetorical question). And as Nathan Lane proved only two years ago, "The Man Who Came To Dinner" is very much worth reviving in a first class production even if you have already seen it in your local community or dinner theatre. The autobiography doesn't so much end as it stops and it is obvious that Hart meant to write a second and, perhaps, a third volume that would include his other writing partners, his Hollywood career, his directing, etc.

Steven Bach has written a biography of Hart's entire life called DAZZLER, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MOSS HART that is a fine companion to Hart's own, unbeatable ACT ONE. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Act One is one of my favorite books. I have rearead it often since the first time I picked it up in my late teens. I love the anecdotes about the Broadway greats ans near greats and how Mr. Hart became famous, but my favorite parts of the book concern his memorable Aunt Kate, a woman whose fate in life was other than she deserved. She is very humanely portrayed, and so is the rest of Mr. Hart's family. I also enjoyed learning more about George Kaufman and his wife. This book's great!

Moss Hart is arguably one of the finest and most successful authors of the 20th century theater in this or any other country. Like many successful men in the theater, he came from a background of serious poverty and the true drama of Act One is his perseverence and victory in extremely trying circumstances. There are fascinating glimpses into the theater world of NYC in the 40s and 50s, excellent sketches of George Kaufmann, Beatrice Kaufmann and Max Siegel, and poignant views into the people and places that forged Moss Hart into the extremely urbane, charming and successful man he became, against the hardest possible odds. Superb book!

I first read "Great Comedians" in 1972 when I was starting out as a comedian. I found it to be just what I needed as a young aspiring comedian. The interviews of Woody Allen, Shelley Berman, Jack Benny, and Phillis Diller resonated with me and helped me immensely in my standup comedy development. It also inspired me to write my own book probing the methods of my generations great comedians ("Comic Insights") in order to help today's young comedians get a better idea of what it takes to do quality standup. I recently read "Great Comedians" again, and my original verdict still stands. This book is still of immense value to all aspiring comedians.

It's no secret that comedians -- great and not-so-great -- are influenced by the WORK of other comedians. The advent of film in the 20th century made this a lot easier since when a comedian died the work was still available...and now with videos etc. it's easier than ever.

But what about HOW these comedians made laughs...how they were inspired...what specific techniques they used and did not use...and what advice they would give anyone interested in going into any area of comedy?

Those have been tough answers to get. To do it you'd have to buy a slew of good and sometimes rotten bios, many of them out of print. Until now. Stand-up comedian Larry Wilde's Great Comedians Talk About Comedy brings it all together.

Great Comedians is a superb, singular achievement that collects within one lively, 402-page, info-packed volume, detailed interviews done over several years with some of the 20th century's greatest comedians and comedy actors.

The selection is absolutely mind-boggling: Woody Allen, Milton Berle, Shelly Berman, Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Maurice Chevalier, Phyllis Diller, Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope, Dick Gregory, George Jessle, Jerry Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Danny Thomas and Ed Wynn.

Each interview is presented in straight Q&A format so you get to "hear" the question and "hear" the response, from what the comedian/comedy actor says to his/her own speech pattern. These folks worked in venues from vaudeville, to radio, to night clubs, to radio to early silent movies to talkies to TV. And their responses to questions contain revelations and constant inspiration.

A key theme: how "making it" in comedy requires timing, good material, dogged persistance, constant analysis of jokes/laughs and being LIKEABLE to an audience. Copying someone's stage personna or stealing their jokes just won't do it.

My favorite interviews were with Woody Allen (how he writes ten jokes on everything from matchbooks to napkins and only uses a few; how he won't try jokes out on friends since they're often too negative; how audience appeal MATTERS...and his pointing to Jackie Gleason as someone who often had a lousey show but people loved him), Jack Benny (the importance of learning comedy and advancing step by step...an explanation of his legendary timing), Joey Bishop ("...Luck cannot sustain you.Only talent can sustain you.."), George Burns (tips on timing, attitude and the importance emulating but not copying other performers), Phyllis Diller (five truly SUPERB short inspirational tips that can advance MANY careers...Her high laugh per minute standards), and Jerry Seinfeld (timing, getting into a focused mental framework and how his love of comedy as a kid blossomed).

This book an essential for ANYONE interested in comedy, or for students of comedy, public speakers, or anyone who simply wants to be funny in public. It's ALL HERE: the inspiration, the tips, the stories, the bios...the TOOLS.

It's now a cliche to say "comedy isn't easy" and the whole process is mysterious. Larry Wilde's Great Comedians Talk About Comedy makes it less mysterious and -- a a bit easier.

Anyone interested in stand-up comedy Must read this book. Especially the people who hang out at "The Improv" bar who THINK they are a comedian. The Woody Allen interview is more important today than it was 35 years ago. About time the neophytes learned some history of the art form. A GREAT BOOK!

This book holds up today. I've owned it for 20 years now, and still refer to it. Anyone interested in film comedy's history must own this book.

No one understands and appreciates movie comedy better than Leonard Maltin, and here he has written a book on the subject that is simply perfect. His enthusiasm and love of these comedians and their comedies is infectious, and he gives us a giddy yearning to watch the movies he cites. If one is an aspiring comedian, too, this is an inspirational book, filling one with the wonderful possibilities of making an audience laugh. It is difficult to fully describe the unpretentious, simple manner in which Mr. Maltin nails down the very essence of comedy in these pages. How often those who write about comedy smother their subject with detailed theories on its socialogical and psychological implications. Mr. Maltin understands better than anyone the subtle art of analyzing comedy without killing it, making his book an absolute joy.

"Hannah and Her Sisters" remains my favorite Woody Allen film simply because I cry my eyes out at the end, which, you must admit, is not a reaction you would expect to have to a Woody Allen film. When you watch the film you pay attention to the performances of the actors, especially since Michael Caine and Diane Wiest won Oscars for their "supporting" roles. But when you read the screenplay you can pay more attention to the structure of the story and how Allen sets up his greatest punchline. As the character of Mickey explains at the end, it is a great story when a guy marries one sister, it does not work out, and many years later he winds up married to another sister. But what makes this really great is that for almost the entire film we have been thinking this was going to be in regards to Hannah and her sister Lee, not Hannah and her sister Holly. When Mickey says, "I don't know how you are going to top that," we are totally floored when Allen gives Holly something to say that absolutely does top it. My only complaint, albeit a minor one, is that the screenplay does not note when in the final scene the background music changes to "I'm In Love Again," which adds another element of poignancy to the wonderful ending of this film.

If you want to read a screenplay written by someone who really knows how to write one, Woody Allen is your writer. I've read many of his and they are all superb. The huge difference with this one is that this is his most commercially successful film. Thus, you are reading both a high level of creative screenwriting talent coupled with commercial audience know-how. This is a very unusual combination in show business. His other published screenplays are every bit as good as this one but they have never found as large an audience when made into film. I've read screenplays by other writers too and one huge difference in Allen's is that he records everything in it. If a character stammers, you get every nuance of the stammer. Allen leaves absolutely nothing out. If you've never read a screenplay but only read novels instead, I'm not sure how you'll like the experience. I love film so reading the screenplay is another way of experiencing something I already love in another creative format. I've read that most of the major literary awards have been criticized for not including screenplays in their categories. It is usually Allen's work that they want included in the prizes. Allen usually is nominated for an Oscar for his writing by his peers though even if he is shut out of every other category by the many who turned against him in the USA because of his personal life. Finally, if you decide that you may want to try writing a screenplay, you must start reading them. Any screenplay by Woody Allen is an excellent place to start.

This is the best study I ever read about Woody Allen's work (and I've read every book in English or French that has been written about him). Mister Clara seems to have memorized every frame and line of dialogue of every flick by the great Woody and he has read hundreds of articles in English, French, Spanish and German about his topic. This extended knowledge allowed him to write an astonishingly thoughtful and insightful work that shall be immensely helpful to anyone interested in Woody Allen's movies, plays and short-stories (the chapter about "Crimes and Misdemeanors" is particularly impressive). Mister Clara writes about the complex relationships between Allen's heroes and heroines, the influence of Philip Roth, Allen's tendency to film his stories in a way that reflects his main character's personality or behavior, his characters urge to escape the "real world" in all sorts of ways to enter an "unreal" parallel world, etc. A great book and a must-read for anyone who loves Woody and reads French well-enough.

It might be a lot deeper than you think. Woody Allen is a fantastic artist and this book explores the artistic side of his movies. The meaning behind what you see on the screen and hear from the characters.

For example, do you think Allen's first film "Take the Money and Run" was just a silly spoof? Yacowar would have us believe differently. Right from the name of the main character, there is meaning. Quoting from the book: "The film pretends to be a documentary about the criminal hero, Virgil Starkwell (Allen). His Christian name evokes Allen's familiar associations with virginity and bookishness; his surname alludes to Charles Starkweather, a famous marauder of the later 1950s." And that's only the beginning, we learn that the movie is full meanings and messages that we may have never thought of.

That's what this book did for me and why I enjoyed it so much. It is very thought provoking. Of course, I kind of feel like Allen may have been answering this kind of examination of his movies in "Stardust Memories" when someone asks him, "What were trying to say in this picture?" Woody's answer, "I was just trying to be funny." You can decide for yourself.

Having very little immersity in woody allens work I read Hirschs book anyway. The book was fun to read and well prepared. I was able to share the authors enthusiasm even without famililarty of allens work. If youv'e seen just one of allens film then this is a must read, it is comically and insightful, with enlightning critizism and praise.

If you've ever wanted to reach right into the movie screen, shake one of Woody Allen's characters by the shirt collar, and say, "Snap out of it, bub," here's a book for you. Peter J. Bailey's The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen offers a fascinating, crystalline analysis of one of the most vexing questions to dog three generations of Woody Allen characters: Is the fictional world of art--especially film art--more a help or a hindrance in our difficult lives?

Bailey, an English professor at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., demonstrated his gift for making sense of challenging contemporary literary art with Reading Stanley Elkin in the mid-'80s. In The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen, he takes on a more readily accessible subject but does not hold back any of the tremendous critical insight at his command. The result is a book both for serious film buffs--that is, buffs of serious film (a subjective distinction taken up in this book)--and for film scholars alike. I was impressed by Bailey's scholarly precision, yet after reading the first couple of chapters I wanted to dash out and rent Stardust Memories, Manhattan, and several other signature Woody Allen flicks. This book has actually made watching his movies a more intellectually stimulating experience without killing the comic moments so abundant in them.

A college English instructor myself, I appreciate the challenge of leading a critical investigation of something fun and entertaining without making that subject, well, less fun and entertaining. Bailey succeeds admirably with this book, mainly because he never puts Allen on a pedestal. The author is a fan, to be sure, as indicated by his generous praise for what Allen does well--and has done well at a pace of roughly one film a year since 1972. This book's thesis, however, delves more deeply into a particularly compelling set of questions at the core of most of Allen's films: What do they say about the role of art in our lives? Is it a redeeming social force or merely a pleasant diversion from life's suffering? Are Woody Allen's films art or merely pleasant, entertaining diversions?

Bailey combines his own convincing interpretations of Allen's film work with previously reported comments from Allen on these questions to show not only how equivocal Woody Allen movies are on the matter of art's benefits and costs, but how central a theme this equivocating is in those movies. To his great credit--and unlike many scholarly investigations of film and literary art--Bailey avoids overbearing suggestions that HIS interpretations are REALLY what Allen's films are all about. Rather, the author has found a thread running through Allen's work that he holds up to the light--a light that has lingered too long on the personality of Woody Allen and the attending tabloid drama. This more illuminating thread--the vexed relationship of art to life and the difficulty of reconciling the two, both in art and in life--is of such enormous importance in the broader conversation of American popular culture that the absence of details on Allen's personal travails reads as a virtue in Bailey's book.

While Woody Allen fans will definitely find The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen most enjoyable and accessible, any moviegoer who has ever contemplated what distinguishes the cinematic good and bad from the ugly will find this book thought-provoking, perhaps at times profound. Ultimately, this is not a portrait of a filmmaker so much as the study of an intriguing film mind at work--and a snapshot of a possible film legend as a work-in-progress.

This film arrived third (1975) in Allen's sequence of his let's-assassinate-the-president capers. Allen chose this theme as the plot climax for 'Bananas', 'Sleeper' and 'Love and Death', but it's a simple enough story on which to hang lots of wonderful sight gags. In line with the popular vote on Amazon, I believe this is a stronger movie than 'Sleeper'.

I first saw this film soon after its release, and I know it appeals to people at several levels. Undergraduates love it for its literary and philosophical references, and many enjoy its smutty jokes ("You're the best lover I've ever had." "Well, I practise a lot when I'm alone."). The visual gags are also wonderful. I've never read any Russian author besides Turgenev, so some of the literary side-swipes have always been wasted on me. But I've never felt left out of the fun.

The only flaw with this movie is that for me it sags a little about three-quarters of the way through with the let's-assassinate-Napoleon sub-plot.

This movie marked the end of Allen as Keaton-like buffoon. Here he speaks much more to camera than on either of the previous two films, and it's a technique he extends in his next picture, ANNIE HALL.

Like the other Allen DVDs I own, the soundtrack is simple -- probably mono -- and the only extra is a trailer. But who cares? Get this on DVD because you'd wear out the VHS tape watching it repeatedly.

When the American Film Institute brought out its list of 100 greatest comedies, FIVE of Woody Allen's films were listed: ANNIE HALL, BANANAS, MANHATTAN, SLEEPER, and TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN. All great movies, to be sure. You may notice that LOVE & DEATH is missing from that list. To this day, I do not understand why.

LOVE & DEATH is the most consistently funny film Woody Allen has ever made. It is one of the few of his films I can watch over and over again and not get tired of it. True, knowledge of Russian literature may help you understand some of the jokes, but it is in no way required in order for you to enjoy this film. Combining hilarious visual comedy mirroring that of Chaplin or Keaton along with witty banter that would make Groucho proud, LOVE & DEATH is the greatest hidden treasure in the Woody Allen library.

"Yay, I shall walk through the valley of the shadow of death. In fact, I shall RUN through the valley of the shadow of death cause you get through the valley quicker that way."

One would have to be well read to enjoy this comedy and yet if you know nothing about Russian arts you will most likely laugh frequently. Love and Death is the kind of film I had to go and see several times, partially because audience laughter stepped on jokes that are exceptionally paced.

In Love and Death, Woody Allen gets deeper into plot compared to his previous comedies. In particular Diane Keaton really shines as she sees more screen time and is on par with Allen in terms of character and humor.

Think of Love and Death as classic comedies by Bob Hope or The Marx Brothers smashed together in a pastich of Bergman films.

Many of Keaton's monologues are at once parody, absurdist and funny just by delivery. Her abilities as an actor and even tougher, a comic actor are formidable. Although she would shine even brighter in 'Annie Hall' it is Love and Death that has to me stayed more endearing.

The breadth of this film is substantial. The jokes are litteral, metaphysical and physical. My favorite physical bit is the scene where Keaton's character attempts to seduce a Spanish royal. In the sceen things don't work out and are a hommage to silent films by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. It's something you need to see to appreciate but it makes me laugh every time I watch it.

The transfer to DVD is excellent in terms of video. Audio is mediocre but acceptable. For those that hate widescreen this is a double side disc and there is a formatted for television version as well.

Woody Allen never quite made a film similar to Love and Death in his career. The film is literate without being boring or annoying. As many of his earlier films Love and Death can be viewed in many contexts and many audiences. My girlfriend back in the 70's saw the film with me and was laughing constantly but knew little of the philosophical, literate or theatrical 'quotes' within the film. Back then I only knew a few and the ones I did know were wry and still bring a smile and admiration in a way other Allen films haven't managed.

Of his early films this is the one to buy along with "Annie Hall" or the more sober "Manhattan". Of the three films this lacks the pretension some critics of Allen's work complain about.