Allen + Puccini
Woody Allen "might not be the right director for Otello or Salome. But in Gianni Schicchi, a brisk farce about an Italian family desperate to circumvent a dead relative's will, Allen found a playground in which his comic talents could run riot.
"The opera is set in medieval Tuscany, but Allen moved the action up to the 1940s. Santo Loquasto's exuberant set looked like a manic fusion of palazzo and tenement, while also evoking the neo-realist look of Italian films from that era.
"Greed, vanity and cunning rule this opera, and Allen [has] found endless clever ways to expose and mock these traits." -- from Robert Everett-Green's review of the third act of Puccini's Il Triccico, now at the Los Angeles Music Center.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 16, 2008 at 6:29 PM
comment #1
Roman
says ...
I've heard great things about this too. Allen's just great. May he make many more movies.
Posted by Roman
at September 16, 2008 6:38 PM
comment #2
York "Budd" Durden
says ...
Whatever his later output, Woody's run from Annie Hall through Crimes is the most solid of any living American filmmaker.
And you know what the best one is? Broadway Danny Rose. Best blend of outright comedy with pathos since Chaplin, a conceit he built on to stupendous results with Crimes.
To evoke LexG (and I know this will make him happy), Woody Allen OWNS all your mediocre asses. RESPECT.
Posted by York "Budd" Durden
at September 16, 2008 6:43 PM
comment #3
scooterzz
says ...
i saw this last week and ,while i know almost nothing about opera, was pretty impressed....
at the press conference for vcb allen claimed he had no idea what he was doing but you sure wouldn't guess that from seeing it......
Posted by scooterzz
at September 16, 2008 7:16 PM
comment #4
Rev. Slappy
says ...
I have seen it as well, the entire evening is pretty fantastic. The two pieces Freidkin directs are very good as well. Anybody living in LA should check it out.
Posted by Rev. Slappy
at September 16, 2008 8:08 PM
comment #5
sugar3
says ...
Il Trittico, not Il Triccico. If you're going to rip into the knuckle draggers, you can't muff these. We're counting on you wells.
Posted by sugar3
at September 16, 2008 9:16 PM
comment #6
sugar3
says ...
Il Trittico, not Il Triccico. If you're going to rip into the knuckle draggers, you can't muff these. We're counting on you Wells.
Posted by sugar3
at September 16, 2008 9:16 PM
comment #7
bluefugue
says ...
>And you know what the best one is? Broadway Danny Rose. Best blend of outright comedy with pathos since Chaplin, a conceit he built on to stupendous results with Crimes.
I just saw BDR for the first time the other day, having heard for years about how great it was. I dunno, it didn't do a lot for me. I liked the bracketing story and the world of fading Borscht Belt acts, but Mia Farrow's performance felt a bit mannered and I couldn't get interested in the zany madcap stuff in Act II. Maybe it improves on subsequent viewings. Currently I would put it well below Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah, Crimes, Husbands & Wives in my ranking of Allen movies though. As far as Allen's "earlier, funny" mode, I still find Bananas pretty hard to beat.
Posted by bluefugue
at September 17, 2008 6:42 AM
comment #8
Richardson
says ...
fugue - that's interesting; I had that experience with 'Purple Rose' (seen it twice, left me cold both times). 'BDR', when I watched it, had no hype at all, and had also been written off to me as an also-ran, but I thought it was great, and funny and tight.
Another great one which gets no respect is 'Radio Days'.
Posted by Richardson
at September 17, 2008 1:38 PM