Woody Allen: A Documentary
An intimate, cinephile portrait of Woody Allen’s creative routines, career evolution, and complicated place in American film culture.
Overview
Explore the life and artistry of one of cinema's most iconic figures in this intimate portrait.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- intimate
- reflective
- cinephile
- cinephile viewing
- film study
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Robert B. Weide’s unusually intimate access and insightful account of Allen’s artistic career, while noting its cursory treatment of the major personal scandal surrounding him.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film observes Allen on movie sets, writing on yellow legal pads, and using the typewriter he has kept since adolescence.
The documentary traces Allen’s progression from newspaper gag writer and stand-up performer to prolific auteur.
Allen’s film career and personal feelings are explored alongside glimpses of his home life and the controversy surrounding his marriage.
The documentary foregrounds Allen’s authorial control, European cinema influences, and insistence on creative independence.
Films like Woody Allen: A Documentary, and why
Hitchcock/Truffaut
artist portrait documentary examining a major filmmaker’s working methods, career, and personal mythology
Spielberg
intimate documentary portrait of an influential american filmmaker through interviews, archival material, and creative process
Scorsese: A Personal Journey Through American Movies
cinephile documentary about an auteur’s life, influences, and place in film history
Movie Details
- Director
- Robert B. Weide
- Release Date
- 2011-11-20
- Runtime
- 193 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (171)
Cast
- Woody Allen
- Letty Aronson
- Antonio Banderas
- Marshall Brickman
- Josh Brolin
- Dick Cavett
- Penélope Cruz
- John Cusack
- Larry David
- F. X. Feeney
Common questions
- What is Woody Allen: A Documentary about?
- An intimate, cinephile portrait of Woody Allen’s creative routines, career evolution, and complicated place in American film culture.
- What is Woody Allen: A Documentary like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Woody Allen: A Documentary as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Woody Allen: A Documentary violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Woody Allen: A Documentary.
- What did critics think of Woody Allen: A Documentary?
- Critics broadly praised Robert B. Weide’s unusually intimate access and insightful account of Allen’s artistic career, while noting its cursory treatment of the major personal scandal surrounding him.
- Which films are like Woody Allen: A Documentary?
- Films with a similar feel include Hitchcock/Truffaut, Spielberg, and Scorsese: A Personal Journey Through American Movies.
- How long is Woody Allen: A Documentary?
- Woody Allen: A Documentary runs 193 minutes.
