Woody Allen: A Retrospective is the
first complete, film-by-film overview of Woody Allen's entire career, up to and including the 2015 release of
Irrational Man. In this
illustrated biography, renowned movie critic Tom Shone traces Allen's entire professional life as an entertainer and director, weaving in
archival and original interviews, as well as more than
250 curated photographs, movie stills, and posters. From slapstick films to romantic comedies to introspective character studies and crime thrillers, Allen's output has always been prodigious; with
nearly 50 movies to his credit, he's made more or less a film a year since the early 1970s. This fitting tribute to one of the masters of modern cinema covers all of those films, including contemporary classics such as
Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris, with wit and insight.
This is the
definitive illustrated monograph on one of the major writer-directors of modern cinema, celebrating Allen's fifty-year career and published to mark Woody Allen's eightieth birthday. With the help of
comments contributed by Allen himself, Shone's well-informed commentary makes this book an
essential read for Woody Allen fans and film aficionados. "I don't want to acheive immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying."
--Woody Allen