The reluctant film art of Woody Allen / Peter J. Bailey.

That Old Black Magic: Woody Allen's Ambivalent Artistry -- Strictly the Movies: Play It Again, Sam -- Getting Serious: The Antimimetic Emblems of Annie Hall -- Art and Idealization: I'll Fake Manhattan -- Strictly the Movies II: How Radio Days Generated Nights at the Movies -- Life Stand Still Here: Interiors Dialogue -- In the Stardust of a Song: Stardust Memories -- Woody's Mild Jewish Rose: Broadway Danny Rose -- The Fine Art of Living Well: Hannah and Her Sisters -- If You Want a Hollywood Ending: Crimes and Misdemeanors -- Everyone Loves Her/His Illusions: The Purple Rose of Cairo and Shadows and Fog -- Poetic License, Bullshit: Bullets Over Broadway -- Let's Just Live It: Woody Allen in the 1990s -- Because It's Real Difficult in Life: Husbands and Wives -- Rear Condo: Manhattan Murder Mystery -- That Voodoo That You Do So Well: Mighty Aphrodite -- And What a Perfect Plot: Everyone Says I Love You and Zelig -- How We Choose to Distort It: Deconstructing Harry -- From the Neck Up: Another Woman and Celebrity -- Allen and His Audience: Sweet and Lowdown.

For three decades, no American filmmaker has been as prolific--or as paradoxical--as Woody Allen. From Play It Again, Sam (1972) through Celebrity (1998) and Sweet and Lowdown (1999), Allen has produced an average of one film a year, yet in many of these films Allen reveals a progressively skeptical attitude toward both the value of art and the cultural contributions of artists. In examining Allen's filmmaking career, The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen demonstrates that his movies often question whether the projected illusions of magicians/artists benefit audience or artists.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [310]-316) and index.