MovieChat Forums > Deconstructing Harry (1998) Discussion > Nobody else than Woody could have done t...

Nobody else than Woody could have done this!

posted 18 years ago by DrMulholland
6 replies | jump to latest

I probably wont have to explain why Spielberg and co. couldn't have made this - but not even Fellini or Bergman or Greenaway or whatever could have done this! The story perfectly fits the Woody-style and it couldn't possibly be filmed/told in any other way than it has been here.

Other directors would probably be over-dramatic about everything since this is a psychological drama in a way but it's actually because of the distance to the film, it can create this magic around itself.

Opinions?

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[–] jaydubsky 18 years ago

Well, this is a loose re-make of a film called "Wild Strawberries," so he had a major influence. Still loved it, though.

"Death, you are my bitch lover!"

[–] DrMulholland 18 years ago

I actually thumb down the "Wild Strawberries"-connection. Woody denied the film as a direct source of influence and I agree the only way the two seem similar is by the fact that a man has to go on a drive. The two are not very much connected, I think, if compared to Stardust Memories' similarity to 8½.

Despite the themes are very different from one another. But you could say that where Isak Borg is afraid of dying, Harry Block seems afraid of living. That's way they reflect upon one important aspect of their lives (to Isak his childhood - or past at least - and Harry his writings) before they make peace with their demons. But you might as well make connections like that to other films.

[–] jaydubsky 18 years ago

I don't know, I just watched "Wild Strawberries" and I thought the two were fairly similar...obviously, one's Woody and one's Bergman, but...anyways, I loved thinking that DH was his take on Bergman.

"Death, you are my bitch lover!"

[–] tawdry_hepburn 15 years ago

Actually, large portions of this film are based upon cut scenes from the original version of Annie Hall. Hall was written as a murder mystery but became something else entirely because Allen often heavily reworks his films as he is going. He shoots for 6 weeks, edits his footage together, then shoots for another 6 weeks, then edits that together, and so on. In the case of Annie Hall, he really heavily reworked it. Somehow, some of the leftover scenes (most memorably the hell sequence) made it into this film.

Of course, the Bergman connection is legit too. They spent like 20 minutes discussing the man in Annie Hall and I *think* Allen has cited him as his biggest personal influence.

Of course, I lean toward the autobiographical reading of this film. The centerpiece of this argument is the scene where Allen breaks down and just says, "I've been playing the same character for years now, just very lightly hidden, and yeah...it's me." Or something akin to that.

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[–] BrohmaBull007 18 years ago

I agree, Only Woody could have done that character. Good ol Woody

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[–] 18 years ago

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