Movie List: Best and Worst of Woody Allen

I just caught this list at Jim Emerson's blog, Scanners, in which he chooses his picks for the 5 best and 5 worst Woody Allen features from the 41 features he's directed since the start of his directing career. Another Woman, one of Emerson's choices for 5 best, is the only Allen film I've not seen. I plan to have my review for his latest, Midnight in Paris, posted before its USA opening this Friday.

This is an off-the-cuff list, without much thought put into it. I'm not going to bother with explanations at the moment. If I find the time later, perhaps I will update and expand it.

The 5 Worst (so many to choose from in the last 10 or 12 years):

1. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

2. Hollywood Ending

3. Scoop

4. Small Time Crooks

5. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

Three of my worst choices coincide with Emerson's. I remember really disliking both Husbands and Wives and Manhattan Murder Mystery when I saw them oh so long ago. I now have little memory of them (except that the handheld camera work in the former made me a bit sick) and feel they deserve a second look at some point before I commit them to the worst list.

The 5 Best:

1. Annie Hall

2. Manhattan

3. Hannah and Her Sisters

4. Crimes and Misdemeanors

5. Deconstructing Harry

That last spot was a tough call because I'm very fond of Radio Days and I think Vicky Christina Barcelona deserves a mention, and I really thoroughly enjoy Bullets Over Broadway and of course it's the one damn Allen film I can't get my hands on in Spain for some reason! But I think Deconstructing Harry is truly the better film.