Woody Allen: A Biography by John
Baxter
A Balanced Biography
He was born Allan Konigsberg in the Bronx, but his personal destiny and
some of filmdoms most celebrated comedies - Annie Hall, Manhattan,
Crimes and Misdemeanors - have made Woody Allen the quintessential
New Yorker. This telling, new biography - the first since the tabloids
headlined his rift with his long-term mistress, Mia Farrow, and his affair
with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi - tells how a reclusive, melancholy kid
achieved unparalleled success as a screenwriter, director, and star. It also
explores the real Woody Allen, the critically acclaimed filmmaker from the
Upper East Side, and his amusing movie persona of a neurotic and lovable
loser. Shrewdly and effectively deconstructing Woody, John Baxters
biography illuminates Allens preoccupation with sex and mortality, his
personal quirks and obsessions, his manipulation of celebrity, and his
cinematic achievement as chronicler and court jester of Manhattans
intellectual elite.
Personal Review: Woody Allen: A Biography by John Baxter

I enjoyed this book very much. I liked the author's tone, which was neither
worshipful nor condemning. I thought his examination of the films was
pretty interesting. His idea that Allen really owes more to Fellini than to
Bergman sounded pretty convincing to me.Face it, any book on Woody
Allen becomes instantly obsolescent, because by the time it gets on the
shelves, Allen has made at least one more movie that might move his
career in a new direction.I thought this book did a fine job of showing the
many changes in Allen's career, from stand-up and TV (stuff that I really
wasn't aware of - like Allen subbing for Johnny Carson) to movies and how
the movies changed. Baxter's assessments of the many movies seemed
mostly on the mark to me.The definitive work on Woody Allen will only be
written after he is dead and thus can no longer make any movies, but until
that sad day, I think this book will do very nicely.
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