i was a swashbuckler

Isn't it amazing how a tune can evoke a specific event in time? Woody Allen includes the best music in his films. Last weekend, I watched Scoop, and a piece of movie music carried me straight back to my childhood. My uncles, actually more like brothers in age, and I used to sword fight to Aram Khachaturian's Sabre Dance. We would play the piece from an LP record on a turntable, volume cranked to the max.

When the music ended, we moved the needle back and played it over until we were completely clashed out. Don't worry, we didn't use actual swords. Curtain rods were the next best thing, thrilling crash of metal on metal, imaginary sparks flying, catching the room on fire. I miss my Joan of Arc days, swashbuckling with the best of them. I should take fencing lessons.

By the way, the Khachaturian is deliciously quirky music. I think I will have it played at my funeral.

our Ben-Hur production still, 1959

We were an incredibly theatrical household. The saber dances are tucked safely away in my mind's eye, but I wish I had a tangible photo. I do have a shot of one of our Ben-Hur-esque dramatic productions. This wasn't just for fun; we were dead serious players. Speaking of serious, I was rather a precocious child. Here I am below, busy with some very serious writing, maybe an epic screenplay or some poetry. Nothing has changed.

This is a Sepia Saturday post.

The Transplendent Woody Allen

As I mentioned in my previous posts, the brilliant Woody Allen is a
favorite here at the Manor. A multi talented director, writer, actor,
comedian, playwright and musician, he has garnered countless
awards, nominations and distinctions.

But it all boils down to one thing. I like him because he makes me
laugh. As soon as his familiar black and white credits, set to jazz,
start to roll, I know giggles are in store. In most of his older films, he
portrays himself, a neurotic writer, wearing his trademark thick,
black 1960's style glasses, corduroy pants and tweed jacket. He
pokes fun at his own neurotic persona and phobias by often including
a funny psychoanalysis scene in his movies.

Allen’s films span a wide range. His earliest films are full of screwball
comedy. Annie Hall (1977) includes more sophisticated humor and
Interiors (1979) introduces his darker dramas. Many of his works in
the 1980’s combine both comedy and tragedy. Born Allen Stewart
Konigsberg, in Brooklyn, to a Jewish family, he often portrays his
ethnicity, as well as bases many of his films in his beloved New York.

And have you ever noticed that he often includes an opera in many
of his films? The L.A. Opera is fortunate enough to support him in his
operatic directional debut in their 2008-09 season! Love and Death
(1975), Annie Hall (1977), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) are a few of my personal
favorites, that star the hilarious Woody, himself. In more recent
films, he has cast other actors in the roll he would normally play, but
in my little book, no one can quite fill his shoes...or should I say his
glasses?



Click (here) for Woody's opening monologue in Annie Hall.