Woody Allen
1977–1989: Established career

I don't like meeting heroes. There's nobody I want to meet and nobody I want to work with—I'd rather work with Diane Keaton than anyone—she's absolutely great, a natural.

—Woody Allen in July 1976

In 1977 Allen wrote, directed, and starred in the romantic comedy film Annie Hall, which became his seminal and most personal work. He played Alvy Singer, a comic evaluating his past relationship with Annie Hall, portrayed by Diane Keaton. Critic Roger Ebert praised the film, saying Allen had "developed...into a much more thoughtful and...more mature director". Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised Allen's direction, specifically citing his hiring of actors in the film such as Shelley Duvall, Paul Simon, Carol Kane, Colleen Dewhurst, and Christopher Walken. In an interview with journalist Katie Couric, Keaton did not deny that Allen wrote the part for and about her. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Keaton, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director for Allen. It was ranked 35th on the American Film Institute ' s "100 Best Movies" and fourth on the AFI list of the "100 Best Comedies". The screenplay was also named the funniest ever written by the Writers Guild of America in its list of the "101 Funniest Screenplays". In 1992, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

In 1979, Allen paid tribute at the Film Society at Lincoln Center to one of his comedy idols, Bob Hope, who said of the honor: "It's great to have your past spring up in front of your eyes, especially when it's done by Woody Allen, because he's a near genius. Not a whole genius, but a near genius". With Manhattan (1979), Allen directed a comic homage to New York City, focused on the complicated relationship between middle-aged Isaac Davis (Allen) and 17-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), co-starring Keaton and Meryl Streep. Keaton, who has made eight movies with Allen, has said, "He just has a mind like nobody else. He's bold. He's got a lot of strength, a lot of courage in terms of his work. And that is what it takes to do something really unique."

Stardust Memories was based on 8½, which it parodies, and Wild Strawberries. Allen's comedy A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy was adapted from Smiles of a Summer Night. Hannah and Her Sisters, Another Woman and Crimes and Misdemeanors have elements reminiscent of Wild Strawberries. In Stardust Memories (1980), Allen's character says, "I don't want to make funny movies anymore" and a running gag has various people (including visiting space aliens) telling him that they appreciate his films, "especially the early, funny ones". Allen considers it one of his best films. In 1981, Allen's play The Floating Light Bulb, starring Danny Aiello and Bea Arthur, premiered on Broadway and ran for 65 performances. New York Times critic Frank Rich gave the play a mild review, writing, "there are a few laughs, a few well-wrought characters, and, in Act II, a beautifully written scene that leads to a moving final curtain". Allen has written several off-Broadway one-act plays, including Riverside Drive, Old Saybrook (at the Atlantic Theater Company), and A Second Hand Memory (at the Variety Arts Theatre).

Mia's a good actress who can play many different roles. She has a very good range, and can play serious to comic roles. She's also very photogenic, very beautiful on screen. She's just a good realistic actress... and no matter how strange and daring it is, she does it well.

—Woody Allen (1993)

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) was the first movie Allen made with Mia Farrow, who stepped into Diane Keaton 's role when Keaton was shooting Reds. He next directed Zelig, in which he starred as a man whose appearance transforms to match that of those around him. Radio Days, a film about his childhood in Brooklyn and the importance of the radio, co-starred Farrow in a part Allen wrote for her. Time magazine called The Purple Rose of Cairo one of the 100 best films of all time. Allen has called it one of his three best films, with Stardust Memories and Match Point. In 1989, Allen and directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese made New York Stories, an anthology film about New Yorkers. Vincent Canby called Allen's contribution, Oedipus Wrecks, "priceless".
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