The Classical test Source For All The Performing, Visual And Literary Arts & Entertainment News
Theater

Film Critic David Thomson's Assessment of Director Woody Allen Flawed

English film critic David Thomson's dislike, dare I say contempt, of Woody Allen is well known. Look up a Thomson review of an Allen film and it is most likely negative, the one most recent one being "Match Point" (2005). In his wonderful book, "The New Biographical Dictionary of Film," Thomson leveled this charge against Allen, "Moreover, some of his films are so inconsequential, so much a matter of habit, that they make his productivity seem artificial." Is this true? Are some of Allen's films so easily dismissible? If so, what does it say for Woody Allen's stature in the history of cinema? Conversely, is it fair? Has Allen's longevity and creative output surpassed any comparable measure of legacy we have available?
By Thomas Swan