Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p25

19/04/2014 11:42 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p24

19/04/2014 11:38 par tellurikwaves

Walking along the docks and reminiscing
10/10
Author: Brandt Sponseller from New York City
1 May 2005

Writer/director/star Woody Allen plays agent/manager Danny Rose in this funny, loving, nostalgic look at the lower and fringe rungs of the entertainment industry, combined with a mob subplot and not a little "philosophy of life" contemplation.

The film begins with a gaggle of older Borscht Belt-caliber comedians sitting around a table at Manhattan's Carnegie Deli, trading stories about Danny Rose. Rose loves acts that are a bit "outside" the mainstream, so there is no shortage of laughs from our storytellers as they remember his one-legged tap dancer, his blind xylophonist, and so on.

After about 10 minutes or so of general reminiscing interspersed with footage of Rose portraying the stories, one man says he's got the Rose story to top them all, which launches us into the "film proper". It's a tale about Rose and his client Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte), a Louis Prima-styled singer who had one hit, "Agita", in the 1950s, but who is a has-been when Rose meets him. Broadway Danny Rose is primarily the story of how Rose gets mixed up in a comically deteriorating situation with Canova's mistress, Tina Vitale (Mia Farrow), while trying to ensure that she attends a career-restoring gig,despite the fact that Canova's wife is also going to be there.

Allen treats us to some entertaining postmodernist layering in the beginning. It seems like a normal enough film in the first few moments, but quickly turns into almost a mock documentary as our deli comedians talk about Rose. The Rose material is really all flashback, and even when it "takes over" the film during the Canova story, it still has a mock documentary feel at first. Eventually the Canova story proceeds as any film would, but the bookended storytellers emphasize the nostalgic tone of the film.

Allen is drilling in that fact that we're reminiscing. He wants the audience to reminisce about the tone of the main story, even if they don't have personal memories of the era or that segment of the entertainment industry. For Allen, the film has strong resemblances to some aspects of his personal experience as an up and coming standup comedian, and he even draws parallels such as a Carnegie Deli sandwich being named after Danny Rose in the film--in real life, you can eat a sandwich named after Woody Allen at the Carnegie Deli.

Having characters in the film reminisce about what turns out to be a reminiscent mode in a flashback helps audience members outside of the relevant "nostalgia zone" to get into the proper mood. Interestingly for this goal, even though Allen goes to the trouble to shoot the film in black & white, he doesn't attempt to remove blatantly anachronistic elements-- as if he's trying to remind us that this is still artificial reminiscing. For example, a scene that takes place in a Times Square office features a window through which we can see the large flashing "Fuji" sign.

On the other hand, Allen also exploits the fact that Broadway Danny Rose was shot just as the recent family-friendly gentrification of the New York City area was taking hold, as there are important scenes on the old, dilapidated West Side docks and in a Jersey City that still looks comparatively like a barren wasteland.

One of the reasons that this film is so charming is that even though Danny Rose is a loser, he's a good-hearted loser with an admirable philosophy of life, despite the fact that he's continually abused and/or given the short shrift by those he helps. Allen is still doing his "neurotic Jew" schtick here, but whereas he tends to draw that character as self-centered in other films, in Broadway Danny Rose he's almost completely altruistic.

He actually tries to persuade other characters, who happen to be self-centered, to change their outlooks. He's a Tod Browning to a cadre of performing freaks, promoting and embracing them, even if to most eyes it has to involve exploiting them at the same time. But he admirably can't help seeing the best in everyone, encouraging them and honestly believing that they should be in a "higher position" than they are now.

He even does this with the non-performing Tina when she makes some decorating suggestions about his apartment--suddenly, he wants to manage an interior decorating career for her, saying that she should be doing "hotels and embassies".As is typical for an Allen film, Broadway Danny Rose is filled with amazing, often symbolic cinematography, by frequent collaborator (from 1977's Annie Hall through 1985's The Purple Rose of Cairo) Gordon Willis.

It's also full of great performances (including Allen's) and it's infused with Allen's trademark pre-bop jazz, in this case heavily depending on variations of the Prima-like "Agita", somewhat similar to how "In A Persian Market" was used as a theme in the later Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001). If you like Allen's typical style, you've surely seen this film. If you're wondering where to start or dip into Allen's works further, Broadway Danny Rose is as good a place to begin as any.

Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p23

19/04/2014 11:28 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p22

19/04/2014 11:18 par tellurikwaves

Ah au fait (là c'est moi qui parle) je n'vous l'ai pas dis :Je n'ai plus ce film (donné quand j'ai quitté Paname).Bon je l'ai vu en salle en v.o lors de sa sortie,puis sur cassette en v.f deux ou trois fois mais ça remonte à plus de 20 ans et j'ai des trous de mémoire ici et là...

Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p21

19/04/2014 10:59 par tellurikwaves

-"Mais moi je suis contre la violence !...d'ailleurs mon rabbin dit que..."-

Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p20

19/04/2014 10:55 par tellurikwaves

Neither didactic nor facetious
10/10
Author: the_mad_mckenna from Chicago, IL
31 August 2002

This is my favorite Woody Allen movie. I think you can see the glee that he secretly has, playing the nebbishy Danny Rose, in his world of untalented types reaching for the stars. The Mobsters are almost like a preview for the Sopranos; the unexpected love story is sweet and charming. And it even has the return of Howard Cosell to a woody movie.I remember seeing this one in the Theatre when it was released - lines like "weinstein's majestic Bungalow colony" - and why that line is a side splitter - shows the fact that woody played this one close to the vest. Barney Dunn!!!

Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p19

19/04/2014 10:51 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p18

19/04/2014 10:47 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p17

19/04/2014 10:34 par tellurikwaves

Compares to Chaplin's best
10/10
Author: Don Eldredge (done@herald-democrat.com)
16 January 1999

This was never embraced as one of Woody Allen's best pictures, but it certainly ranks alongside Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters and Annie Hall, although it is far removed in subject matter from any of these. Danny Rose is an empathatic character whose heart goes out to the underdog. He is a former comic who becomes an agent, representing acts that no one else will touch. He has been kicked down many times, but he continues to plod along, always believing he will hit the big time with a special act.

But late in this story, told by a comic to fellow comics who know Danny Rose, he comes to the realization that his life is going nowhere.That scene,on Thanksgiving Day,is filled with pathos.(très émouvant ce passage)Mixed with the comedy throughout, that one scene makes this one of the most touching films imaginable.

Mia Farrow gives a strong performance (pour moi la meilleure et l'unique de toute sa carrière) *as the would-be interior decorator who is having an affair with a Rose client, a has-been, one-hit wonder from the '50s played by Nick Apollo Forte. This is a must-see for Allen fans, and would be a good introductory film for those not familiar with his work.

*

*et pas seulement pour les lunettes...mais c'est la seule fois où elle ne fait pas la gentillette évaporée.Son rôle dans Broadway...n'est pas seulement important:il est primordial,essentiel à la réussite du film

Š-DR-BROADWAY DANNY ROSE de Woody Allen (1984) p16

19/04/2014 10:23 par tellurikwaves