The Woody Allen Retrospective Podcast

Donald Wunder & James Daniel Walsh
The Woody Allen Retrospective Podcast

Cinema loving schlubs that discuss, review, critique and debate the finer points of EVERY Woody Allen production. Alternatively, we also talk about other film projects we find has adjacent qualities to Woodys work or writing style - this includes submissions and suggestions from our lovely subscribers and humble listeners

  1. Woody Adjacent - Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson & Spike Jonze - HER (2013)

    12/25/2024

    Woody Adjacent - Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson & Spike Jonze - HER (2013)

    Welcome back to the Woody Allen Retrospective Podcast for another episode of Woody Allen Adjacent - the last one of 2024, in fact!   First of all, thank you for rocking with us for another year. We GREATLY appreciate our lovely listeners, loyal subscribers, and thoughtful supporters!   For those who don’t know, in Woody Allen Adjacent our podcast hosts work they way thought films they like to compare and contrast to Woody Allens filmography and or writing style.   Recently, Donald has charged the AI Assistant of the show to dig even deeper and generate an additional wider list of interesting Adjacent movies some maybe we may find 'out of the norm' so to speak.    As we rotate our turns for adjacent every month we’re slowly working our way through a very interesting list of films. We’ve already done more than a bunch at this point in time, some obvious, some not so.   Fittingly, for the Ai’s turn this month, it has chosen Spike Jonze’s film - Her (2013) - a well celebrated, Oscar winning, romantic drama, where Artificial Intelligence is at the core of the love story.   In this timely episode James and Donald dive into Her, exploring its poignant themes of love, loneliness, and technology in a near futuristic world that actually feels more relevant than ever.   We have standout performances by Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson and taking a look back now, we find a surprisingly well star studded supporting cast   Incidentally, the main leads here, do have ties to Woody Allen (Match Point, Irrational Man) and as a extra tid-bit of trivia, some people may not know, the original Ai voice that was replaced - Samantha Morton - is another Woody Allen alumni (Sweet and Lowdown)   With Joaquin Phoenix already in the spotlight earlier this year due to the Joker 2 box office disaster, we took 5 or so minutes to talk about that situation :P   Reality can be just as intriguing as fiction as this movie is drawing parallels to the ever-growing influence of advanced AI platforms like Character AI, in fact we even highlight a riveting mini YouTube documentary that showcases just how close we’ve come to living out the reality of Her: The Rise and Fall of Character Ai   So lets wrap up this year with this thoughtful discussion blending cinema, technology, and humanity, as we consider whether Her is still science fiction - or if we’re already living it.   Wishing you a very merry Christmas and happy new year 2025!    - Links Mentioned in this Episode -   The Rise and Fall of Character Ai   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynqAB9K4icg   The Real Reason Samantha Morton Was Replaced In ‘HER’ (2013)   https://www.thelist.com/428711/the-real-reason-samantha-mortons-voice-was-replaced-in-her/   My Complicated Feelings For ‘HER’ (2013) by Passion of the Nerd   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMJcbigcDJU   Please check out the links below for the full cast, user reviews, ratings and info you may find interesting   Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_(film)   IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/   Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/her   _________________________________________   A VERY Special Thanks to The Woody Allen Pages Website & The Woody Allen Subreddit for the continued support and info – check them out for the latest from the Woody Allen Fan Community!!   https://www.woodyallenpages.com     &    https://www.reddit.com/r/woodyallen   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER EPISODE USING OUR COMMENT SECTION VIDEO LINK HERE   >>>>>>>  https://bit.ly/warpcom   IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING US A COFFEE / GIVING US A TIP VIA OUR PATREON CAMPAIGN  >>> https://www.patreon.com/woodyretro   Thanks for listening as always - we would also LOVE a review on iTunes or a 5 star rating via Spotify or whichever podcast platform you are listening on - please find all our connected links below.   >>>   https://linktr.ee/woodyretro

    1h 35m
  2. 11/29/2024

    Woody Adjacent - Tom O'Brien, Katherine Waterston & Caitlin FitzGerald - Manhattan Romance (2014)

    Welcome back to the Woody Allen Retrospective Podcast for another episode of Woody Allen Adjacent!   On this adjacent episode we take a reddit recommendation for a movie that looks and sounds very much like films Woody has made in the past.. in fact, this may very well be a 'homage' to such Woody Allen movies: Manhattan and or Annie Hall!   However... upon watching..  it became clear to us this might just be one of the most disappointing, perplexing and just poor adjacent type films we have ever seen, putting adjacent aside, its generally a terrible film in the genre of romantic comedies     We are by no means film experts but as fans of the genre that have seen and discussed MANY films of this ilk, its quite astounding to see just how bad this one was to watch.   We don't believe we have been this critical since our very first adjacent discussion on Lous CK's 'I Love You Daddy'   Let us give praise where it is due thought - props to Scott Miller who was Director of Photography, the visual presentation is actually decent....   PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE SEEN THIS MASTERPIECE BY COMMENTING IN OUR COMMENT SECTION LINK  >  https://bit.ly/warpcom   ------------------------------------   Anyhoo, here are the links we mentioned in the opening news section of the show!   Rebecca Hall: I regret apologising for working with Woody Allen (Article Link) - https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/17/rebecca-hall-i-regret-apologising-for-working-with-woody-allen   By The Way Woody Allen Is Innocent Documentary Update (Video)   https://youtu.be/WH_LtT0JT54?si=C-S6v6Jrh4eWYDQA   ____________________________________________________________   Please check out the links below for the full cast, user reviews, ratings and info you may find interesting   Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Romance   IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2608324/   Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/manhattan_romance   _________________________________________   A VERY Special Thanks to The Woody Allen Pages Website & The Woody Allen Subreddit for the continued support and info – check them out for the latest from the Woody Allen Fan Community!!   https://www.woodyallenpages.com     &    https://www.reddit.com/r/woodyallen   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER EPISODE USING OUR COMMENT SECTION VIDEO LINK HERE   >>>>>>>  https://bit.ly/warpcom   IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING US A COFFEE / GIVING US A TIP VIA OUR PATREON CAMPAIGN  >>> https://www.patreon.com/woodyretro   Thanks for listening as always - we would also LOVE a review on iTunes or a 5 star rating via Spotify or whichever podcast platform you are listening on - please find all our connected links below.   >>>   https://linktr.ee/woodyretro

    1h 29m
  3. 10/25/2024

    Woody Adjacent - Taissa Farmiga, Malin Åkerman & Todd Strauss-Schulson - The Final Girls (2015)

    Welcome back to another SPOOKY edition of the Woody Allen Retrospective Podcast   Last time, our favourite cohost with the Most: James, suggested that he would bring up a movie in the horror genre. A genre Woody Allen never quite made a feature film in   Hence James thought he would bring up an interesting title we imagine woody may have done in an alternate universe.. ALSO, our Ai assistant conjurers up a complete original(ish) horror movie idea, laid up with a full cast and plot   This was definfitely a fun experimental discussion, and the movie in question is a damn good horror comedy in its own right, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT   In fact, lets see if we can leave some links below on how you may find it....   https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-final-girls   Thanks as always for listening - leave a comment below if you have a similar type suggestion, or just interact with us - we would love and appreciate your engagement!   Please check out the links below for the full cast, user reviews, ratings and info you may find interesting   Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Final_Girls   IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2118624/   Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_final_girls   _________________________________________   A VERY Special Thanks to The Woody Allen Pages Website & The Woody Allen Subreddit for the continued support and info – check them out for the latest from the Woody Allen Fan Community!!   https://www.woodyallenpages.com     &    https://www.reddit.com/r/woodyallen   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER EPISODE USING OUR COMMENT SECTION VIDEO LINK HERE   >>>>>>>  https://bit.ly/warpcom   IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING US A COFFEE / GIVING US A TIP VIA OUR PATREON CAMPAIGN  >>> https://www.patreon.com/woodyretro   Thanks for listening as always - we would also LOVE a review on iTunes or a 5 star rating via Spotify or whichever podcast platform you are listening on - please find all our connected links below.   >>>   https://linktr.ee/woodyretro

    1h 4m
  4. Not Woody Actually #03: Brothers McMullen Living Out Loud

    09/26/2024

    Not Woody Actually #03: Brothers McMullen Living Out Loud

    A warm welcome back to all our lovely podcast listeners   We are back after we were unable to record last month, this was due to some personal stuff on Don's part. So as you can see from the title this is going to be a NOT WOODY ACTUALLY episode   As always with NWA we talk a bit outside the norm, giving updates on the podcast Monetization situation, other minor updates.. and then for the main event we have a double adjacent-ish discussion on 2 movies. The first being a patreon request from a while ago.. and the second is a movie Don is somewhat fond of.. he just feels that movie may have been a half baked basis for a Woody Adjacent discussion.   On the next episode James is doing something different with a horror themed movie he feels Woody Allen could have created (in a parallel universe?)   You Know what... lets throw the question out to YOU are lovely listeners... what horror movies have you seen in your movie adventures you feel Woody Allen may have tackled, whether conceptually or loosely... again, see it as an alternate universe question.. we want to hear your thoughts on this specifically - leave your thoughts here >        https://bit.ly/warpcom   Thanks for listening as always, please check out our associated links below as always!   ____________________________________________________-   Cool Woody Allen interview from 1979   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIfwVXk_CKI&t=3s   Coup De Chance is currently Streaming for Free on Tubi (As of 20/09/2024)   https://tubitv.com/movies/100026984/coup-de-chance   Upcoming Woody Allen Book By Famous Biographer - Woody Allen: Life and Legacy: A Travesty of a Mockery of a Sham By Patrick McGilligan   https://www.harpercollins.com/products/woody-allen-life-and-legacy-patrick-mcgilligan?variant=41526421979170   ____________________________________   The Brothers McMullen Links Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brothers_McMullen IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112585/     Living Out Loud Links Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Out_Loud IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120722/   _________________________________________   A VERY Special Thanks to The Woody Allen Pages Website & The Woody Allen Subreddit for the continued support and info – check them out for the latest from the Woody Allen Fan Community!!   https://www.woodyallenpages.com     &    https://www.reddit.com/r/woodyallen   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER EPISODE USING OUR COMMENT SECTION VIDEO LINK HERE   >>>>>>> https://bit.ly/warpcom   IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING US A COFFEE / GIVING US A TIP VIA OUR PATREON CAMPAIGN  >>> https://www.patreon.com/woodyretro   Thanks for listening as always - we would also LOVE a review on iTunes or a 5 star rating via Spotify or whichever podcast platform you are listening on - please find all our connected links below.   >>>   https://linktr.ee/woodyretro

    1h 29m
  5. 07/28/2024

    Woody Adjacent - Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Alan Ball & Sam Mendes – American Beauty (1999)

    Welcome back ladies and gents to another episode of Woody Adjacent!   Soo much is happening in the world of related entertainment and politics it seems we just had to address a portion of it as it relates to certain aspects of our podcast   So... starting with Alec Baldwins RUST court case which has now come to a sudden and eventful close. As Mr Baldwin is clearly one of Woody Allens biggest public supporters and listeners still want to hear our take on this eventful case closure   Moving on from there we pick up with our Ai Podcast assistant's movie choice of the month... that being 1999's American Beauty.   The starring lead in said movie, Kevin Spacey is yet another controversial figure we needed to further discuss, not only in relation to the chosen movie pick but also in terms of his ongoing blacklist backlash causing much discourse in the fiery court of public opinion    There is just soo much to discuss on this episode it surely now becomes one of our longest episodes in our catalogue   We hope you enjoy, please consider leaving a comment using our special link below as well as our other related links below!   In American Beauty (1999) Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a disillusioned middle-aged man who has a thankless job and beleives he is trapped in a loveless marriage with his materialistic wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening). As a midlife crisis unfolds, Lester becomes infatuated with their teenage daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari), which further sparking a desire to reclaim his lost youth and inner happiness.  _________________________________   Please Find Links To The Other Sources / Audio Clips Mentioned in This Episode   Piers Morgain Kevin Spacey Interview: https://youtu.be/qktc4-9mXXc?si=bUJSqVCNgXM4mKog   Alec Baldwin Case Close Breakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSEa0GiWXYA   Dr Grande On Alec Baldwin Case Close: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xeYO13p3HM   American Beauty: Meaning of Rose Essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvTwjusPAlM   Kevin Spacey Court of Public Opinion - Piers Aftermath - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWe2PLhvnMU   Please check out the links below for the full cast, user reviews, ratings and info you may find interesting   Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Beauty_(1999_film)   IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169547/   Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_beauty   _________________________________________   A VERY Special Thanks to The Woody Allen Pages Website & The Woody Allen Subreddit for the continued support and info – check them out for the latest from the Woody Allen Fan Community!!   https://www.woodyallenpages.com     &    https://www.reddit.com/r/woodyallen   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER EPISODE USING OUR COMMENT SECTION VIDEO LINK HERE   >>>>>>>  https://bit.ly/warpcom   IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING US A COFFEE / GIVING US A TIP VIA OUR PATREON CAMPAIGN  >>> https://www.patreon.com/woodyretro   Thanks for listening as always - we would also LOVE a review on iTunes or a 5 star rating via Spotify or whichever podcast platform you are listening on - please find all our connected links below.   >>>   https://linktr.ee/woodyretro

    1h 46m
  6. Woody Adjacent - Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae & Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction (2023)

    06/28/2024

    Woody Adjacent - Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae & Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction (2023)

    Welcome back ladies and gents to another episode of Woody Adjacent!   On this episode our co-host with the most James has chosen to discuss a very recent Oscar winning movie based off a somewhat popular novel from the early 2000’s. It was a great conversation to have even given the somewhat uncomfortable realities the movie satirizes and asks us as the viewer to confront   It’s actually quite refreshing to see the extremely positive reception to this movie and we definitely ponder how its implications relate to Woody Allen and the Hollywood industry on a whole   In American Fiction (2023) Award-winning professor Monk Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) feels stifled. His acclaimed novels lack commercial success, and publishers reject his latest work for not conforming to tired racial stereotypes. Fed up, Monk hatches a plan. He anonymously writes a scathing satire under a pseudonym, "My Pafology," exploiting every cliché about Black life the industry craves. To his surprise, "My Pafology" becomes a runaway bestseller, lauded by white critics who miss the satire entirely.   While Monk wrestles with guilt and frustration over his fake identity his family life also begins to further crumbles as his siblings and mother face medical instability and a new relationship becomes more difficult to navigate in line with his pseudo success.   Please find the links mentioned and or played from this episode below:    Colour of Conversation Panel Full Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGYfffhCdPY   Sterling K. Brown and Jeffrey Wrigh Letterboxd Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0VdfTkvLq8   Jeffrey Wright On Seth Meyers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3fOYIBOcFo   Upcoming Animated VoiceOver: https://variety.com/2024/film/news/woody-allen-mr-fischers-chair-animated-short-concept-art-coproducers-1236028079/     Please check out the links below for the full cast, user reviews, ratings and info you may find interesting   Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Fiction_(film)   IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23561236/   Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_fiction   _________________________________________   A VERY Special Thanks to The Woody Allen Pages Website & The Woody Allen Subreddit for the continued support and info – check them out for the latest from the Woody Allen Fan Community!!   https://www.woodyallenpages.com     &    https://www.reddit.com/r/woodyallen   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER EPISODE USING OUR COMMENT SECTION VIDEO LINK HERE   >>>>>>>  https://bit.ly/warpcom   IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING US A COFFEE / GIVING US A TIP VIA OUR PATREON CAMPAIGN  >>> https://www.patreon.com/woodyretro   Thanks for listening as always - we would also LOVE a review on iTunes or a 5 star rating via Spotify or whichever podcast platform you are listening on - please find all our connected links below.   >>>   https://linktr.ee/woodyretro

    1h 24m
  7. 05/28/2024

    Woody Adjacent - Nicolas Cage, Micheal Cera & Kristoffer Borgli - Dream Scenario (2023)

    Welcome back ladies and gents to another episode of Woody Adjacent!   On this episode Don is up for the movie choice and he has chosen 2023's Dream Scenario. Its another great conversation where this movie touches on some interesting social commentary giving us even more meat on the bone for our discussion   We also announce the podcast is in the process of introducing ads at the very start and end of the show - please consider supporting the show using the links below   Links mentioned / played in this episode below   Tiff Panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TAS4gvJdJo   Collider Interview: https://youtu.be/N21tq-rjv0M?si=0Xus9OWd6K8tNtPe   Movie Guy Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNT4Lk9UEbY   Scarlett Jo Ai News Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDL1vhE5F5Y   Please check out the links below for the full cast, user reviews, ratings and info you may find interesting   Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Scenario   IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21942866/   Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dream_scenario   _________________________________________   A VERY Special Thanks to The Woody Allen Pages Website & The Woody Allen Subreddit for the continued support and info – check them out for the latest from the Woody Allen Fan Community!!   https://www.woodyallenpages.com     &    https://www.reddit.com/r/woodyallen   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER EPISODE USING OUR COMMENT SECTION VIDEO LINK HERE   >>>>>>>  https://bit.ly/warpcom   IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING US A COFFEE / GIVING US A TIP VIA OUR PATREON CAMPAIGN  >>> https://www.patreon.com/woodyretro   Thanks for listening as always - we would also LOVE a review on iTunes or a 5 star rating via Spotify or whichever podcast platform you are listening on - please find all our connected links below.   >>>   https://linktr.ee/woodyretro

    1h 12m
  8. 04/28/2024

    Woody Adjacent - John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo & Danny DeVito - Get Shorty (1995)

    Welcome back ladies and gents to another episode of Woody Adjacent!   This time we come back to our Ai Companion's recommendation of the very well loved movie: Get Shorty (1995)   As well as talking about the original 1995 film adaptation, we also get into a discussion on the much HATED sequel 'Be Cool' (2005) and lastly the more recent fresh TV adaptation created in 2017   It's always interesting to see what the Ai comes up with after analysing Woody Allens Filmography and writing style... its even more fun hearing its reasonings for picking the film itself, which it does!   Get ready for a fun ride and another great conversation :)   __________________________________________    In Get Shorty (1995) Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is a Miami loan shark with a secret dream. Stuck collecting debts for a ruthless mob boss (Dennis Farina), Chili gets sent to Los Angeles to track down a down-on-his-luck producer named Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) who owes a hefty gambling debt.   Upon arriving in Hollywood, Chili quickly realizes the film industry is surprisingly similar to the criminal world he knows. He finds himself navigating a landscape of broken promises, shady characters, and desperate hustles. However, Chili's brash confidence and knowledge of the "business" side of things strangely changes his fortune and unlikely partnerships lead to unexpected opportunities for Chilli in Hollywood!   Please check out the links below for the full cast, user reviews, ratings and info you may find interesting   Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Shorty_(film)   IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113161/   Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/get_shorty   _________________________________________   A VERY Special Thanks to The Woody Allen Pages Website & The Woody Allen Subreddit for the continued support and info – check them out for the latest from the Woody Allen Fan Community!!   https://www.woodyallenpages.com     &    https://www.reddit.com/r/woodyallen   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER EPISODE USING OUR COMMENT SECTION VIDEO LINK HERE   >>>>>>>  https://bit.ly/warpcom   IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER BUYING US A COFFEE / GIVING US A TIP VIA OUR PATREON CAMPAIGN  >>> https://www.patreon.com/woodyretro   Thanks for listening as always - we would also LOVE a review on iTunes or a 5 star rating via Spotify or whichever podcast platform you are listening on - please find all our connected links below.   >>>   https://linktr.ee/woodyretro

    1h 6m
3.7
out of 5
31 Ratings

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Cinema loving schlubs that discuss, review, critique and debate the finer points of EVERY Woody Allen production. Alternatively, we also talk about other film projects we find has adjacent qualities to Woodys work or writing style - this includes submissions and suggestions from our lovely subscribers and humble listeners

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