WOODY ALLEN: A Biography

by Lee Guthrie ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 20, 1978

Is this really a biography of Annie Hall's best friend or is it really an exam question for law students studying copyright? Discuss (25 points): can W. Allen sue L. Guthrie if the latter's biography consists in largest part of W. Allen's own words--excerpts from his stand-up comedy routines, virtually everything he's ever said in interviews (no wonder he avoids them now), big chunks from his occasional N.Y. Times pieces, and scenes from his screenplays? Well, whatever the legal verdict, Woody's fans will probably be pleased to find so much Alleniana between covers, and maybe they'll even be interested to learn how his various apartments have been furnished. What they won't need are Guthrie's humorless synopses and pallid analyses of the films (Pauline Kael and others have done so much better), his awesomely superficial treatment of Allen's New Yorker stories, or his psychological guesswork about Allen's love life and creative motives. So--since it's not realistic to expect a real biography about an alive-and-active, 42-year-old superstar--this is a quote-heavy and relatively inoffensive stopgap for those not sufficiently sated by the massive magazine coverages, which will no doubt increase with the arrival soon of Woody's first non-comic film.

Pub Date: March 20, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Drake

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION