The Significance of Cities in Woody Allen’s Feature Films

Authors

VARGA Tomáš

Year of publication 2018
Type Appeared in Conference without Proceedings
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Arts

Citation
Description The presentation will analyze three films directed by Woody Allen—their unifying element is their genre, they are all comedies with slight difference in sub-genres—Midnight in Paris (2011, fantasy comedy), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993, murder mystery comedy), and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008, romantic comedy-drama). The main focus will be given to the influence of Paris, New York, and Barcelona/Oviedo in respective films. Romantic and dramatic clash between the city-natives and the city-newbies will be among the analyzed aspects of the city’s impact on the story. The hypothesis is that the individual storylines are heavily influenced by the city they are set in. The idea is to present evidence from selected films to show the differences in plots, characters, and overall plot. For example, Midnight in Paris works mostly with nostalgic views of the city and longing for the Golden era, while in Manhattan Murder Mystery, the city is a place of intrigues and greed. Barcelona and Oviedo in Vicky Cristina Barcelona help establishing the environment full of passion and intimacy. The presentation hopes to proclaim the effect of cities on the films, which are set in them. By extension, it also stresses the importance of choosing the right place for the right action.
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