woody allen’s annie hall 1977 vs. jean luc godard’s une femme est une femme 1961

i watched woody allen’s annie hall the other night for the tenth time (pp i was thinking of you saying how i am the real woody allen, which i took as a massive compliment) and couldn’t help but see so much of godard in the film a woman is a woman. of course, woody allen films are woody allen, and you can’t really compare–but i assure you, if you see the two films back to back (i didn’t but i have practically memorized une femme est une femme by now) you will see major parallels. the intellectual leftist protagonist, the talking to the audience gag, the personal relationship turned script, the humor and jab at overt intellectuality, the sexual comedy, the books and the titles, the street life, the references to great cinema, and simply the brilliance. two great films worth watching over and over again. the crazy thing is JLG’s film was made in 1961 while annie hall was done in 1977.  i always knew godard loved woody allen, but i’m sure the love and inspiration was quite mutual. by dd