Wild Man Blues (1997)

Director:

Barbara Kopple

Release Date:

17 April 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Concert Film | Europe | Jazz | Travel | Bologna Italy

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Letty Aronson	...	Herself - Sister of Woody Allen
Soon-Yi Previn	...	Herself (as Soon Yi Previn)
Dan Barrett	...	Himself - the Trombonist
Simon Wettenhall	...	Himself - the Trumpeter (as Simon Wettenthall)
John Gill	...	Himself - the Drummer and Vocalist
Greg Cohen	...	Himself - the Bassist
Cynthia Sayer	...	Herself - the Pianist
Eddy Davis	...	Himself - the Band Director and Banjoist
Woody Allen	...	Himself - the Clarinetist
Nettie Konigsberg	...	Herself - Mother of Woody Allen
Martin Konigsberg	...	Himself - Father of Woody Allen

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

French | English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | France:U | Spain:T | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Jean Doumanian Productions

Trivia:

During one scene Woody Allen complains about Marlon Brando losing his 1952 Oscar to José Ferrer. Ferrer actually won the award in 1950. Brando lost to Humphrey Bogart, who won it for The African Queen (1951).

Quotes:

Woody Allen: They won't pay ten cents to see one of my movies, but passing in a gondola, they love it.

Movie Connections:

References Annie Hall (1977)

Soundtrack:

Ja Da

revealing just enough, with some good tunes and sweet sights

Wild Man Blues (named after a terrific Louis Armstrong song) shows Woody Allen during his trip to Europe and abroad for a tour with his Jazz band. So the question you might be asking is, how much is shown? How candid does filmmaker Barbara Kopple go into the behind-the-scenes and off-the-stage stuff in the film? One could say not enough, but then how personal can one get with a cinematic heavyweight like Allen? True, it's not always just him that carries the interest in the film; his New Orleans Jazz band (the same, more or less, that gave that hilariously cool score for his film Sleeper) is toe-tapping fun, especially if you like this sort of music (I got into it a little more after watching the Ken Burns documentary), with Eddie Davis the banjo player and director of the group a real treat. It may be odd to say, but despite Woody's talent at the clarinet, it sometimes doesn't bring as much attention for one as does the 'talky' scenes.

And some of these, of course, have the young Soon-Yi Prevlin in tow. This was of course a few years after the whole hoopla went over about the break-up and all. It's curious to see how their relationship goes in the film, what is and what isn't shown, and this is I think when Kopple gets the most personal, even if it's a little uncomfortably so. Indeed, this is an Allen that is not really like the one he portrays in film after film- it does have the moments of humor, and his neuroses are in full view of the lens. But by giving it this extra view, it shows him as much more of a relatable person, or maybe not (the film does show him in Europe as being far more celebrity-like than here). In all, it works best as an objective view of the subject matter, of a director who also happens to be a good musician who enjoys playing what he calls "crude...esoteric music" of old. It is, at least for the Woody admirer, entirely watchable.