Woody on Rye: Jewishness in the Films and Plays of Woody Allen (Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1611684803 ISBN 13: 9781611684803

Publisher: Brandeis University Press, 2014

Synopsis

Although Woody Allen's films have received extensive attention from scholars and critics, no book has focused exclusively on Jewishness in his work, particularly that of the late 1990s and beyond. In this anthology, a distinguished group of contributors-whose work is richly contextualized in the fields of literature, philosophy, film, theater, and comedy-examine the schlemiel, Allen and women, the Jewish take on the """"morality of murder,"""" Allen's take on Hebrew scripture and Greek tragedy, his stage work, his cinematic treatment of food and dining, and what happens to """"Jew York"""" when Woody takes his films out of New York City. Considered together, these essays delineate the intellectual, artistic, and moral development of one of cinema's most durable and controversial directors.

About this title

Review:

"Reading through Woody on Rye I found myself engaged, stimulated, provoked, enticed, and intrigued by so many glimmering visions seen through so many sharp critical lenses. The book is rich with possibility and insight." --Murray Pomerance, author of The Eyes Have It: Cinema and the Reality Effect

"The arc of Woody Allen's career has been dramatic -- from writing gags and doing nightclub gigs, to making movies that are punctuated with death-of-God despair. Now recognized as an auteur, Allen has sometimes treated his Jewish heritage as an object of satire, but always as an inescapable social datum. The scholarly implications for both ethnic studies and film studies are traced in Woody on Rye, a rich and indispensable analysis of its subject." --Stephen J. Whitfield, Professor of American Studies, Brandeis University

"A collection of new voices chime in on the work of Woody Allen. Serious scholarship, with a dash of humor. A must for fans and film critics alike."--Patricia B. Erens, author of The Jew in American Cinema

" The collection brings out the complexities of this Jewishly ambivalent artist. Recommended for academic collections on film."--Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews

Choice"

Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews"

The best book about movies in years. Some of the essays are stylistically, referentially difficult. That is part of their value nothing glib, nothing facile, and not much attention to gossip or scandal. This book will thrill all readers. . . . Highly recommended. Choice"

The collection brings out the complexities of this Jewishly ambivalent artist. Recommended for academic collections on film. Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews"

"The best book about movies in years. Some of the essays are stylistically, referentially difficult. That is part of their value--nothing glib, nothing facile, and not much attention to gossip or scandal. This book will thrill all readers. . . . Highly recommended."-- "Choice"

"The collection brings out the complexities of this Jewishly ambivalent artist. Recommended for academic collections on film."-- "Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews"

About the Author:

VINCENT BROOK teaches at USC, UCLA, Cal State LA, and Pierce College. His most recent book is Land of Smoke and Mirrors: A Cultural History of Los Angeles. MARAT GRINBERG is associate professor of Russian and humanities at Reed College. He is the author of "I am to be read not from left to right, but in Jewish: from right to left" The Poetics of Boris Slutsky.

About this edition

• Publisher: Brandeis University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1611684803
• ISBN 13: 9781611684803
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 312
• Editor: Brook Vincent, Grinberg Marat