The Woody Allen Collection, Set 1 (Annie Hall/Manhattan/Sleeper/Bananas/Interiors/Stardust Memories/Love and Death/Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask) [DVD]

Of the Woody Allen film collections available this was my choice. It ended up costing less than $10 a film and has a good collection of the films that made him famous. Although he did not direct Play It Again Sam, that should be part of the collection as it was made during the same period as the films in this collection. It's worth noting that some of the material begins to be slightly dated, such as Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex, perhaps the weaker of the group, but considering the later collections and the uneven nature of his very large output, this is still my first choice. I would have to have a lot of money to make another investment of another bulk group of his later films and there are so many other film makers out there before I would do that.

As a huge Woody Allen fan, it is troublesome to me to have to give this collection less than a 5 star review. After all, Manhattan and Annie Hall are landmarks of American cinema, and no Woody Allen movie has ever been less than interesting. However, I feel five stars just aren't justified by the packaging. As is the case with the earlier Stanley Kubrick collection, one of our great directors is treated to what is essentially just a standard DVD, with none of the special features found in, for example, the Taxi Driver Special Edition, any of the Criterion Collection DVDs, or even the Austiin Powers movies! Still, these are great movies by a great director, and should really belong in any serious collection. It just feels like a great opportunity has been missed here.

This collection is excellent. Eight classic movies, beautifully packaged and transferred carefully to DVD.One point to note - in fact, something I hadn't read anywhere else: With the exception of Manhattan, all the DVDs here are double-sided, containing both a standard and a widescreen version of the movie in question.The Manhattan DVD is one-sided, containing only the widescreen edition. I personally think this is no bad thing, as you lose a sense of panorama when you see a panned-and-scanned version. However, I know widescreen isn't for everyone.

I bought The Woody Allen Collection, Set 1 (featuring Annie Hall, Manhattan, Sleeper, etc.) as a gift to myself.A client was generous enough to give me an Amazon gift card for the holidays. Granted, I already had a few of the films but I figured it was a good time for an upgrade. But, the DVDs featured (and this was apparent upfront) didn't come with any additional bells or whistles. In fact, they're identical to your basic, garden-variety DVDs. While I like this collection, I did have a hard time choosing among them.It just doesn't seem like any particular one is very well thought out. Maybe they are from a marketing standpoint - 'cause to get everything you actually want you have to buy them all. But, if I could construct my OWN Woody Allen collection I guess I'd lump all of the outrageous comedies together (Sleeper, Bananas, What You Always Wanted to Know About Sex..., Broadway Danny Rose, etc.). In a separate box set, I'd put the more emotion-based films (Manhattan, Interiors, etc.).That's what leads me to a 4 vs. a 5 rating. It's not the films themselves. It's the way they're matched together.

I purchased both sets of the Woody Allen DVD's and gave them as a birthday gift. The recipient was delighted as it was an unexpected gift of laughter. Thank you.

This collection features some of the best of Woody Allen. Bananas was simply outrageous fun along with Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex."Sleeper" is a look at life in 2073 a la Woody Allen. This too was a fun movie. "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan" were perfect depicting life and love in New York City. I am hoping to see Stardust Memories and Interiors soon since I just received this collection. If you admire the work of Woody Allen then this collection is for you. Too bad "Take the Money and Run" is not in this bunch. I had to order it separately but "TTMAR" was hilarious for Woody's first movie! Enjoy!

a great collection of Woody's films

I do like Woods Allen but a few movies were real duds.

so bad