Woody Allen: a life in movies

For more than 40 years, Woody Allen has been one of the most controversial filmmakers. Adored by his fans and hated by his critics, his movies are like his personal diary. Whether it’s a comedy or a drama, Woody includes his personal view of the world in every film, his obsessions, his phobias, the things that make him happy, the things he hates… each one works as a volume of Woody’s encyclopedia.

In his beginnings, Woody was a writer and also a stand-up comedian. His directing career started in the late 60s, has never stopped since, and it is likely that he will make movies until his death. He has gone through different stages, from his early comedies full of gags with a moderate commercial success (Take the Money and Run, Bananas) to deep drama (September, Stardust Memories), influenced by Bergman. The question is: which is the film that identifies him most? If we would ask this question to Woody, he will probably refuse to answer. But let’s name a few possible answers:

Annie Hall (1977): commercially and critically acclaimed, Annie Hall is considered one of his masterpieces. Starring Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane and Woody himself, it chronicles the hazardous relationship between Annie and Alvy Singer (Woody’s neurotic character. It was originally titled Anhedonia (a psychoanalytic term for the inability to experience pleasure from normally pleasurable life events).

Manhattan (1979): another classic of Woody’s filmography, this romantic comedy pays tribute to his beloved New York City and its inhabitants. Keaton and Allen play the main characters again, plus Michael Murphy and a young Mariel Hemingway.

Deconstructing Harry (1997): after his crisis with Mia Farrow, Woody gets rid of his ghosts with this film about an author and his complicated relationships with friends, family and life. Woody plays the main character, accompanied by an all-star cast.

Melinda and Melinda (2005): Woody wrote and directed but didn’t act in this movie that mixes two story lines, one comic and one tragic. It received mixed reviews from critics.

We are not saying these are Woody’s best works, but they may be the ones that his represent persona best. However, we will be glad to hear any other suggestions. And don’t forget to visit www.ilovewaterloo.com, where you can purchase our new Woody Allen T-shirt.

The many sides of Tommy

When Pete Townshend conceived the idea of a story about a deaf, dumb and blind boy who becomes a pinball champion, he never thought of how many doors he was opening. Released in March 1969, Tommy quickly became a commercial hit and is still today one of the greatest rock albums.

If you are a Who fan, you probably know the story pretty well. Each song, in a chronological order, tells the story of Tommy’s life, since his birth to his tremendous final. The album is not only a mere collection of songs. It is not even a conceptual album; it is a rock opera, and its success changed The Who’s career for ever.

Before Tommy’s release, the band was going through a complicated period. Besides the usual arguments and fights between Pete, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon, “Magic Bus” and their last singles were not as successful as their first ones, and that made Pete felt very disappointed. But luck changed when Tommy and its hit single “Pinball Wizard” took them once again to the top of the charts and gave The Who the chance to tour all over America and the UK.

After the initial happiness, The Who turned a bit reluctant to play Tommy. The album had become more important than the band. As Pete once said, “some people thought the band was called Tommy.” Fortunately, forthcoming albums by The Who proved to be almost as successful as Tommy. Live At Leeds (1970), Who’s Next (1971) and Quadrophenia (1973) were also great and were very important to renew The Who’s status as one of the greatest bands ever.

However, interesting projects renewed Pete’s interest in Tommy. To begin with, in 1972, a concert version was presented at the Rainbow Theatre, in London. Three years later, in 1975, Tommy was taken to the big screen, with Roger, in his acting debut, as the deaf, dumb and blind boy. Directed by Ken Russell, the movie was also a great success and Roger’s interpretation of Tommy was highly praised by the critics. The songs were recorded once again for the soundtrack of the movie, with an extensive use of the synthesiser and guest musicians such as Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and Elton John.

But that wasn’t the last reincarnation. In 1993, Tommy mutated again and became a theatre musical. Pete Townshend and La Jolla Playhouse theatrical director Des McAnuff wrote and produced a Broadway musical adaptation with several rewrites in lyrics and an all-star cast. The production won five Tony Awards that year, including Best Original Score for Townshend.

We hope that you liked our new Tommy T-shirt available at our website. And, according to Tommy’s historical mutations, we encourage you to send us ideas for new T-shirts dedicated to this great rock masterpiece, so that we can think of new forthcoming models. Thank you!

A song and a T-shirt from outer space

Jules Verne and many other great writers, musicians and artists of different times have been inspired by the moon, but only one was in the right moment at the right time. In August 1969, the world would experience one of the most important events of all time, when a group of US astronauts landed on the moon.

That same year, in London, a young and almost unknown musician called David Bowie released “Space Oddity”, a song about a fictional astronaut, Major Tom, who successfully departs from Earth but suddenly loses contact with ground control and prepares to spend eternity floating around in his tin can. “Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do,” he sighs because he knows he will spend his rest of his life alone in outer space floatin' 'round far above the world. His last words are: “Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows”.

Besides this sad finale, the song could have never been so on time. The BBC employed the song as the theme music to its coverage of the Apollo moon landing and Bowie had his first single. Influenced by Stanley Kubrick’s classic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in April 1968, the song was originally written and recorded for a 30-minute promotional film that same year. Releasing it in the fall of 1969 was a clever move from Bowie and his label and a trick of fate too, because the project was delayed after Tony Visconti turned it down and Bowie had to look for another producer.

40 years after the release of this musical classic, ILoveWaterloo is proud to present a T-Shirt exclusively designed by Pulpo, a Latin American fine artist (www.pulpocorporate.com.ar), Inspired by The Thin White Duke’s masterpiece, his use of colours and strange hairstyles, the T-shirt’s design is a very original tribute to Bowie and his Major Tom.

http://www.ilovewaterloo.com/t-shirt.php?estampa=Pulpo:%20Space%20Oddity