One of our favorite bespectacled directors (Woody Allen) is back to the big screen this week with "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," a sensual romantic comedy about two girls on holiday in Spain for the summer who fall for the same guy (Javier Bardem).
The girls (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson) also don't realize that their love interest's ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) who, oh yeah, tried to stab him, isn't completely out of the picture yet. She arrives and decides maybe she knows what's best for him after all. And yes, there is one particularly racy scene involving Scarlett, Penelope and Javier, but we hear it's been talked up quite a bit more than it deserves.
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" was not only shot in, but is a literal tribute to, Barcelona. Keep reading to check out some ideal stops there.
Woody Allen's new movie "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," shot in Spain last year, got the red-carpet treatment at the Cannes Film Festival over the weekend, with star Penelope Cruz braving the flashbulbs.
But where was American beauty (and recent Allen muse) Scarlett Johansson? Rumor has it the recently engaged actress's demands caused the studio to reject her travel arrangements including an expensive make-up assistant and a posh suite at a particular hotel.
To play devil's advocate, maybe Johansson wanted to spend the week with her new fiance Ryan Reynolds. But why not take him to southern France? We hear it's very romantic! Even without her, though, the movie reportedly got a ten-minute standing ovation at a public screening.
Only one man would dare starting a major project on the streets of New York City the weekend the Pope is in town. That man is venerable NYC director Woody Allen, whose new flick started shooting in Chelsea over the weekend. An eagle-eyed blogger snapped a pic of Allen setting up his shots for his first movie set in America since "Melinda and Melinda."
The as yet untitled film stars Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood and Emma Thompson and is expected to come out next year.
We may have already visited the Land of Woody Allen once in this series, so you'll have to forgive us for doing it again. But no one has chronicled New York so thoroughly in his career; he may be making movies across the pond right now, but Allen will always be associated with New York City. No wonder the Academy had him make a rare Oscars appearance in 2002 to introduce a montage of clips of New York.
"Annie Hall" is not as travel-worthy as "Manhattan," particularly because many of the locations, like movie theaters like the Beekman Cinema (1254 2nd Ave.) and the Thalia (250 West 95th St.) have both been lost to Bergman fans the five boroughs over.
But Coney Island, the site of Allen's character Alvy Singer's childhood home, remains as does the Astroland amusement park there--for one more summer anyway, as it was recently bought out by a developer.
The 59th Street Bridge makes an appearance, and while it makes little sense that Alvy would trek all the way downtown to play tennis with his friend at the Wall Street Racquet Club (South Street at Pier 13), maybe he got a sadistic thrill out of beating those Wall Streeters in person. As for Annie, she lived on 70th Street between Park and Lex--very fashionable for such a bohemian!
Those are the famed opening credits to "Manhattan," Woody Allen's 1979 love letter to his home city. Allen is known for using distinct New York City iconography in his movies, which makes him the perfect director to kick off our Classic New York Movies series.
Allen plays Isaac, an Upper East Sider who becomes caught between three women: His lesbian ex-wife (Meryl Streep), who's writing a tell-all book about their relationship; Tracy, a 17-year-old high school student (Mariel Hemingway) and a '70s version of "Gossip Girl"; and his best friend's mistress, Mary (Diane Keaton). Isaac woos Tracy guiltily in SoHo, away from her family, but when she announces she's going to study abroad, he starts making time for Mary under the guise of giving his married friend a cover story.
Unfortunately, the bench where Isaac and Mary sat overlooking the 59th Street Bridge (in the movie's most famous scene) is as long gone as Isaac's $700-per-month Upper East Side apartment, but the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art's Sculpture Garden, where their flirtations begin, still have plenty of benches.
Love New York? Love classic movies? Your favorite could be next! Let us know what movies you'd like to see in our series, and visit our Classic New York Movies Map to create your own movie moments.
