The Purple Rose of Cairo

1985 - Dir: Woody Allen
Shown at The FeckenOdeon on 25th April, 2009
A delightful tale centred on how cinema can change lives, if only when the lights are down, Woody Allen combines romance with intelligence to great comic effect. Cranking out just about a film a year, Woody Allen is easy to take for granted, especially recently, as quantity seems to be winning the battle over quality. He could be said to have entered an extended bad patch with a flurry of mediocre work, ranging from horrid miscalculation ("Small Time Crooks," "Hollywood Ending") to sub-average romantic comedy ("Anything Else"). It's easy to overlook his great films - and "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is the most overlooked of his great films. Of the 33 features Allen has directed, it's one of the few in which he didn't appear, and the one he calls his favourite. At 84 minutes, it's short but nearly every one of those minutes is blissful. So sit back, relax and imagine how you’d feel if you favourite movie star stepped down from the screen and asked you to run away with him/her* (*delete as appropriate).