Ive never seen Woody Allen do standup before. A couple thoughts about this rare clip from a British TV show in 1965. 1. If youve heard his standup, it was most likely from the double-record set that was re-released in the 80s. The material from the records that is repeated here is almost a word-for-word match, with the same pauses, intonations and stresses, with very minor variations. (Except for one major variation, where he changes the punch line of the Moose story because the word restricted would not have meant anything to the British audience.) He crafted his material very carefully and didnt vary it from one gig to another. But he peppered his act with pauses and stammers and asides to make it sound off-the-cuff - just good standup craftsmanship. Woody was in a new wave of comics that rose in the 60s, but his technique was very much as disciplined as the comics he admired growing up. 2. His physicality. He squirmed and strode and ran his hands through his hair and spoke very animatedly. Again, like the text of his material, I have a feeling that he cultivated this physicality to enhance his neurotic persona. Even in his very earliest movies like Take the Money and Run, his physicality is quite disciplined. The fidgeting here is cultivated for his standup persona. I just found his physicality in this clip very interesting. Okay, I know many of you dont like him because of... well, you know why. I get it. But my comedy nerd friends, Im interested to know what you think.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Jun 2014 09:53:28 +0000
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