Reconstructing Woody : Art, Love, and Life in the Films of Woody Allen

In this pathbreaking new book, Mary P. Nichols challenges this, arguing that Allen's work, from Play It Again, Sam to Deconstructing Harry, is actually an attempt to explore and reconcile the tension between art and life. Distinguished writer Mary P. Nichols challenges numerous widely held assumptions about Allen's art and provides a radically new interpretation of America's most recognized filmmaker. From Play it Again, Sam to Deconstructing Harry, Nichols shows how Allen's films, like the writings of the world's greatest philosophers, are fundamentally concerned with human morality and our efforts to achieve goodness, beauty, and truth. Reconstructing Woody persuasively argues that Allen's entire body of work illuminates the path to virtue by exploring and reconciling the tension between art and life. Whether you're an ardent fan or a vehement detractor of Woody Allen, after reading this book you will never look at his films the same way again The films of Woody Allen have been interpreted as expressions of deconstructionism, nihilism and postmodern angst. This text challenges these assumptions by arguing that Allen's work is actually an attempt to explore and reconcile the tension between art and life.