Welcome to world of Woody, the guy who said, “Not only is there no God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday.”
He has a way with a phrase. To him, a noise in the pipes sounds like somebody’s sawing a trombone in half.
And he’s not afraid to talk about love, life and death: “There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?”
A stand-up comedian who became a movie star and distinguished director, he never lost his knack for great lines.
Want to revisit the Woody Allen of his classic films — morose, maladjusted and funny?
The Summerfield Cinemas in Santa Rosa opens its “Classic Woody Allen Film Series” on Thursday, March 1, with “Manhattan” from 1979, a frank look at age difference in relationships. And a tribute to George Gershwin.
A sample line: “She’s 17. I’m 42 and she’s 17. I’m older than her father, can you believe that? I’m dating a girl, wherein, I can beat up her father.”
Show times are noon and 2, 5, 7 and 9:15 p.m.
The series continues March 8 with “Purple Rose of Cairo,” 1985, starring Mia Farrow as a Depression-era waitress who escapes to the movies. Until her cinema hero steps off the screen.
The rest of the series includes:
March 15 — “Play It Again Sam,” 1972, with the ghost of Bogart coaching Woody’s love life. Co-starring Diane Keaton.
March 22 — “Annie Hall,” 1977, with Keaton and Allen in their greatest collaboration. Lots of classic Allen one-liners in this one. After Annie parks the car, he quips, “Don’t worry. We can walk to the curb from here.”
March 29 — “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” 1989. A cast that includes Alan Alda, Mia Farrow, Martin Landau, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Orbach and Sam Waterston. And more good lines, such as: “I don’t know from suicide, y’know. Where I grew up in Brooklyn, we were too unhappy to commit suicide.”
Tickets cost $35 for the whole five-film series, or $10 per film.
Address: 551 Summerfield Road. Information: summerfieldcinemas.com,(707) 539-6773.