8. Shadows and Fog (Woody Allen)
Woody Allen has churned out so many films that it seems like he is known more for his work ethic than his work. Since 1966 Allen has directed 45 feature films (including Blue Jasmine which has just been released). Critics will say that for every Annie Hall, there is a The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, for every Manhattan there is a Melinda and Melinda, but the existence of a bad movie doesn't cancel out the existence of a great one, and Allen has quite a few great ones. Love and Death, Stardust Memories, Zelig, Radio Days, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Husbands and Wives, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Sweet and Lowdown, Match Point, Cassandra's Dream, and Midnight in Paris are all wonderful films directed by Allen, and the sheer volume of films he has made makes picking just one movie in his filmography that has been overlooked a challenge. But Shadows and Fog hardly ever gets mentioned among Allen's best, and it really should be. It is one of his homage films: as Interiors was an ode to Ingmar Bergman, Everyone Says I Love You was an ode to classic musicals, and Stardust Memories was an ode to Fellini. Shadows and Fog is a callback to the German Expressionism of Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau, with the film quite appropriately being bathed in both shadows and fog. The film takes Woody Allen's persecution complex to new heights, as he tries to evade an angry mob while dealing with an existential crisis or three. The movie gets great performances from John Cusack, John Malkovich, Jodie Foster, and Julie Kavner, and the cinematography by Carlo Di Palma (who worked extensively with Allen and Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni) hits all of the right notes. Although the film is essentially a parody of the aesthetics of German Expressionism, the imitation flatters the image as the high contrast black and white photography is excellent. Despite the pedigree of its cast and director, it only received middling reviews (it currently stands at
52% on Rotten Tomatoes ). Thus many people skip over it when looking at Allen's films, but if you check it out the film is funny, insightful, and gorgeous to look at.