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Good concept, poorly executed.

Best movie ever!

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The people responsible for this documentary have a problem: they worship Woody Allen and think that absolutely anything he says and does is interesting. Most of the things he says or does _here_ are really not of much interest, even for a fan like me. There are no real interviews of anyone else - they merely co-exist in the shadow of the Great Genius. The result is that the film becomes very monotonous and staying awake becomes a challenge.Worst of all, the filmmakers seem to hate the music involved, or at least not to understand it: they always cut away at wrong places. I would have preferred much more music and less of Woody talking.Come to think of it, WA himself occasionally has the same habit of over-emphasizing himself. Every time I come across "Everyone Says I Love You" I get more and more annoyed of his painfully unfunny romance with Julia Roberts, knowing that interesting musical numbers were cut from that film.

I have been a Woody Allen fan most of my life. I enjoyed his silly era ("Bananas", "Sleeper"), his playful stuff ("Annie Hall", "Hannah and Her Sisters") and especially his thoughtful movies ("Crime And Misdemeanors", "Manhattan"). I'll leave the last decade or so alone, since making a movie a year has got repetitious and somewhat stale.All that said, I remain a fan and was excited to see a documentary on Encore, of his 90's European tour with his "New Orleans Jazz Band". I have seen him perform with his band, so I knew the quality of his playing and his excellent band would add to any enjoyment of the movie. Helmed by an award winning director, I was most interested in that phase of his life. The timeframe was shortly after he announced his love for his ex-lover's adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Their relationship, prior to their marriage, is depicted here with no intimate moments, but they have a "nice", gentle chemistry with each other. She encourages him, mildly scolds him, comforts him and seems to enjoy their trip. Despite being 35 years younger, she seems to be the more travel savvy, even the more adult of the two. This is probably because Woody is out of his New York routine. He is followed every foot of the way by photographers, has pre and post concert functions to attend, and must stay in suites that are a tad pretentious to his NY roots. Its fun to watch, if a bit sterile. As expected, much of the film is dedicated to his on stage playing and it is decidedly good. His band is in excellent form. The crowds are very appreciative, almost all adoring fans. While the crowd in Rome is a bit stoic, Woody still plays his 90 minute plus show.There are some eavesdropped conversation that show his wit, and some of his foibles (he must have his own bathroom, he seems to always be starving, etc.). His conversation with fans, and even his parents, bounce from appreciative to impatient, but mostly seem fair. He is able to come and go as he pleases in NYC, but is pushed and prodded pretty good here.The most telling quote about his life is summed up by a roof top conversation with Soon-Yi. He admits that he loves NY and loves Europe, but....he'd always rather be in NY when he's in Europe and Europe when he's home. He admits that it is difficult to enjoy things, given that phobia. I enjoyed having a camera's eye there for me to observe. The odd and soundly criticized relationship with Soon-Yi seems to have withstood the test of time. Woodman, keep playing your music!!

Wild Man Blues (1997) Does life imitate art? Soon-Yi Previn Allen (Woody Allen's wife) tells him at breakfast (minute 21 of the 1 hr 45 minute movie) that Woody should tell his entire band and not just the intermediary that they are good. Soon-Yi says that Woody appears to be a little crazy by not addressing everyone, when they are there in the room with him. "You were talking only to Eddie Davis… You look like a crazy."However, this is a bit like his film of 30 years ago "Bananas"(1971), where the translator interprets by repeating word for word what the person says with a slight accent: "Welcome to my country" "WelCOME to my Coun-Trrree", etc.(Note: I am doing this from memory of 30 years ago -- I think / hope I'm right.) Then the translator is chased with a butterfly net by insane asylum attendants. (The point is: The people around the translator hear the same thing repeated, just like Woody's comments are repeated by his band's intermediary.)

This is a documentary account of Allen's tour of Europe with his New Orleans jazz band. Barbara Kopple directs effectively and seems to have the ability to be there at the crucial moment without the scenes looking staged or faked. I do not know if the film is a deliberate attempt to counter the bad publicity Allen received over his affair with the teenage Soon-Yi. Certainly the now 27 year-old Soon-Yi appears to be the dominant one of the partnership like a kindly but strict mother controlling the behaviour of her naughty child. I particularly enjoyed the breakfast scene in Madrid where she gently scolds Allen for not showing sufficient appreciation to the members of his band. She orders Spanish omelette because it seems to be the appropriate thing to have and then makes Allen eat it because it tastes like rubber. The final scene is fascinating with Allen and Soon-Yi back in New York visiting Allen's parents, both in their 90s. Both parents are dismissive of Allen's achievements and his mother confesses that she wanted him to marry a nice Jewish girl.Allen's clarinet playing is variable. He seems to be having trouble with his reed throughout the tour. On good nights he sounds like a reasonable George Lewis imitator, on a bad night in Paris he could barely coax a note out of his instrument. The audiences loved him apart from a bejewelled invited audience in Rome that clapped politely and sat wearing bemused smiles throughout the performance