Rakoff on Allen: Funny on funny

Having only just returned from a trip home for the holidays, I have missed out on most of the Woody Allen films I could have borne to revisit during Film Forum's Essentially Woody festival (I am at best disheartened by his output of recent years -- and that's if one considers 1994 recent -- but I still esteem many of his older pictures).

But I am thoroughly enjoying David Rakoff's dispatches on same at Nextbook.org. It's wonderful stuff, especially Rakoff's piece on Annie Hall, which I particuarly revere (not that I'm exactly in that sentiment). I laughed out loud more than once while reading the piece at the office -- thankfully, it's a slow period here, and no one noticed.

Speaking of Annie Hall, here's just a little tidbit other fans of the film might find interesting: I once read a xerox of a photocopy of a mimeograph of the original script, and was intrigued to learn that the scene that finds Alvy stopping people on the street to discuss the twisting pathways of love and sex originally called for him to also discuss matters of the heart with a mounted policeman's horse. In fact, if you watch closely, it's quite apparent that Alvy is making his way toward the horse as that scene fades out.

I only wish I remembered what exactly he says to the horse (and how the horse responds), but alas, that info, like so much else over the years, has escaped my feeble brain.