One for the Martians in Stardust Memories, this: half a dozen of Allen's "early, funny ones", before midlife angst took over and the long, slow descent towards Hollywood Ending. It says something that even the frustratingly hit-and-miss Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex, But Were Afraid To Ask shines besides the likes of Celebrity and Anything Else.
Annie Hall and Manhattan justify purchase by themselves - - five-star masterpieces that flawlessly fuse comedy, autobiography and heartfelt romance. And though Bananas suffers from the freeform anarchy of Allen's sketch-writing days, sci-fi spoof Sleeper and Love And Death's cod-Russian epic are rare experiments with genre that offer surprisingly convincing visions of the 19th and 22nd centuries. Okay, so Diane Keaton's kooky act was always an acquired taste, but there are enough sublime moments - - the Orgasmatron from Sleeper, the cocaine gag in Annie Hall - - to forgive Woody's later wilt.
