My recent expression of displeasure with Woody Allen's latest film (Mighty Aphrodite)combined with my assertion that I am an Allen-phile prompted a number of people to ask me to explain my take on his oeuvre. So rather than the usual review of a contemporary release, this week I'm introducing a new kind of intermittent column: the studied reflection of a particular filmmaker's better work.

Woody Allen's work can be divided into two general eras. The films of the earlier era (e.g., Take the Money and Run [1969], Bananas [1971], Play It Again Sam [1972], Sleeper [1973]) tend toward an endless stream of one-liners and mild slapstick, often at the expense of interesting stories and characters. Of these, the most successful in the realm of pure comedy is, arguably, Sleeper, though both Take the Money and Run and, especially, Bananas have their fans.

None of the earlier films approach the kind of depth or sophistication of the later films (arguably ushered in by Annie Hall [1977]) except perhaps Play It Again Sam. Though directed by Herbert Ross, the script--which focuses on the struggles of a divorced film buff to find a new love- -was derived by Allen from his play of the same name.

Were one to see Woody Allen's films from the 1970s in no particular order, Play It Again Sam would leave one under the impression that it was the direct antecedent of Annie Hall. The characterizations are well-developed. The plot centers around the largely plausible. And the world is immediately recognizable as intimately similar to our own. Though more simply constructed, I find it more compelling than Annie Hall. It was the later film, however, that apparently declared to the film-going public that Woody had finally hit his stride.

I don't think Annie Hall has aged as well as its more polished companion piece, Manhattan [1979]. The filmmaking in the former, while at times innovative, is decidedly less assured. The realizations of the latter prove more intricate and realistic, and the humor reaches a level of maturity that remains unsurpassed in Allen's work.

With the exception of A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy [1982] and, possibly, Broadway Danny Rose [1984], every film Allen made during the 80s agilely traverses worthy ground. Among the comedies, the most readily enjoyable is Hannah and Her Sisters [1986], its uninspired ending notwithstanding. The comedy with the most realized artistic statement is probably The Purple Rose of Cairo [1985] with its examination of the gulf that separates fantasy (which Allen--perhaps mistakenly--equates with "art") and reality.

Though frightfully derivative of classic European "art films" (e.g., Fellini's 8_/2)--and though Allen patently denies the apparent autobiographical nature of the material- -for a direct insight into his plight as a filmmaker, one has the fascinating, bitter comedy, Stardust Memories [1980]. And to see how Forest Gump owes Woody Allen an incredible debt, we have Zelig [1983]. Even Crimes and Misdemeanors [1989], which was alternately derided as a failure and heralded as a crowning achievement, works frightfully well as a sometimes funny, sometimes repulsive exploration of metaphysical culpability.

The '90s have largely continued this trend of successes. My personal favorites remain the underrated Alice [1990] in which Allen does not appear and Husbands and Wives [1992] which was unfortunately marred in the public mind by a media-circus but which works on a level similar to Allen's best creations.