"Radio Days", 1987

Cast Members (front left to right) William Magerman, Seth Green, Leah Carrey and (rear, left to right) Michael Tucker, Julie Kavner, Diane Wiest, Joy Newman, Renee Lippin and Josh Mostel. Photo by Brian Hamill.



Cinematographer Carlo Di Palma (second from right) and Woody Allen (right) line up a shot for "RADIO DAYS", 1987. Orion Picutres. Photo by Brian Hamill.

In no particular order of favorites, I had to mention Woody Allen's "Radio Days", 1987.
It is a charming, quirky, funny film. The characters even though some are truly nutty, seem like they really exist. Well, ok, within the era!
The opening sequence of the film, invites us into a quiet American neighborhood. There is a beautiful long shot of the ocean visible at end of a street with row houses and couple period cars parked out front. It is an overcast moody day, music plays over this quaint photographic image. There is a subtle power of drawing the viewer in to this personal space right from the get go. Check it out!

From Stig Bkorkman's book : "Woody Allen on Woody Allen", 1993
How the idea orginated for Woody Allen:

WA: It originated from an idea that I wanted to pick out a group of songs that were meaningful to me, and each one of those songs suggested a memory. Then this idea started to evolve: how important radio was to me when I was growing up and ... how glamourous it seemed to everyone.

Some things are very close and some things are not. But a lot of it is based on an exaggerated view of my childhood. I mean, I did live in a family with many people present in the house: grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles. A certain period of my childhood I did live in a house right by the water...