Woody Allen: A Biography

A feast for fans, this biography leans heavily on Woody Allen's own comments, interwoven verbatim with a shrewd, disarming portrait of an artist who feels ``enormously alienated from other people.'' Lax ( On Being Funny: Woody Allen and Comedy ) is especially good on Allen's early years as New York University film school flunk-out, his transformation from stand-up comic to director, his influences (Mort Sahl, Camus, Odets, S. J. Perelman, et al.) and the recycling of his personal life into specific films. Lax is less revealing, however, when discussing the filmmaker's two marriages and 11-year relationship with Mia Farrow or the inner forces that drive him. Devotees will enjoy the behind-the-scenes glimpses of movies being written and shot. Photos. 50,000 first printing; BOMC alternate. (May)