Synopsis

Woody Allen takes his New Orleans-style jazz band on a 1996 European tour, performing in seven countries and eighteen cities. Alongside the concerts, the documentary observes Allen in hotels, airports, and private conversations with Soon-Yi Previn and his sister, Letty Aronson. The film contrasts the band's enthusiastic reception abroad with Allen's uneasy encounters with celebrity, press attention, and family life back home.

Factoids & Trivia

• The documentary was filmed during the band's 1996 European tour and runs 105 minutes.
• Allen's group played New Orleans-style jazz, reflecting his long-standing passion for early jazz and clarinet performance.
• The title comes from "Wild Man Blues," a jazz composition associated with Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong.
• The film includes unusually personal material involving Soon-Yi Previn, as well as appearances by Allen's elderly parents, Martin and Nettie Konigsberg.
• The parents' appearance was notable because they had not previously been involved in their son's film career, despite being recurring subjects of his comic observations.
• Cinematographer Tom Hurwitz received the Documentary Cinematography Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
• The film was also named Best Documentary by the National Board of Review and the Critics Choice Awards.