Sarris has harsh words for Woody Allen here. He attacks not just the film being reviewed, but Allen himself.

Sarris later changed his mind, and became a giant fan of Allen's later, not-as-funny, more "serious" films. ANNIE HALL, MANHATTAN, ZELIG, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, RADIO DAYS, HUSBANDS AND WIVES, EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU, AND MATCH POINT all made Sarris's annual top-ten lists.

MANHATTAN (which Woody himself disliked) was Sarris's second-favorite American film from the entire decade of the 1970s, according to a list that Sarris published in the VOICE at the end of the decade. (The #1 "American film" was Billy Wilder's THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, but actually that was made in the UK, so maybe we should give MANHATTAN the top spot.)

Based on sheer quantity of excellent output, Woody Allen was Sarris's favorite American director over the past half century. (Scorsese is close, but his films are not rated as high as Allen's.) Sarris died before he could review BLUE JASMINE (2013) and the films that came later.

One fascinating detail in EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX *BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK is the presence of Erin Fleming in the film's final segment, which is presumably the one that Sarris dubs "brilliant" in his otherwise negative review. Fleming's inclusion in the film was a favor by Woody to Groucho Marx, whose live-in sweetheart and "manager" Fleming was, during the last years of Groucho's life. You can read the whole sordid story in Steve Stoliar's extraordinary book, "Raised Eyebrows," (buy it at Amazon). RAISED EYEBROWS will soon be made into a film starring Geoffrey Rush as Groucho, with Oren Moverman directing.

It's Fleming, not Groucho, who is the most fascinating character in Stoliar's book. She will be played in the film by Sienna Miller, who is best remembered as the female lead in AMERICAN SNIPER.