Annie Hall (1977)

This dissection of a failed relationship won four Oscars and features one of Allen’s most eclectic casts, including himself, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Colleen Dewhurst, Sigourney Weaver, Paul Simon, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum and a jaw-dropping walk-on by media theorist Marshall McLuhan.

Allen: Of Walken as Annie’s suicidal brother, he says: “I had seen him before, and he was clearly a great actor. I was lucky to get him.” As for McLuhan, “that was his best role”.

Taylor: “It was so loony. We were casting real people we found on the street. I remember one of my assistants saw these hilarious-looking twin adult men standing in front of a movie theatre who were so funny-looking, she gave them her card.”

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

The portrait of the intertwined lives of an extended family featured Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest and Barbara Hershey as siblings. Also included: Michael Caine, Max von Sydow, Lloyd Nolan, Carrie Fisher, Julie Kavner and Maureen ’Sullivan (Farrow’s mom) as a matriarchal standout.

Allen: “Michael Caine is an actor who is incapable of an unreal moment. The funny part is, he was not my first choice because he is British.” About von Sydow, “He would do scenes, and when he’d finished, the crew would applaud on set.”

Taylor: “My memory was trying to get the sisters right.”

Husbands and Wives (1992)

A scathing study of two couples, it featured one of Allen’s most powerful casts. Mia Farrow and Allen mirrored their real-life woes, and Sydney Pollack (director of Tootsie and Out of Africa) and Australia’s Judy Davis had career-redefining moments. Also featured: Juliette Lewis and Liam Neeson.

Allen: “I told Juliette, ‘How am I going to say to Sydney Pollack, I’m sorry, you didn’t get this?’ She said, ‘Well, you can’t hire him without reading him. He’s a director.’ But he was wonderful.” Of Davis, who was in four of his films, “There was a time when I thought she was the single best actress in the movies.”

Taylor: “A breakthrough for Judy.”

Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

The contemporary romantic comedy was done in the style of old Fred and Ginger musicals. Besides Allen, the cast includes Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Alan Alda, Goldie Hawn, Julia Roberts, Tim Roth, Natalie Portman, Gaby Hoffman and Natasha Lyonne.

Allen: “That was fun for me to make. I wanted to make a musical for people who couldn’t sing. Goldie Hawn is enormously gifted. I had to tell her, ‘Don’t sing so well.’ Alan Alda is like Michael Caine — incapable of an unreal moment.”

Taylor: “That was an astonishing group of people. Woody said: ‘You know, I don’t want people who can sing like professional singers. Think of people who can sing, but it has to be real.’”

Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

Backstage shenanigans are set in the Roaring ’20s. The line-up includes John Cusack, Jennifer Tilly, Dianne Wiest (who won an Oscar as an alcoholic theatrical diva), Jim Broadbent, Mary-Louise Parker, Rob Reiner, Tracey Ullman and one of Taylor’s proudest discoveries, Chazz Palminteri, as the gangster.

Allen: “Dianne didn’t think she could play that part. She was one of those people like Diane Keaton who was always saying: ‘Oh, I can’t do this. That was terrible.’ Like those kids in class who would say: ‘I was so bad on that test. I’ve failed it.’ They got 99 or 100 per cent.”

Taylor: “Such a fun movie to put together. One of my favourites.”