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"Anyone committed enough to sit through a four-hour Woody Allen documentary is in for some serious treats. Like, say, a young Allen boxing a kangaroo whom he affectionately calls the \"Australian Light-Heavyweight Champion.\" He then actually sort of has a boxing match with the confused antipodean.\nWoody Allen: A Documentary, airing on PBS, is a rare glimpse into Allen's journey from writer, to actor, to director and back again. Allen, a notorious self-deprecator, has shied away from media appearances while directing a series of movies including his most recent, Midnight in Paris. Why is Allen unwilling to participate in documentaries? Because, apparently, he didn't think anyone would be interested in watching.\nThis clip shows an entirely different side of Allen who, as a young comic and rising star, was pushed by his manager to get on TV as much as possible. The fight was staged for an episode of Hippodrome, a 1966 variety show that showcased absurd sketches like dog tricks, brass bands and other vaudeville.\nAllen's human-on-kangaroo match shows a sprightly and understandably anxious Allen play-fighting with a kangaroo as its manager (in the suit) looks on. Allen is most remembered for his neurotic characters, but here he shows some real slapstick aptitude, alternately playing to the crowd and not getting killed by the kangaroo.\nThe sketch would be unlikely to get the go-ahead now, thanks to animal protection laws. As anxious as Allen is, the kangaroo looks equally scared by the hullabaloo, even if it is doing most of the punching. Animal activists get some delayed schadenfreude near the end when the kangaroo gives its wrangler a good thump."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/11/21/woody-allen-kangaroo/>