Rating: 
Summary: A serious movie reflecting a sick period in our history
Review: Of the "ism's" that we have had very few was worse than McCarthyism that took place in the late 1940's and early 1950's. After ruining careers and lives ruthlessly of people in many different areas but particularly in the entertainment business he was finally censured, lost his seat in the Senate and died. There are some of us that still celebrate the anniversary of Joe McCarthy's death. The movie is a somewhat dark comedy. Woody Allen is the only person in real life in the movie who was not affected by the infamous blacklist that ruined so many careers and even caused some to die. The role that the late Zero Mostel had shows how he(also blacklisted in real life) kills himself after not being able to find work. Woody does not play the typical schlep as in so many of his other films. Rather, at the end, he finally expresses (censored on television) his exact feelings to the HUAC members and is last seen being taken off to prison. Yes, there are some funny moments for example, when he is asked to change a script at the last moment and has to depend on some rather interesting methods of doing so. For those who did not live through those dark days and who are not familiar this "ism" this is one avenue to look at and learn just how bad things were. The sad thing is that this movie is simply not shown enough to remind us of all of that.
Rating:
Summary: A serious movie reflecting a sick period in our history
Review: Of the "ism's" that we have had very few was worse than McCarthyism that took place in the late 1940's and early 1950's. After ruining careers and lives ruthlessly of people in many different areas but particularly in the entertainment business he was finally censured, lost his seat in the Senate and died. There are some of us that still celebrate the anniversary of Joe McCarthy's death. The movie is a somewhat dark comedy. Woody Allen is the only person in real life in the movie who was not affected by the infamous blacklist that ruined so many careers and even caused some to die. The role that the late Zero Mostel had shows how he(also blacklisted in real life) kills himself after not being able to find work. Woody does not play the typical schlep as in so many of his other films. Rather, at the end, he finally expresses (censored on television) his exact feelings to the HUAC members and is last seen being taken off to prison. Yes, there are some funny moments for example, when he is asked to change a script at the last moment and has to depend on some rather interesting methods of doing so. For those who did not live through those dark days and who are not familiar this "ism" this is one avenue to look at and learn just how bad things were. The sad thing is that this movie is simply not shown enough to remind us of all of that.
Rating:
Summary: POW!!! WHAT AN ENDING!!!
Review: Soon after the release of his hilarious 1975 film, "Love and Death," Woody Allen did something he rarely does... ...he starred in a movie that he didn't write or direct. When "The Front" came out in 1976, I couldn't shake off the image of his early hilarious, mostly slapstick films. But when I saw him in this one, directed by the late Martin Ritt, it marked the beginning of my "conversion" from a Woody Allen "fan" to Woody Allen "NUT." "The Front" deals with an incredibly serious part of history that in retrospect, seems too horrible to fathom. Woody's role as a cashier at a diner and as a part-time bookie who shoots to super stardom as a high-paid "front" for blacklisted television writers is a hilarious ride that only Woody Allen can deliver. The combination of his geeky nature and clumsiness, put into a heartfelt character who feels tremendous loyalty and affection for his friends, is a wonderment to behold. There's plenty of tragedy to go around in this film that is unlike anything you'll find in a typical Woody Allen picture. Moreover, for the first time, we get to see tragedy reflected in a starkly emotional face that Woody rarely reveals in his own films. I won't go into the other details about the plot other than to say that when this "PG" film was made more than 25 years ago, I was shocked by its ending and yet delirious with joy. Today, the ending of "The Front" seems mild, but remember, back in the 1970s, to see Woody Allen cross into such "serious" territory and to be even remotely regarded as somewhat a noble figure was unfathomable. "The Front" opens and closes with a tune by Frank Sinatra. I won't say anything more about its fabulous conclusion. You just have to see it. The film "seems" like it's all Woody's because it has a darkly humorous style we have all become so familiar with, even if he didn't pen the script (Walter Bernstein did). From this point onward, I have never missed anything associated with Woody Allen. More than a quarter century later, I look back at "The Front," which has been overlooked by many, as the "turning point" for Woody's career and the launching point for the serious yet hilarious work he accomplished between 1977 to 1989, a period I have to admit he'll likely never top again, creatively speaking. There's a gut feeling I have that this film, released just before "Annie Hall," proved to be important to Woody's decision to make more "important" pictures on his own that are branded with his unique style of humor. Please see the "The Front" and try to guess what's going to happen. Its last few minutes will have you on pins and needles...
Rating:
Summary: POW!!! WHAT AN ENDING!!!
Review: Soon after the release of his hilarious 1975 film, "Love and Death," Woody Allen did something he rarely does... ...he starred in a movie that he didn't write or direct. When "The Front" came out in 1976, I couldn't shake off the image of his early hilarious, mostly slapstick films. But when I saw him in this one, directed by the late Martin Ritt, it marked the beginning of my "conversion" from a Woody Allen "fan" to Woody Allen "NUT." "The Front" deals with an incredibly serious part of history that in retrospect, seems too horrible to fathom. Woody's role as a cashier at a diner and as a part-time bookie who shoots to super stardom as a high-paid "front" for blacklisted television writers is a hilarious ride that only Woody Allen can deliver. The combination of his geeky nature and clumsiness, put into a heartfelt character who feels tremendous loyalty and affection for his friends, is a wonderment to behold. There's plenty of tragedy to go around in this film that is unlike anything you'll find in a typical Woody Allen picture. Moreover, for the first time, we get to see tragedy reflected in a starkly emotional face that Woody rarely reveals in his own films. I won't go into the other details about the plot other than to say that when this "PG" film was made more than 25 years ago, I was shocked by its ending and yet delirious with joy. Today, the ending of "The Front" seems mild, but remember, back in the 1970s, to see Woody Allen cross into such "serious" territory and to be even remotely regarded as somewhat a noble figure was unfathomable. "The Front" opens and closes with a tune by Frank Sinatra. I won't say anything more about its fabulous conclusion. You just have to see it. The film "seems" like it's all Woody's because it has a darkly humorous style we have all become so familiar with, even if he didn't pen the script (Walter Bernstein did). From this point onward, I have never missed anything associated with Woody Allen. More than a quarter century later, I look back at "The Front," which has been overlooked by many, as the "turning point" for Woody's career and the launching point for the serious yet hilarious work he accomplished between 1977 to 1989, a period I have to admit he'll likely never top again, creatively speaking. There's a gut feeling I have that this film, released just before "Annie Hall," proved to be important to Woody's decision to make more "important" pictures on his own that are branded with his unique style of humor. Please see the "The Front" and try to guess what's going to happen. Its last few minutes will have you on pins and needles...
Rating:
Summary: POW!!! WHAT AN ENDING!!!
Review: Soon after the release of his hilarious 1975 film, "Love and Death," Woody Allen did something he rarely does... ...he starred in a movie that he didn't write or direct. When "The Front" came out in 1976, I couldn't shake off the image of his early hilarious, mostly slapstick films. But when I saw him in this one, directed by the late Martin Ritt, it marked the beginning of my "conversion" from a Woody Allen "fan" to Woody Allen "NUT." "The Front" deals with an incredibly serious part of history that in retrospect, seems too horrible to fathom. Woody's role as a cashier at a diner and as a part-time bookie who shoots to super stardom as a high-paid "front" for blacklisted television writers is a hilarious ride that only Woody Allen can deliver. The combination of his geeky nature and clumsiness, put into a heartfelt character who feels tremendous loyalty and affection for his friends, is a wonderment to behold. There's plenty of tragedy to go around in this film that is unlike anything you'll find in a typical Woody Allen picture. Moreover, for the first time, we get to see tragedy reflected in a starkly emotional face that Woody rarely reveals in his own films. I won't go into the other details about the plot other than to say that when this "PG" film was made more than 25 years ago, I was shocked by its ending and yet delirious with joy. Today, the ending of "The Front" seems mild, but remember, back in the 1970s, to see Woody Allen cross into such "serious" territory and to be even remotely regarded as somewhat a noble figure was unfathomable. "The Front" opens and closes with a tune by Frank Sinatra. I won't say anything more about its fabulous conclusion. You just have to see it. The film "seems" like it's all Woody's because it has a darkly humorous style we have all become so familiar with, even if he didn't pen the script (Walter Bernstein did). From this point onward, I have never missed anything associated with Woody Allen. More than a quarter century later, I look back at "The Front," which has been overlooked by many, as the "turning point" for Woody's career and the launching point for the serious yet hilarious work he accomplished between 1977 to 1989, a period I have to admit he'll likely never top again, creatively speaking. There's a gut feeling I have that this film, released just before "Annie Hall," proved to be important to Woody's decision to make more "important" pictures on his own that are branded with his unique style of humor. Please see the "The Front" and try to guess what's going to happen. Its last few minutes will have you on pins and needles...
Rating:
Summary: Mostel Showcase
Review: The screen time may belong to Woody Allen, but the movie belongs to Zero Mostel. Few actors are more improbable than the artfully bulky Mostel, whose round head, tiny snub nose and large expressive eyes resemble a cartoon more than an actual person. Yet his range is phenomenal. Watch the breadth as he slyly tries to work around head witch-hunter Francis Hennesee, or comically greets the diminutive Allen, or explodes in eye-popping rage at the Borscht-belt proprietor who cheats him. His metaphorical loss in the film mirrors the very real loss film-goers suffered during his years of blacklist. And it's to Allen's credit that he generously showcases this prodigious talent in what would be Mostel's last film. The movie itself handles the blacklist of the 1950's with a congenial light touch. Allen is perfect as the nebbish who fronts for his screenwriter pals, and it's fun to watch him puff up and fluff out as the spotlight shifts abruptly his way. As expected, there are many amusing Allen bits scattered throughout. Even the romantic angle with Marcovicci works nicely into Allen's character as he evolves through the story-line, ending in a perceptive example of the old "worm turns" plot twist. All in all, this 1976, Martin Ritt film amounts to an amusing look at a dark period in American civil liberties, made unusually memorable by the sublime presence of the unforgettable Zero Mostel.
Rating: 
Summary: omerta -- moda communista
Review: the Woodman speaks up for those of his buddies in his early show biz days who were caught 'red-handed' betraying their friends, family, and community to Joseph Stalin, a psychopathic mass murderer who killed tens of millions of his own countryman. having successfully turned eastern europe into a Stalinist hell in the post WWII years, the 'usual suspects' {chuckling}, through the CPUSA (Communist Party USA) and various other front groups, attempted to turn western europe and the u.s. into similar Stalinist hells. post-glasnot, even the successor to the KGB admits that the CPUSA was owned lock, stock, and barrel by soviet intelligence, from the day of its founding in 1917. the fallback defense -- now that even the venerable NY Times (at long last) concedes all of this, is along the lines of, "hey, dude, don't have a cow -- it's *not* as if they *succeeded* in turning the u.s. into a Stalinist hell!" well, no, they didn't -- because they were stopped from doing so. needless to say, they have never forgiven us for exposing their perfidy to public scrutiny. "name, names of my friends? -- no way!" says Woody's otherwise completely innocent character. he chooses jail instead (a scenario that *never once* happened in real life). oh, btw, everyone knows show business people would sell their grandmother's eyeballs to the blind mullah just to get a speaking part in a movie. but, betray Stalin? no way!!! of course, if they had been working-class, high-school dropouts with names that ended in vowels, no one would have been the least bit fooled that there was something noble about 'omerta'. (or would they? {sigh.}) anyway, the best thing about The Front is, of course, Andrea Marcovicci, who is, imo, the most underrated love goddess of her generation. so she plays a communist fellow traveler -- with lips like hers, who cares? hey, like the Joe E. Brown character said with a big grin at the end of Some Like It Hot, "nobody's perfect!"
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, funny, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking
Review: This is an important film about a time many would rather forget. It's hard to believe that events like these could occur in America but thank God there are films like these around to warn future generations of just how easily the tide can change. As I watched this film, I found myself wanting to believe that I would have had the courage to stand up to such pressure. All I know for sure is how much I admire those who did. This film is far from preachy, though. It's an extremely entertaining look at one of the ugliest chapters in American history.
Rating:
Summary: excellent movie--funny but with substance
Review: this is one of the best movies i've ever seen--it is funny, touching, and just long enough.
Rating:
Summary: A MASTERPIECE!
Review: This is THE movie to see about "McCarthyism" - a perfect blend of comedy and tragedy. Woody Allen has never been better - and the staging of the climactic scene in the hotel room is cinema at its finest.
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