Rating: 
Summary: Allen's Secret Masterpiece
Review: I've seen a lot of Woody Allen's movies and "Shadows And Fog" stands as my ultimate favorite. This movie is unique and beautifully directed. Everything' s perfect: music, photography,... The cast is absolutely brilliant: Woody Allen (he was meant to play Kleinman), Kathy Bates, Mia Farrow, Madonna, Lily Tomlin, Julie Kavner, John Malkovich, and others... "Shadows And Fog" is both a drama and a comedy and can be seen through several views: thriller, film noir, fairy-tale, with tender and rough moments.. The movie also sums up Allen's obsessions and favorite themes. Definitly a Must-have.
Rating:
Summary: Allen's Secret Masterpiece
Review: I've seen a lot of Woody Allen's movies and "Shadows And Fog" stands as my ultimate favorite. This movie is unique and beautifully directed. Everything' s perfect: music, photography,... The cast is absolutely brilliant: Woody Allen (he was meant to play Kleinman), Kathy Bates, Mia Farrow, Madonna, Lily Tomlin, Julie Kavner, John Malkovich, and others... "Shadows And Fog" is both a drama and a comedy and can be seen through several views: thriller, film noir, fairy-tale, with tender and rough moments.. The movie also sums up Allen's obsessions and favorite themes. Definitly a Must-have.
Rating: 
Summary: A movie about vision
Review: If you say this movie is about existence or non-existence, I would rather suggest that is more about vision - how we see and what we see. Everything in Shadows and Fog is blurred, or illusioned. The make-up, costumes and wig of the clown and sword-swallower, the mirror of the magician, or even the foggy setting is all planned to convey the message of unclear vision. The star gives out light not because it exists, yey it died a million years ago but it reflected light from another source. I am not too sure how much this movie can be associated with German Expressionism, apart from a few allusions to Franz Kafka and Bruno Schulz, but I hope the three-star rating I have given here is a true image.
Rating:
Summary: Shadows and Fog
Review: Just for the record -- Shadows and Fog is NOT Kafkaesque, sorry Mr. Maltin. It's Brechtian. And only as such does it make sense, both as parody and tribute. Unlike Brecht, Kafka was not a playwright -- so it's no surprise that viewers trying to appreciate Shadows and Fog using the wrong frame of reference were left in the fog. Shadows and Fog isn't meant for the masses; Allen doesn't include billboard-size cue cards for folks who can't understand the references -- the film is for a (theatrically) literate audience that already knows the works of Brecht and Wedekind and Kafka (and knows the difference).
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing, morbid and not funny
Review: Maybe, maybe a comedy about pursuing a serial killer could amuse. Say, if a young Brian DePalma were at the helm. Or a young Milos Forman circa Taking Off. But Shadows & Fog isn't it. Limp and lifeless, the movie --with its abundance of grim atmosphere that works against the thin, light humor --has neither pulse nor rhythm. You would think that Woody had never directed before. With its sloshy pace and endless scenes that trudge nowhere, S&F is antithetical to the brilliantly timed delights of Sleeper (a movie that _did_ manage to make paranoia a hoot). There's no urgency, there's no pleasure, nothing to suggest why S&F was made in the first place. The waste of gifted actors (Kate Nelligan, Lily Tomlin) in bit parts is shameful, especially given the amount of screen time (too much) devoted to Donald Pleasance's role. Woody might intend S&F to be an homage to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, or to works by Brecht, Kafka, Fritz Lang; instead, with Pleasance on board, the movie unintentionally evokes all the other dreadful serial killer movies that were Pleasance's bread 'n' butter. Halloween 2, anyone? Why not make Nelligan, Tomlin or Kathy Bates the scientist obsessed with uncovering the mind of evil? That would be a different playing field, you see... Everything about this awful dud reeks of automatic pilot. It feels like a movie that sat on the editing table for months before being pronounced dead on arrival. The intelligentsia who rate this movie 4 or 5 stars have got to be kidding themselves. For my Allen credentials, I cite September, Husband and Wives, Manhattan, Another Woman, Zelig, Hannah, Radio Days, Stardust Memories, Interiors and the aforementioned sci-fi classic Sleeper as the ones to love.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Underappreciated Woody Allen Film!
Review: People really seem to absolutely hate this movie! Whether they're an Allen fan or not. But, I don't. I can see more good points to this film than bad. First of all, there's the acting. Woody Allen is going through his classic persona, dishing out oneliners, and wishcracks. Now with Allen in the lead, the rest of the cast seems to be like cameo performance. We have; Madonna, David Ogden Stiers, Donald Pleasence, Jodie Foster, Lilly Tomlin, John Cusack, Fred Gwynne, William H. Macy, Kathy Bates, and Kenneth Mars, and the list goes on and on! Each actor\actress is wonderful to watch, as in my opinion, the ensemble is amazing! The music by Kurt Weill fits perfectly in each and every scene. The use of Weill's score from the "Three Penny Opera", which included "Mack The Knife", was a great choice. For those of you who don't know, "The Three Penny Opera" had a similar story, that too was about a killer roaming around a small town. So, the choice for "Mack The Knife" as the movie's theme, matched perfectly. That song is about a murderer. The cinematography by Carlo Di Palma is wonderful, his use of the camera really adds to the effect the movie was aiming for, though many people hate the "mood" of the film. Every scene is filled with "Shadows and Fog". A great job was done by Santo Loquasto who was the production designer on the film, and, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, both did amazing work here. The story is about a killer is on the loose in a small town, we assume somewhere in Europe durning the 20's. The villagers of the town have decided to "act" like the police and track down the killer themselves. Their first mistake is to include Kleinman (Allen) in their plan. He is never given his assignment. He has no idea what he's suppose to do. So he walks around the desolate streets. Across town, the circus has come, and Irmy (Mia Farrow) and her boyfriend, simply named "Clown" (John Malkovich) are having trouble in their relationship. She wants to settle down and leave the circus, while he wants to remain "free", claiming he's an artist, and he needs his space. This causes Irmy to leave the circus herself, not knowing about the killer. The film then mostly consist of mishaps occuring for not only Kleinman, but every other character also. Some scenes are very funny, and I'll admit, some aren't as funny. Many are going to find the color of the movie a distraction. It's a very "dark" movie. But, if you just try for one second to stop complaing about the "mood" of the film, you might find that you actually enjoy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: One of Woody Allen's Best
Review: Scenery, art direction and photography were all marvelous. Allen's direction is great, with some very original and unusual scenes. Engaging from the beginning, this movie will keep you captivated. The film is both suspenseful and funny. The cast is wonderful, and Allen doesn't waste one talented performer. John Malkovich was especially good as the artistic clown. Very fine film.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Movie
Review: Shadows and Fog is my favorite movie of all time!!! It works on a lot of different levels. The script is intelligent and humorous, the production is brilliant, and the acting is fantastic. The end is profound. I watch Shadows and Fog over and over and see new brilliancies each time. I wouldn't be surprised if 50 years from now, people consider this Woody's best movie.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Movie
Review: Shadows and Fog is my favorite movie of all time!!! It works on a lot of different levels. The script is intelligent and humorous, the production is brilliant, and the acting is fantastic. The end is profound. I watch Shadows and Fog over and over and see new brilliancies each time. I wouldn't be surprised if 50 years from now, people consider this Woody's best movie.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing, morbid and not funny
Review: SHADOWS AND FOG is one of my favourite Woody Allen films. Although the reviews here are very positive that's not what I've read elsewhere, so it wasn't really a film that I was obsessed with tracking down, but I saw it at my local video store and gave it a go. The first thing I found is that it's much funnier than I expected, one of Allen's funniest in my opinion. The humour in the film is something that isn't even mentioned in a lot of the reviews I've read elsewhere. Also, the atmosphere is perfect and the sets are amazing. Talk about a movie living up to it's title. The music is also very effective, not just the standard old jazz/pop tunes he seems to use in every single film he makes. It also has one of the best cast's he's ever assembled and everyone performs well, except for maybe Malkovich who seems a bit awkard. It may have been passed over by some critics, but SHADOWS AND FOG is a must see.
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