Annie Hall

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best-Made Movies In Movie History!
Review: The first time I ever watched »Annie Hall« was when I was a teenager. It was shown on television - and I thought that Woody Allen guy isn't he one of those whose films 'you should see'. So I did.

And I was impressed! Allen's very way of acting, his tragic-comically philosophical character, is so frustratingly realistic. And at the same time he manages to write characters and direct in such a way that you have to laugh! About the realism of it all! Because it is all about the small things in life, though in this case put into an academicized environment.

»Annie Hall« remains the best of all Woody Allen's genius movies. A must-see for anyone who's interested in movies!

Rating:
Summary: Quintessential Woody Allen
Review: It has become somewhat of a cliche among filmmaker's and Woody Allen buffs to portray 'Annie Hall' as the quintessential "Woody Allen film". Although while tired, that discription is accurate. With this 1977 picture, Allen perfectly combined his earlier goofball antics with his later more introspective philosophical style.

First, the wacky hijinks--Allen plays a New York comedian, and is of course his usual neurotic self. We are treated to an array of bizarre scenerios that blend his not uncommon relationship with the 'reality' only found in movies. While being annoyed by a loud film critic in a line, Allen brings out the particular filmmaker he's criticizing; Allen is taken on a flashbacks to his childhood and insane parents; and need I mention the lobster scene?

These occurences mixed in with everything else is what prevents this movie from recieving the label 'romanti comedy'. While relationship movies are quite common, few have the philosophical tone set by Woody Allen. He looks at man-woman interactions as if it were a puzzle he tries to solve but knows he'll never get it. While countless have tried this approach, it has never been as flawlessly executed as Allen. And perhaps in 'Annie Hall', he succeeded in a playing his message most clearly.

Rating:
Summary: Classic missing a classic part
Review: Annie Hall is a classic movie and I love it and have loved it for many years. Last night as I watched my newly purchased DVD edition (my taped version was falling apart) I noticed a shocking error. In the scene where Alvy (Allen) and Annie (Keaton) first meet they go up on her terrace to have a glass of wine and begin to discuss some esoteric b.s. In the original film there are clever subtitles stating what the two characters are actually thinking and feeling while spouting their nonsense. In the DVD version that I purchased here at this site the subtitles were missing. It's a brilliant scene that was sadly botched by whomever made these DVD's. I still really enjoyed the movie I only wish that such a classic scene wouldn't have been overlooked.

Rating:
Summary: 6 stars out of 5
Review: Simply Allen's best film - totally complete and perfect.

Rating:
Summary: La Dee Dah, It's still Great, La Dee dah !
Review: Annie Hall was a turning point for Woody toward more 'serious' and somewhat autobiobraphical films. It remains his most popular film and won 4 Accademy Awards.

The way Allen combined his New York characters with sharp satirical comments on everything from intellectual phoniness, racism and sexual angst to shared experiences like standing in line at the movies was new, fresh and original.

He re-invented the modern romantic comedy and his style has been much imitated ever since. I could see Annie Hall's influence recently in Tao of Steve.

Allen was not giving us a romantic feel good romance like a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan film. And he's certainly not a charismatic or even charming leading man. This was an awkward, warts and all romance which was sometimes uncomfortable to watch.

The film begins with Allen as Alvy Singer talking directing to the camera and explaining that he's quite upset because he's broken up with Annie. (It doesn't quite match up, time wise when we get to the end of the film-but then the time-line throughout the film is toyed with in the style of Fellini's 8 1/2). He says:

" The other important joke for me is one that's usually attributed to Groucho Marx but I think it appears originally in Freud's wit and its relation to the unconscious - and it goes like this. I'm paraphrasing. I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member. That's the key joke of my adult life, in terms of my relationships with women."

Alvy Singer is Allen's alter-ego -a stand up comic and Allen's quintessential New York character. This pessimistic, paranoid, is too smart to be a naive romantic, but yearns to be exactly that. He's always a fish out of water, because he is not comfortable with his own thoughts and can not accept either his good qualities nor his bad ones. So he's forever going to be in analysis. He is impatient with everyone-including himself and has to whine about everything that bothers him. He has a propensity to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and to wait too long to say the right thing. He'll let something slip out of his mouth uncensored, and when he tries to soften it, he only makes it worse. Yet he actually means no harm. He's merely rejecting everything he can before it ultimately rejects him. His fears and paranoias are worn on his sleeve. He'll not be hurt, because who would want to get past all his 'stuff' to really get to know him and have an opportunity to hurt him. He wears his inferiority complex as both a security blanket and a suit of armor.

And then there is Annie. A women who is utterly vulnerable, yet extremely tough. Someone who refuses to be pessimistic but is ready for a change because the path she has been on has not led to anything or anyone substantial. Maybe Alvy is perfect for her. Annie is smart, but not as intellectual or well read as Alvy. She's a bundle of scattered energy and feels the need to smoke dope before she has sex. She's full of insecurities but she's trying to over come them, not wear them like a security blanket. Annie lacks confidence, but she isn't afraid. She doesn't believe in herself, but she knows she should and really wants to. She knows she needs to grow and change and she knows Alvy might help her do that-even if as she grows and change she leaves Alvy behind.

And so we have the bittersweet romance. And it's because the film is first about the romance and then about Allen's obsessions and interests that made the film his most popular.

Nearly all of the film's scenes are laugh out loud funny. Some are laying bare the relationship, some are exposing Alvy's neuroses or forcing us to recognize how ridiculous people can be. Some are full brilliant comic inventiveness-such as when the class room of kids stand up and as little kids, with children's voices tell us what they are doing now. One is a plumber, another is a junkie, another is into leather.

Annie Hall may be full of sharp observance but it keeps its distance from the audience with it's almost too clever gimmicks. Woody breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the camera several times during the film. He uses surrealistic gags, and even a brief animated sequence in the film. He even has Paul Simon playing a record producer who really likes Annie Hall. We get several New York versus Los Angeles jokes, that seem a bit stale now. We also get the funny subtitle scene. Annie Hall is less personal and intimate than Allen's next film would be (Manhattan)but it's a little funnier.

And let's not forget the film also had an amazing fashion influence. The Annie Hall look is still with us.

OF INTEREST:

The relationship between Alvy and Annie is full of easy to make real life parallels. The film's title incorporates Diane Keaton's real name- Diane Hall and her nickname Annie.

Carol Kane has a small role as Alvy's first wife.

Christopher Walken has a small role playing Annie Hall's brother who confesses having suicidal thoughts to Alvy.

Jeff Goldblum is seen briefly, but memorably as part of the Los Angeles party scene. He is on the phone and says: "I forgot my mantra."

Chris Jarmick, Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder Available End of January 2001. Thanks for pre-ordering your copy.

Rating:
Summary: An Almost Complete Waste of Time
Review: What was it with the years 1967 and 1977? Two of the supposed "brilliant" films of that time were very mediocre. I'm talking about, of course, Annie Hall and The Graduate. They were very similar, in as much as both were about two completely self-centered, dull people and whether or not they would get together. But where The Graduate had Anne Bancroft to add some value to the film, Annie Hall has only a few sparse slightly clever scenes. The flashback scene to Woody's childhood, with an adult Woody and Diane watching comes to mind. But, by the time I got through this 2+ hour snoozer, anything mildly amusing was a far distant memory. In my opinion, Woody's humor only works well in light comedies. Play It Again Sam, Manhattan Murder Mystery, and, most recently, Small Time Crooks were A+ entertainment. Anytime Woody does drama, he just seems extremely annoying. Maybe I just haven't seen the correct Allen drama yet. But after this Annie Hall disaster, I doubt I'll try another one.

Rating:
Summary: Like a whole new movie!
Review: Annie Hall is probably one of my favorite 2 or 3 movies ever. I've seen it 10 times, I think. I've never seen it anywhere besides VHS. THen I got the DVD. It is almost like seeing an entirely new film. The DVD is sparse with extras (it is rumored that the Woodman does not like them), but does have a nice book and the trailer. The picture and widescreen are spectacular. I noticed things I had never seen before. If you want this movie in your collection, order it now. It is amazing.

Rating:
Summary: La de da, la de da,...
Review: This was the film that made me want to work in the movie business. Great, yet offbeat non-Hollywood like script, and charming Diane Keaton, help make this one of the best motion pictures of all time. Woody, as always, playing the 40ish, Jewish, neurotic... but he does it so well!

Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Shelley Duval, Christopher Walken and even Paul Simon, are all terrific in this story about two people growing apart.

Flawless editing by Ralph Rosenblum. This genius really helped create the structure of the film to make it the polished gem that it is. (The hilarious "cocaine" scene was constructed simply because the audience needed to know that Allen/Keaton were going to the California.)

I was so happy when it won all the Oscars that it did, despite what a lot of other folks thought. Witty as hell and as American as apple pie... well, maybe with a Matzoh crust!

Rating:
Summary: How old are you?
Review: Because if you're under 30 and NOT an old movie buff nor WoodyAllen fan, then you will probably come to the same conclusion that my friends and I came to after sitting through "Annie Hall" - it's very much like having your teeth drilled without anesthetic while your dentist makes slightly humorous jokes during the process.

With all the praise this movie has had heaped all over it, we (my friends and I) decided to NOT get our hopes up and to do our best to watch it objectively (we do this every time we watch a "classic" movie to remove expectations - it makes it MUCH more enjoyable to open the mind and watch it "cold"). In retrospect, I guess it would have been better to keep reminding ourselves, over and over again, just how "important" this flacid piece of crap is supposed to be.

I guess it was groudbreaking at the time (no one thought to make a self-indulgent, 2-hour-plus film about uninteresting people droning ceaselessly about their uninteresting problems, uninteresting relationships, and uninteresting lives before? . . . . go figure!), but Allen's CONSTANT whining is absolutely torturous, as is Keaten's disjointed, schizophrenic protrayal of her character (seriously, we all - boys and girls included - wanted to slap her EVEN MORE than we did Woody!). We eventually decided that BOTH characters tie Jar-Jar Binks for "Most Annoying Screen Persona in History"! We literally had to FORCE ourselves to finish this movie, just so we could all say that we saw it.

This movie may be "important", but sitting through it is a horrifyingly boring and nerve-grating experience. Are we supposed to care for these saps? We didn't just "not empathize" with Woody or Keaton's characters, we ACTUALLY HATED both of them - God, they're both just so insipid and redundant! The only redeeming quality in either character is that Diane leaves Woody (finally!) and is thankfully absent from much of the later part of the film.

"Citizen Kane"? Mesmerizing! "Chinatown"? Shocking! "Dr. Stragelove"? Hilarious! "The Searchers"? Engaging and touching! "Annie Hall"? yawn-PUKE! Sure, "Annie Hall" may be "important", but so is "Beowulf"! Why would anyone EVER recommend this movie to someone who isn't an enemy?

I give it one star because there are SOME lines intended to be funny that actually approach their goal. I think during the 2.5 hours of torture that is "Annie Hall", our group chuckled a few times (note that a chuckle and a laugh are completely different things!), so it's not COMPLETELY unfunny - just 98% so!

YES, we "got" ALL the jokes. Don't think for a second that Woody's sense of humor isn't accessible, because "getting it" is PAINFULLY easy. Appreciating it, however, must be a torture test required to be initiated into some snotty film club or something. I think that, even more than the annoying characters, their fingernails-on-chalkboard dialogue, or "Annie Hall"'s marathon length, what I recall most is thinking, "THAT was a joke? " while my stomach churned and churned.

You want good Woody Allen? Get "Take the Money and Run" or "Hannah and Her Sisters" END

Rating:
Summary: All-Time Classic
Review: 'Favourite' is a term not to be thrown about lightly, but in my case, after much thought, I have to apply it to this wonderful film. It's the one I know I can return to time after time and always enjoy.

Allen's bittersweet romance has too many perfect scenes to relate here, and the fact that I see so much of my own life in the film is, I'm sure, not a unique experience among viewers. Other reviewers' comments about the supposedly disjointed format ignores the fact that the non-linear narrative is one of the great charms of a movie which features asides to camera, flashes back and forward, and even a short cartoon interlude.

To this reviewer, an all-time classic which addresses universal truths about love and life.