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Summary: "Can I ask you? Is this a sandwich?"
Review: Woody Allen is definitely a "love him or hate him" kind of guy. If you hate him, then you're probably not even reading this. For those who like/love him, there is little disagreement that Annie Hall is his Crown Jewel. For those that don't know much about him or his work, this movie is a wonderful place to start.Although it's a bit difficult to see what Annie sees in Alvy (though this adds to the charm), Keaton's Annie is absolutely adorable in her awkward self-consciousness. Fantasy, nostalgia, tenderness, and some of the funniest dialogue in movie history make this one of the best movies ever. I've seen it several times now (I own it), and I love it more with each viewing. My highest recommendation.
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Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Woody's self searching and unique form of humor make this a brilliant movie. Diane Keaton is the perfect co-star. I saw this last year after not seeing it since it came out in the late 1970's...still just as fresh and wonderful. I just wish my wife liked Woody Allen humor as much as I do.
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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.
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Summary: Not His Best but Still Very Good
Review: People just adore Annie Hall. I like Annie Hall. Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters work better for me but I can think of about a billion worse ways to spend 90 minutes than watching Annie Hall. Even though I'm not particularly charmed by it, I freely admit Annie Hall is better than 98% of all American movies ever. Funny, smart and endearingly offbeat. Certainly worth the going price.
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Summary: Woody Allen's Landmark Film - Hilarously Funny & Innovative
Review: Woody Allen transitioned from a very funny writer/actor/director, to a truly brilliant filmmaker with "Annie Hall." I saw this landmark movie again and was amazed at how well it holds up over time, and how pristine the film looks on DVD. Like Allen's earlier works, this is hilariously funny, but beneath the humor lies a poignant love story of two mismatched, neurotic people. It is a focused film that takes a mature look at modern urban relationships. The witty, clever screenplay is one of the reasons for its enduring popularity, regardless of the audience's demographics.
Alvy Singer, (Woody Allen), is a pessimistic, insecure, angst-ridden, short, Jewish New Yorker, originally from Brooklyn, just like Mr. Allen. Obviously, there are autobiographical elements here. Singer used to be a gag writer for comedians, but made a career decision to do his own comic stand-up routine. When we meet him for the first time, he has already become a star...and is still very neurotic. "Life is full of loneliness, misery, suffering, and unhappiness - and it's all over much too quickly," he says. Singer has a spurt of good luck, however, when he meets ditsy, charming Annie Hall, originally from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Diane Keaton is outstanding in the role - she won an Academy Award for Best Actress, and began a funky clothes trend with her wardrobe that lasted for a few years. If Alvy is New York seeded rye bread, then Annie is a somewhat tightly-wound, Wonder Bread WASP. She actually orders a pastrami sandwich on white bread with mayo in a local deli - that's like ordering fettuccine with ketchup in an Italian trattoria. It's a wonder that when the two have their first conversation they don't go into instant culture shock. Alvy may have poor self esteem, but Annie sure does like him. They appear to be having a wonderful time together too, as in the scene where they chase live lobsters around the kitchen floor, trying to cook a seafood dinner. Alvy's anhedonia, (the inability to enjoy oneself), seems to abandon him temporarily as the romance flourishes.
"Annie Hall" gets much of its comedy from mundane, everyday occurrences. I actually wonder if Jerry Seinfeld didn't derive some inspiration for his hit sitcom from Allen's film. One of the more brilliant scenes occurs when Singer goes to Annie's apartment, for the first time, right after they meet, for a drink and some getting-to-know-you conversation. As they make small talk, sub-titles appear on the screen, stating what the two are actually thinking: Alvy: "I wonder what she looks like naked," Annie: "He's too smart for me; hang in there." There is also an outrageous split screen sequence of Annie and Alvie in therapy sessions, with their respective shrinks, discussing their relationship. His therapist asks if they have sex often, hers asks the same. He replies, "Hardly ever! Maybe three times a week." Annie responds, "Constantly! I'd say three times a week." Also fantastic are the wacky sequences with Annie's Midwestern family, (Colleen Dewhurst is wonderful as Annie's mother, and Christopher Walken, her spooky brother, is beyond weird). Singer comments on how different his Brooklyn family is from her Midwestern relations. Then the screen splits and we see Annie's family talking quietly over dinner, while Alvy's boisterous family, bicker over their Passover meal. As the romance progresses, Alvy's previous relationships with wives numbers 1 and 2 are depicted through a series of flashbacks.
There are problems and rough spots, as with most relationships. Alvy keeps trying to turn Annie into the woman he wants her to be. When he pushes her to go back to college and take some classes, she gains new confidence - and develops a crush on one of her professors. The plot thickens when Annie meets a hit record producer who offers her a job in Los Angeles. Alvy goes along, temporarily, to do a TV special. One of Woody Allen's pet peeves is California, and life on the left coast, as compared to life in NYC, so you can bet there is plenty of scathing commentary about Hollywood. Although many know how Annie and Alvy wind up, I won't spoil it for those who don't. However, if you have not seen "Annie Hall," you are really missing something phenomenal. And if you have seen it, and don't have it in your DVD collection, you might want to reconsider.
The film is done in non-linear form, and Allen's use of split screens techniques, animated characters, direct-to-camera narration, and occasional subtitles, are extremely effective, creative and innovative. Allen won Oscars for Best Director and Best Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actor for "Annie Hall." There are cameos by: Christopher Walken, Shelley Duvall, Carol Kane, Janet Margolin, Marshall MacLuhan, Dick Cavet, John Glover, Jeff Goldblum, Beverly D'Angelo and Sigourney Weaver.
So what is the point of this fabulous movie, besides lots of laughs and terrific acting? Well, Groucho Marx used to say, "I'd never belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member." The primary message here is that to be loved, one has to love oneself first. Of course Woody Allen is also saying that love is annoying and pointless, as are relationships in general - but we need them.
JANA
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Summary: Annie Hall
Review: "Annie Hall" is a great film for the ages. Woody Allen does a great job portraying a man who questions modern relationships and struggles through life, so I think most people can relate to this film. With hilarious scenes like when Woody pulls out the author of the book to make one guy look like a schmuck is very funny, it's no wonder why this film won best picture. The film will have you on an emotional roller coaster ride that'll leave you speechless. You'll be laughing, crying, and even cheering for Woody through the film. Although the film is a bit paced, it's still a great movie. Overall, I highly recommend this one.
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Summary: something is missing
Review: Anyone notice that the DVD version is missing the subtitles?
In the scene where they are drinking wine on the roof, there are subtitles of what they are thinking about each other. Not here on the DVD version, but present on the video. Anyone else notice?
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Summary: Imperfect but funny and even poignant Woody Allen film
Review: ANNIE HALL is often considered Woody Allen's masterpiece. Certainly, it is one of his most personal and touching films, a seriocomic meditation on...well, love, basically. Love and the search for relationships. Alvy Singer, the character Allen plays in this film, is always on the lookout for a relationship, but something always seems to get in the way of true happiness with a woman for him---and (I hope I'm not spoiling anything for anyone by saying this), his central relationship with Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) in this film is no exception.
Let me say right off that I thought this film was often fun to watch. Dialogue of such sharp comic wit and intelligence as Allen writes here is always something to be treasured (although sometimes he can be a bit too witty and referential for his own good, leaving some of his audience in the dark), the performances are equally spot-on (Allen's especially), and the filmmaking style is fascinating and sometimes exhilarating. This is hardly your usual romantic comedy with a linear plot. Allen plays with the time order of events (you immediately find out about Alvy and Annie's breakup at the beginning), throws in surreal flashbacks to his childhood, and even has his character speak directly to the camera at certain points. But never does any of it seem to be film trickery for its own sake; Allen seems to use this style more searchingly. He himself seems to be trying to find out the reasons why love can hurt so much.
ANNIE HALL is not a perfect film. Maybe it would have been better if Alvy Singer's story had been told in a slightly more linear style; the film seems a bit more of a jumbled mess in its final form, and its seeming lack of a plot structure at times distracted me (since I couldn't quite figure out the reason for it). And perhaps Allen could have developed Annie Hall's character a little more than he did; as brilliantly as Diane Keaton played her (and she won an Oscar for this performance, as did the film itself), she always remained more a set of personality quirks and attitudes than an actual flesh-and-blood character. (But then, perhaps that's the whole point; maybe that's the way Alvy sees her, and maybe that's partly why he, in the end, loses her).
Still, ANNIE HALL is overall a good film, one that is a lot more mature and perceptive about love and relationships than a lot of the romantic comedies I've seen in recent times (as entertaining as some of them may be). For its laughs as well as its depth, it is worth seeing, and maybe even worth reflecting after the humor of Woody Allen's neuroses has worn off and the bittersweet poignancy of its ending remains. Recommended.
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Summary: Opposites Attract: An Annie Hall Review
Review: This is a great movie. I just finished watching it for the first time. It's hilarious yet devastating at the same time. The movie focuses around a Jewish middle-aged comedian who has acute paranoia and an over-the-top fear of death. Somehow, he gets several women and has already been through two lovely and intelligent wives when he meets Annie Hall when he plays tennis against her. At first, they're very awkward and gawky, kind of like teenagers on their very first date. But eventually, their romance blossoms and they live together. Annie has a great love for life. She's a singer and photographer, young and vibrant. Eventually, they realize that they just can't work out their differences and they split up. Then he realizes he can't live without her and decides to try to win her back. I'll let you see the movie to find out exactly how THAT goes. Enjoy!
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Summary: Classic Woody
Review: Woody Allen finally puts it all together for this movie.Forget the overhyped praise/criticism and enjoy.Look for a hysterical Christopher Walken as Dwayne,Annies crazed brother.His 5 minutes on screen absolutely steal the movie!
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