La-di-da. oh what a wonderful film. Woody Allen is one of my favorite filmmakers. his films are just so damn good. it is because he loves movies. he doesn't just make them. he gets the art of film. he exercises everything possible when making film. this is one of the greatest comedies ever made and most of his films are considered the same level of comedy. nobody could write like him. his way of writing can only be accomplished by those who are truly unhappy in their own skin, germaphobic, claustrophobic, hypochondriacs, Jewish, a New Yorker and all the other idiocincricies that Allen posseses. he brings something out in actors that i find interesting. he "hire[s] talented people and let[s] them do their work" and does not "overdirect...because [actors] like being overdirected...they like to intellectualize the whole process of creating a chracter." this was all taken from a book called "Moviemakers' Master Class" in which Allen is interviewed in. this just shows his talent, or lack of it? he lets his actors do what they are hired to do and what does that tell us? that he is one of the most knowledgable directors of our time. i can tell, because i've seen so many of his films, that Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow have all about the same performance in each one of his films because it is natural to them. so when we see Farrow in "Alice" and "Purple Rose of Cairo", she is about the same person because that's who Farrow is by nature. Allen does this on purpose to create the natural flow that other directors strive to reach but overdirect; thus making them bad directors. this is a masterpiece for it's warmth and human intellegence. we are not exposed to fake people put on screen aka 'Reality Television' like 'Jersey Shore' but real humans ''with blood still pumping through their veins". now this is not a chick flick either. it is too intellegent and the finale of the film show us what life is all about: love.
Woody Allen's character is Alvy Singer. we learn much about his distorted childhood and past marriges and relestionships. he is not exactly a content man. he is a stand-up comedian and writes material for other comedians. he is good at his job. his friend Rob (Tony Roberts) invites him to go play tennis with his girlfriend and another woman named Annie Hall. Yes Diane Keaton plays the ditsy Annie Hall. if all of the dumb blonds were replaced with Annie Halls, the world would be a mch more interesting place. yes obviously, Annie and Alvy go in and out of relationships with each other. they share memorable stories of their childhoods, take trips to the Hamptons, try smoking pot and cocaine and other wonderful expiriences. yes naturally they break up but with the same naturality (if that's a word) get back together again. this is not a chick flick or even a romantic comedy. it is a rcohmiacnktfilcickomedy. but even beter. the ending, which i shall not spoil, is real. it is loving and human. and just beautiful. Allen does not seem like the kind of person that makes a beautiful film but he does. it is full of raw emotion which most of his films contain. no it is not necesarily dramatic but more refined. there are so many scenes of ingenuity. the cartoon sequence, talking into camera, talking to strangers on the sides of the roads, the ghost of Annie Hall, conversing through split screen have very rarely if not at all been used before this. now Kaufman, Jonze and Gondry use some of these techniques in their films which makes them some of the greatest directors of our time. it is because of Allen's visionary style and reach for surrealism that we have that type of flmmaking today.
As in every Allen film, the performances are relaxed and yet intricate. it is so incredibly difficult to have the two in a performance. but he can do it. Allen was actually nominated in the Best Actor catagory for the first and only time because after he kept acting in other films, people noticed his performances were all exactly identical. this is because Allen is playing himself in his films, which is why they are so realistic and unbearably comical. Keaton won the Oscar and had a career of many more nominatins and excellent performnces. now she is a more versitle actress and if you look at her Oscar nominated performnce in "Reds" she is very different. she is much more intellegent and her presence is just so much stronger. in this film, i think she is being more of herself because if you watch her Oscar speech, it's as if Annie Hall walked up on the Kodak stage and accepted the award in Keaton's behalf. Keaton is such a character. The screenplay was another one named on the WGA's 101 Greatest Screenplays placing at #6. deserving: absolutly. it is so smart for a screenplay. so unique. and the techniques are revolutionary for it's time and i've already mentioned what filmmakers it inspired. this is an almagamation of excellent aspects of cinematic technique. the end is bittersweet feeling and give us time to reflect on the film but also our relatinships with people. The last lines are so true to us humans- we just need the eggs.
| Academy Awards, USA | |||
| Year | Result | Award | Category/Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Won | Oscar | Best Actress in a Leading Role Diane Keaton |
| Best Director Woody Allen Woody Allen was not present at the awards ceremony. Co-presenter King Vidor accepted the award on his behalf. | |||
| Best Picture Charles H. Joffe | |||
| Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Woody Allen Marshall Brickman Woody Allen was not present at the awards ceremony. | |||
| Nominated | Oscar | Best Actor in a Leading Role Woody Allen | |
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