Annie Hall (1977) or, My Time with Alvie Singer

9/11/2013

Annie Hall (1977) or, My Time with Alvie Singer

♥♥♥♥♥

The iconic, hip B/W poster for Woody Allen's Annie Hall

We go through the ups and downs of New-Yorker Annie Hall's relationship with the city-born neurotic, Alvy Singer, who suspects everyone of anti-Semitism, gets physically sick from being in Los Angeles and shows great progress on the couch at his shrink's for 16 years.

Both the Hall and Singer figures seem like caricatures of their actors Diane Keaton (Reds (1981)) and Woody Allen (Small Time Crooks (2000)) themselves. Keaton's role was in fact written for her specifically, and the relationship os at least partly inspired by Keaton and Allen's own real-life relationship prior to the production. New-Yorker master filmmaker Allen directed and co-wrote the film with Marshall Brickman (Manhattan (1979))
Annie Hall is definitely one of Allen's greatest, although I think it has plenty of company in his lustrous oeuvre; there are many great films, and some just as good, and a few even better, I think: The preceding Russia-set crazy-comedy Love and Death (1975) springs to mind, along with masterpieces Broadway Danny Rose (1984), Anything Else (2003) and Blue Jasmine (2013).
Annie Hall is nevertheless a bonafide American classic and a great, funny relationship comedy: Witty and creatively free-flowing with bountiful ingenuities in meta-plan scenes, (cameos, addressing the camera, animation, countless hilarious references etc.), and lots of bitter-sweet, very Allenesque dialogues about life and love. - Perhaps the dialog gets even a bit too dense, finally, even though it remains extremely smart and stimulating throughout.
Annie Hall also ages incredibly well; still today it is a fast-paced, unusually good time unlike anything that can be found today.

Related posts:

Woody Allen: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess

Café Society (2016) - The greatest living American filmmaker hands us another splendid gem

Irrational Man (2015) - Allen's pleasant morality tale divertisement

2014 in films - according to Film Excess

Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - Allen's irresistible French Riviera romance

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Blue Jasmine (2013) - Allen presenets Blanchett, a woman under the influence

Fading Gigolo (2013) - Turturro's pleasant turn as a high-end NY prostitute (starring actor)

To Rome with Love (2012) - Woody Allen's slightest film to date

2011 in films - according to Film Excess

Midnight in Paris (2011) - Allen's zany (and a little depressing) crowd-pleaser

Cassandra's Dream (2007) - Allen's well-laid but inconsequentiel English cul-de-sac

Top 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Anything Else (2003) - Perfect contemporary relationship comedy

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) - Allen's hypnotic, noirish shenanigans
Celebrity (1998) or, Stars in New York
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) - Sin and guilt up for laughs and rumination in unspectacular Allen work
Broadyway Danny Rose (1984) or, Keep Your Heart

Top 10: Best comedies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972) - Allen's curious sex comedy is a riot
Bananas (1971) - Woody Allen's South American misadventure is still a barrel of laughs
Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time (co-starring)

Full of great, quotable lines and Allen's brand of New-York-Jewish humor, Annie Hall is a film you cannot miss

Cost: 4 mil. $
Box office: 38.2 mil. $ (North America only)
= Mega-hit (returned in excess of 9.55 times its cost)
[Annie Hall premiered 27 March (Los Angeles, USA) and runs 93 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles, and in New York on and off from May 1976 - March 1977. Working titles included Anhedonia [the inability to experience joy], Rollercoaster Named Desire, Anxiety and Me and My Goy. It was the 11th highest-grossing film of the year domestically and is Allen's most successful film adjusted for inflation. (The international final gross is regrettably not reported, but the film probably crossed 50 mil. $.) The film was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning 4; for Best Picture, Actress, Director and Original Screenplay, thus earning Allen two statuettes. But he lost Best Actor, - to Richard Dreyfuss in The Goodbye Girl. It also won 1/5 Golden Globe nominations, 5/6 BAFTA noms, was nominated for a César (France's Oscar) and won 2 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. Roger Ebert has given the film a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. Keaton's unconventional wardrobe in the film, - chosen be herself, - became a trendy point of reference and inspiration to women globally. Allen returned with Interiors (1978) and as an actor in Manhattan (1979). Keaton returned in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977); Tony Roberts (Dead Broke (1998)) in 4 TV credits before he came back to theaters in Just Tell Me What You Want (1980). Annie Hall is certified fresh at 97 % with an 8.97/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Annie Hall?

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9/11/2013