Annie Hall (WS/BD) [Blu-ray]

`Annie Hall', directed by Woody Allen and written by Allen and Marshall Brickman is eminently rewatchable, which is the one quality that makes it an excellent DVD purchase. I have seen this movie at least a half dozen times, and I am still discovering interesting things in the film. What makes this so odd to me is that the first time I saw it, after having seen `Manhattan', I really did not think it was as good as the later film. My initially low opinion of the movie was primarily due to the numerous cinematic gimmicks harking back to his earlier, plainly less thoughtful movies. These include flashbacks to dopey teachers and classmates, almost as a parody of Jean Shepherd; subtitles showing what the characters are really thinking of one another during a conversation; a cartoon segment where Allen and the Tony Roberts character appear with the wicked witch from Snow White; speeches to the audience; and the most famous, a surprise appearance by Marshall McCluhan in a movie theatre lobby to refute a college instructor pontificating about McCluhan's ideas. The single most famous scene from the movie is the encounter between Allen's character, Alvy Singer and Annie Hall, played brilliantly by Diane Keaton, after their tennis match with Annie dressed in her classic layered look with vest, men's tie, and balloonish trousers. The great sound bite from this encounter is the Annie Hall exclamation `La Di Dah, La Di Dah, Dah Dah...' and Singer's reaction wondering how he could be interested in anyone making such silly exclamations. From this one scene came a whole late 1970's fashion trend, the `Annie Hall' look of layered, mannish clothes. This scene also sets the stage for my latest insight into the movie, which is the progression of Annie, with a lot of help from Alvy, from an unserious girl with a decent singing voice to a serious woman with a few good ideas and a connection to a serious Hollywood music personality, played convincingly by Paul Simon with an eye to having her performances commercially recorded. While so much can be said of the loves, frustrations, and disappointments of Alvy Singer, the movie is, after all, named `Annie Hall', not `Alvy Singer'. Not to say that this incarnation of the Woody Allen fictional persona is not central to the story. In the story of Alvy Singer that frames our encounter with Annie, there are encounters with two early marriages to characters played by Carol Kane and Janet Margolin, plus less than exciting romantic encounters with Shelley Duvall. The Allen talent for pulling in major actors and future major actors for brief appearances is in full bloom. There are excellent little parts for Colleen Dewhurst and Christopher Walken. There are even smaller parts for surprise appearances by Jeff Goldblum, Sigourney Weaver, and Beverly De'Angelis. Just as Allen is playing his usual, highly autobiographical character, male costar Tony Roberts plays the typically untroubled successful male who is constantly on the make for something or other, whether it be a business deal of a romantic laision. (It just occurred to me that it is logical that Roberts did not play the male costar in `Manhattan', as the Michael Murphy character simply did not fit the typical Tony Roberts character as it appears in `Play It Again, Sam', `A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy', and `Annie Hall'. While I have not reviewed all of Allen's later movies, I will venture the opinion that not only is `Annie Hall' better than all the films which precede it, it is as good or better than his best later movies (such as `Hannah and Her Sisters', `Crimes and Misdemeanors', and `Husbands and Wives'), if only because it is so effective a mix of both character study and humor. Some of Allen's jokes from this movie are some of his best known. In fact, I get the same sense watching this movie as I do when I see `Hamlet'. So many lines sound like clichés because they have been so widely quoted. There are a lot of things which could be said about this movie which are really about themes which run through almost all of Allen's films such as doting on sexuality, phony intellectuality, love of Manhattan, and death. One clever riff on death is when Annie is moving into Alvy's apartment, Alvy discovers a book of Sylvia Plath's poems, which contradicts Hall's later statement when she is moving out that all the books about death were given to her by Singer. (Plath was a famously depressive poet who committed suicide in mid-career). Allen's movie DVDs are uniformly free of fancy extras such as commentary tracks and `Making of' documentaries, and this is no exception. At the risk of repeating myself, I will say that the singular attraction of Allen's body of work in general and `Annie Hall' in particular is its rewatchability. As unrealistic as the many cinematic gimmicks are, the characters are intensely real. They are people with which we can sincerely associate. Try that with your usual Ben Stiller character. Highly recommended classic among both Allen movies and all movies in general.

Classic!

Seems like old times Having you to walk with Seems like old times Having you to talk with And it's still a thrill, just to have my arms around you...by CarmenLombardo JohnJacobLoeb sung by AnnieHall(DianeKeaton)1977 EllaFitzgerald1968 RosemaryClooney1998 LA record producer TonyLacey(PaulSimon) and Alvy's best friend TV actor Rob(TonyRoberts) who calls Alvy Max in public to protect Alvy from being swamped by fans, represent everything nauseating to comedian AlvySinger(WoodyAllen) about the LA: sun and awards for putting diarrhea on film. DickCavett interviews Alvy. MarshallMcLuhan supports Alvy's morbid interpretation of life. TrumanCapote ambles by Alvy as Alvy ruminates Everyone looks like TrumanCapote on the street in Manhattan. MentalMasturbation is middle school emotional arrest, constantly thinking everything is all about Me Me Me. AlvySinger(WoodyAllen): my life is two jokes "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible" "Yeah, I know; and such small portions" that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness misery suffering unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly. As GrouchoMarx paraphrased Freud "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. I feel that life is divided into the horrible and the miserable. Alvy, a paranoid Jewish NYC comedian, reviews his female relationships: Alison(CarolKane) marriage and divorce, Dorrie(ChristineJones), RollingStone journalist Pam(ShelleyDuvall) and midwestern WASP photographer singer AnnieHall. DianeKeaton's birth name is DianeHall nicknamed Annie. Alvy introduces Annie to Holocaust literature film and existential angst. Annie introduces Alvy to ChippewaFallsWisconsin suicidality, her brother Duane(ChristopherWalken), Jew-hater GrammyHall, Midwestern equanimity Mom(ColleenDewhurst AnneShirley's Marilla in AnneOfGreenGables1985 MeganFollows CanadianMiniseries). AnnieHall sings jazz standard ItHadToBeYou IshamJoneslyricistGusKahn1924 melancholic longing for what was, what could have been, what just doesn't work out. Chronic residence in adolescent me-centric hedonic pleasure-seeking prevents mutually enriching maturation of attention encompassing concern with another's well-being as well as one's own, a capacity for elective personal sacrifice, enduring commitment to partnering, mentoring, parenting, teaching, or dedication to our shared civic communal well-being via nursing, doctoring. Obsessive Me-rumination blocks mutual fluorishing. Rewarding caregiving is required for relationship beyond Me Me Me. WoodyAllen supported DianeKeaton's insistence on wearing her own clothing in AnnieHall. AnnieHall clothing was sold after the film won 1977 OscarBestFilm OscarBestActorWoodyAllen OscarBestActressDianeKeaton and OscarBestScreenplay WoodyAllen. Superficially AnnieHall is a laugh fest. Viewing AnnieHall again, 48years later, reveals existential self-imposed discomfort: the suffering of insularity, loneliness, feeling excluded, missing out, not feeling smart enough, need for hallucinogens to enjoy sex, suicidal ideation, intercourse as a physical event not involving presence attention affection or concern for the aspirations toward growth in another. AnnieHall suggests that if we don't pay attention, our life may slip by without our noticing how much we have grown through knowing, really knowing, another human being or even knowing ourselves. Like BarbraStreisand in MirrorHasTwoFaces I see laughter in a moment of silence. Buddha or TheEmptyMirror JanwillemVanDeWetering. 5* AnnieHall deserves multiple viewings and contemplation that life's meaning may be laughter. Two-sided disc one side Widescreen other side fullscreen. EnglishSubtitles Liner notes discuss revolutionary use of split screen psychotherapy sessions, editing down to 1h33m from 3hr, ditching a murder and a Kafkaesque dream sequence recreated in ManhattanMurderMystery. Scene list

Funny, funny classic!

Watching Annie Hall after all these years. I was quite an admirer of Woody Allen movies in my college days. Annie Hall appears to be a little more about Alvy Singer rather than Annie. The movie traces the ups and downs in their relationship and almost fifty years later, does not look updated. It has a lively narrative which keeps one smiling at the eccentricities of the characters. The way the flashbacks are shown is also quite innovative. Not such a fan of Woody Allen the actor - though he suits the part, would have been nice to see a greater actor don this role. Diane Keaton looks lovely and acts brilliantly as Annie. Most of the stellar supporting cast appear in small roles which one could easily miss but they are well cast.

Great movie!

Excellent Keaton and Allen movie! Funny, thought provoking, and watching over again - a must.

Just to add my voice to the choir: Quite simply one of the best films about romantic relationships ever made. Brilliantly written. Brilliantly acted -- Diane Keaton is tremendous, the supporting cast is full of gems and Allen himself takes the leap to present himself as a real (if funny) human being and not a walking joke. And brilliantly photographed by the great Gordon Willis of 'The Godfather' and many of most important films of the 70s and 80s. Wildly funny and ultimately heartbreaking. It's hard to imagine anyone who has ever been in love, or struggled through grown-up relationships NOT identifying with a lot of this film. I loved it in my late teens when it first came out, and I love it even more 32 years later. Every time I see it I notice different details, depending on my own current life experiences. A film of enormous wit, humor, invention, and understanding of the human heart. Its completely unique, playful and idiosyncratic in style and approach, but that experimentation somehow only makes it more accessible and universal. If you haven't seen it, you owe yourself a try, even if you're not a Woody Allen 'fan'. And if you saw it long ago, it may be time for another look. For some insane reason, the US DVD is not enhanced for 16x9 TVs, whereas the UK disc is, so if you have a region free player, and don't want the blu-ray for some reason I recommend getting a copy of that. But the blu-ray is a very nicely done step up (especially over the non anamorphic US DVD). Is this a reference quality disc that will blow you away? No. But the gains in depth, clarity, richness give the film more immediacy, and certainly make the blu-ray worthwhile if you love the film. (Of course, as always with Woody there are no extras. Sigh...)