# 6
Annie Hall
Annie Hall
1977
Directed by: Woody Allen
Written by: Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
Edited by: Ralph Rosenblum
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Paul Simon, and Christopher Walken
Woody Allen considers Annie Hall to be the movie where he went from making simple comedies to deeper, more intimate comedies. The reason that Annie Hall might be my favourite Woody Allen movie (I say might because I had trouble picking it over Manhattan) is because it was made during this period of transition it has the best of both worlds. It's the same reason why favourite Beatles albums are Revolver and Rubber Soul. The movie has got both the laughs and the heart. It's one of the greatest movies ever made about relationships without a doubt.
The story is simple enough as the movie follows the ups and downs of a relationship between Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). The way it's shot though makes it seem like a compilation of short films on relationships. There are flashbacks of Alvy's childhood and early family events to explain the psychological effect that his upbringing had on his current neuroses. There are also elements of French New Cinema, for example one scene where as the two are conversing their thoughts appear as subtitles on the screen. One scene is even animated. The fourth wall is also constantly broken in the film with Alvy addressing the audience directly. In this great scene Alvy and a character with a minor role clash as they both attempt to appeal to the audience:
As you can tell from this clip too, Woody's quite the intellectual. Sure it can be annoying at times as it seems like he name drops a little too much. But a lot of the time it serves to add extra emphasis to whatever argument he is making. Also, because he pays homage to Ingmar Bergman (or Fellini as in this scene) in most of his movies and always drops his name, I consider it all perfectly acceptable.
If it had to rely on its technical achievements alone, the film would still be amazing. It's obvious from watching it that Woody Allen is well spoken and that he is highly knowledgeable of film theory. The presentation is extraordinary. The film also succeeds and really hitting the emotions though. It's genuinely funny for one. Is laughter or humour and emotion? Maybe not. Either way there are some really memorable scenes. Their not cheap laughs either. The character Alvy is a comedian and is always deriding the manufactured laughs of the television industry, as one great scene about the artificiality of laugh tracks shows. The movie instead builds up to great gags and gets laughs through unbearably uncomfortable situations. This next scene is one of the best and features and young Christopher Walken. It was this scene in which he first showed the creepy dead pan that would define his whole career:
So it's funny as that scene undoubtedly shows. It's a great love story too. One that's far more real and genuine (key word for this movie) than any other in the decade. The chemistry between Allen and Keaton is great, and why not they actually did date for a while in the 70s. The former denies that the movie is semi-autobiographical though. The relationship is charted from it's beginning through to its end. Although, not in that order. Scenes are a little mixed up. For instance, immediately after the characters meet is a scene in which they move in together. They are breaking up in one scene, and without any mention of anything otherwise are getting along great in the next scene. It's in this way that relationships are shown to be entirely predictable. Allen assumes that the audience will follow the movie and understand the ups and downs of the couple. I enjoy a director who respects the audience enough to challenge them and not treat them as mindless sheep. The reason that some scenes pack such an emotional kick though is due to the use of long takes. Scenes just go on for a matter of minutes forcing the viewer to get involved in the conversation and situation. Take for example this next scene:
That's a sad one isn't it. If you were to watch the whole movie it has an even greater effect. That's why (as in all of the other movies on this blog) I am recommending this movie to you! Relationships can be very sad affairs. But as Allen's knack for comedy shows, they can also be quite funny. Ultimately he is a bit of a fatalist though so they are mostly depressing. At the same time though, Allen's great at putting things in perspective. One of the things which I appreciate about all of his movies as how after your finished watching them, you feel as if you've been given a new lease on life. Annie Hall has this effect too. You see life in a new way and you feel as if you have the opportunity to start over again.
The story is simple enough as the movie follows the ups and downs of a relationship between Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). The way it's shot though makes it seem like a compilation of short films on relationships. There are flashbacks of Alvy's childhood and early family events to explain the psychological effect that his upbringing had on his current neuroses. There are also elements of French New Cinema, for example one scene where as the two are conversing their thoughts appear as subtitles on the screen. One scene is even animated. The fourth wall is also constantly broken in the film with Alvy addressing the audience directly. In this great scene Alvy and a character with a minor role clash as they both attempt to appeal to the audience:
As you can tell from this clip too, Woody's quite the intellectual. Sure it can be annoying at times as it seems like he name drops a little too much. But a lot of the time it serves to add extra emphasis to whatever argument he is making. Also, because he pays homage to Ingmar Bergman (or Fellini as in this scene) in most of his movies and always drops his name, I consider it all perfectly acceptable.
If it had to rely on its technical achievements alone, the film would still be amazing. It's obvious from watching it that Woody Allen is well spoken and that he is highly knowledgeable of film theory. The presentation is extraordinary. The film also succeeds and really hitting the emotions though. It's genuinely funny for one. Is laughter or humour and emotion? Maybe not. Either way there are some really memorable scenes. Their not cheap laughs either. The character Alvy is a comedian and is always deriding the manufactured laughs of the television industry, as one great scene about the artificiality of laugh tracks shows. The movie instead builds up to great gags and gets laughs through unbearably uncomfortable situations. This next scene is one of the best and features and young Christopher Walken. It was this scene in which he first showed the creepy dead pan that would define his whole career:
So it's funny as that scene undoubtedly shows. It's a great love story too. One that's far more real and genuine (key word for this movie) than any other in the decade. The chemistry between Allen and Keaton is great, and why not they actually did date for a while in the 70s. The former denies that the movie is semi-autobiographical though. The relationship is charted from it's beginning through to its end. Although, not in that order. Scenes are a little mixed up. For instance, immediately after the characters meet is a scene in which they move in together. They are breaking up in one scene, and without any mention of anything otherwise are getting along great in the next scene. It's in this way that relationships are shown to be entirely predictable. Allen assumes that the audience will follow the movie and understand the ups and downs of the couple. I enjoy a director who respects the audience enough to challenge them and not treat them as mindless sheep. The reason that some scenes pack such an emotional kick though is due to the use of long takes. Scenes just go on for a matter of minutes forcing the viewer to get involved in the conversation and situation. Take for example this next scene:
That's a sad one isn't it. If you were to watch the whole movie it has an even greater effect. That's why (as in all of the other movies on this blog) I am recommending this movie to you! Relationships can be very sad affairs. But as Allen's knack for comedy shows, they can also be quite funny. Ultimately he is a bit of a fatalist though so they are mostly depressing. At the same time though, Allen's great at putting things in perspective. One of the things which I appreciate about all of his movies as how after your finished watching them, you feel as if you've been given a new lease on life. Annie Hall has this effect too. You see life in a new way and you feel as if you have the opportunity to start over again.
For being one of the greatest movies about relationships in the history of the world, in my opinion Annie Hall is the 6th greatest movie of the 1970s.
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