Annie Hall

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Woody Allen's romantic comedy of the Me Decade follows the up and down relationship of two mismatched New York neurotics. Jewish comedy writer Alvy Singer (Allen) ponders the modern quest for love and his past romance with tightly-wound WASP singer Annie Hall (Diane Keaton, nee Diane Hall). The twice-divorced Alvy knows that it's not easy to find a mate when the options include pretentious New York intellectuals and lifestyle-obsessed Rolling Stone writers, but la-di-dah-ing Annie seems different. Along the rocky road of their coupling, Allen/Alvy weigh in on such topics as endless therapy, movies vs. TV, the absurdity of dating rituals, anti-Semitism, drugs, and, in one of the best set pieces, repressed Midwestern WASP insanity vs. crazy Brooklyn Jewish boisterousness. Annie wants to move to Los Angeles to find that fame that finally does in the relationship -- but not before Alvy gets in a few digs at vacuous, mantra-fixated California. Originally entitled Anhedonia (the inability to enjoy oneself), Annie Hall blended the slapstick and fantasy from such earlier Allen films as Sleeper (1973) and Bananas (1971) with the more autobiographical musings of his stand-up and written comedy, using an array of such movie techniques as talking heads, splitscreens, and subtitles. Within these gleeful formal experiments and sight gags, Allen and co-writer Marshall Brickman skewered 1970s solipsism, reversing the happy marriage of opposites found in classic screwball comedies. Hailed as Allen's most mature and personal film, Annie Hall beat out Star Wars for Best Picture and also won Oscars for Allen as director and writer and for Keaton as Best Actress; audiences enthusiastically responded to Allen's take on contemporary love and turned Keaton's rumpled menswear into a fashion trend. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Screen: Pan and Scan
• Audio: PCM Mono
• Features:
  • Trivia and production notes
  • Original theatrical trailer

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Actress - 1977 (Diane Keaton)
•     Won Best Director - 1977 (Woody Allen)
•     Won Best Original Screenplay - 1977 (Marshall Brickman)
•     Won Best Picture - 1977 (Charles H. Joffe)
•     Nominated Best Actor - 1977 (Woody Allen)
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1977 (Woody Allen)

• American Film Institute

•     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Actress - 1977 (Diane Keaton)
•     Won Best Director - 1977 (Woody Allen)
•     Won Best Editing - 1977 (Ralph Rosenblum)
•     Won Best Picture - 1977 (Woody Allen)
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1977 (Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Won Best Director - 1977 (Woody Allen)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Com - 1977 (Diane Keaton)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1977 (Woody Allen)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 1977 (Woody Allen)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 1977
•     Nominated Best Screenplay - 1977 (Woody Allen)

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1991

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1977 (Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman)

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1977 (Diane Keaton)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1977

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Actress - 1977 (Diane Keaton)
•     Won Best Picture - 1977

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Actress - 1977 (Diane Keaton)
•     Won Best Director - 1977 (Woody Allen)
•     Won Best Picture - 1977
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1977 (Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Woody Allen - Alvy Singer
       Diane Keaton - Annie Hall
       Tony Roberts - Rob
       Carol Kane - Allison
       Paul Simon - Tony Lacey
       Colleen Dewhurst - Mom Hall
       Janet Margolin - Robin
       Shelley Duvall - Pam
       Christopher Walken - Duane Hall
       Donald Symington - Dad Hall
       Mordecai Lawner - Alvy's Dad
       Joan Newman - Alvy's Mom
       Jonathan Munk - Alvy at 9
       Ruth Volner - Alvy's Aunt
       Martin Rosenblatt - Alvy's Uncle
       Alan Landers - Lacey Party Guest

• Director:

  Woody Allen

• Producer:

  Charles H. Joffe, Jack Rollins

• Screenwriter:

  Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman

• Cinematographer:

  Gordon Willis

• Featured Music:

  Isham Jones, Gus Kahn

• Composer (Music Score):

  John Jacob Loeb

• Editor:

  Wendy Greene Bricmont, Ralph Rosenblum

• Art Director:

  Mel Bourne

• Associate Producer:

  Fred T. Gallo

• Executive Producer:

  Robert Greenhut

• Set Designer:

  Robert Drumheller, Barbara Krieger, Justin Scoppa, Jr.

• Costume Designer:

  Ralph Lauren, Nancy McArdle, Ruth Morley, George Newman, Marilyn Putnam

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  James Pilcher, James J. Sabat

• Makeup:

  Fern Buchner

• First Assistant Director:

  Fred T. Gallo

• Camera Operator:

  Fred Schuler, Donald Thorin

• Production Manager:

  Robert Greenhut

• Casting:

  Juliet Taylor

REVIEW:

• One of the greatest pleasures of Woody Allen's early work is his ability to skewer himself while skewering the conventions of the comedy genre. Annie Hall is perhaps the best example of this: a blend of slapstick, fantasy, and bittersweet romantic comedy, it is not so much about two people falling in love as about two brains trying to negotiate a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. The neurotic, self-obsessed commentary on display in Annie Hall is pointed but relatively gentle, free of the bitterness that sometimes marked Allen's later work. The film is a series of insightful musings that leave the viewer feeling strangely optimistic--or at least very amused--about human nature. Much of this is due to Alvy and Annie themselves--unlike the oddly but perfectly matched couples fated to walk off into the sunset in the majority of romantic comedies, Alvy and Annie are consigned to further introspection, obsessive analysis, and bittersweet reflection. Part of the appeal of Annie Hall is that there are no pat answers: in watching the struggles of the characters, we see a reflection of our own struggles, without the condescending message that everything will be fine in the end. Annie Hall elevated Allen to the forefront of contemporary filmmakers, promoting him from a comedian who happened to make films to a comic filmmaker. The film also set a new standard for romantic comedies, its name alone becoming synonymous with the sub-genre of the intelligent, New York-based romantic comedy. On a less far-reaching scale, it also launched a fashion trend, with Diane Keaton's baggy menswear providing a welcome alternative to polyester pantsuits and flared trousers, anticipating the craze for androgynous clothing by almost twenty years. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi