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Synopsis: Annie Hall [Blu-ray]

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Considered to be "Woody Allen's breakthrough movie" (Time), Annie Hall won* four Oscarsr, including Best Picture, and established Allen as the premier auteur filmmaker. Thought by many critics to be Allen's magnum opus, Annie Hall confirmed that he had, "completed the journey from comic to humorist, from comedy writer to wit [and] from inventive moviemaker to creative artist" (Saturday Review). Alvy Singer (Allen) is one of Manhattan's most brilliant comedians, but when it comes to romance, his delivery needs a little work. Introduced byhis best friend, Rob (Tony Roberts), Alvy falls in love with the ditzy but delightful nightclub singer, Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). When his own insecurities sabotage the affair, Annie is forced to leave Alvy for a new lifeand lover (Paul Simon)in Los Angeles. Knowing he may have lost Annie forever, Alvy's willing to go to any lengthseven driving L.A.'s freewaysto recapture the only thing that ever mattered'true love.

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Annie Hall is one of the truest, most bittersweet romances on film. In it, Allen plays a thinly disguised version of himself: Alvy Singer, a successful--if neurotic--television comedian living in Manhattan. Annie (the wholesomely luminous Dianne Keaton) is a Midwestern transplant who dabbles in photography and sings in small clubs. When the two meet, the sparks are immediate--if repressed. Alone in her apartment for the first time, Alvy and Annie navigate a minefield of self-conscious "is-this-person-someone-I'd-want-to-get-involved-with?" conversation. As they speak, subtitles flash their unspoken thoughts: the likes of "I'm not smart enough for him" and "I sound like a jerk." Despite all their caution, they connect, and we're swept up in the flush of their new romance. Allen's antic sensibility shines here in a series of flashbacks to Alvy's childhood, growing up, quite literally, under a rumbling roller coaster. His boisterous Jewish family's dinner table shares a split screen with the WASP-y Hall's tight-lipped holiday table, one Alvy has joined for the first time. His position as outsider is uncontestable he looks down the table and sizes up Annie's "Grammy Hall" as "a classic Jew-hater."

The relationship arcs, as does Annie's growing desire for independence. It quickly becomes clear that the two are on separate tracks, as what was once endearing becomes annoying. Annie Hall embraces Allen's central themes--his love affair with New York (and hatred of Los Angeles), how impossible relationships are, and his fear of death. But their balance is just right, the chemistry between Allen's worry-wart Alvy and Keaton's gangly, loopy Annie is one of the screen's best pairings. It couldn't be more engaging. --Susan Benson

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Annie Hall [Blu-ray] Reviews

73 of 79 people found the following review helpful

Annie Hall has truly stood the test of time. And I loved it, May 14, 2004

Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Annie Hall (DVD)

I have a confession to make.

Until now, I've never seen a Woody Allen movie.

Boy, I sure was a "miss out".

Annie Hall, made in 1977, is a classic. Why, oh why, did I wait so long?

First of all it's a story, and a very funny story at that, about a New York Jewish comedian, played by Woody Allen and his WASP girlfriend, played by Diane Keaton. It pokes fun at many social mores that we take for granted and I found myself laughing throughout. There's the New Yorker who never learns to drive, the mid-westerner who orders a pastrami sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise (which seems almost grotesque to a New Yorker like me), the pretentious movie critic, the neuroses of modern romances, and the differences between the New York and Los Angeles way of life.

The film runs along at such a fast pace that there is almost no time at all between funny moments. And, to make it even better, there are some wonderful film techniques. For example, while Diane... Read more

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

Quintessential Woody., July 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Annie Hall (DVD)

*Annie Hall* is a movie that a critic could love. Its hero, Alvy Singer (Allen), though apparently a professional comedian, is really more of a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week critic of everything he encounters: the Seventies drug culture, pretentious loudmouths, Los Angeles, WASPs from the Midwest, anti-Semites, Bob Dylan, aging hippies, and -- most important for getting on film critics' good side -- himself. (The constant cinematic references, such as *Snow White*, Fellini, Bergman, *The Sorrow and the Pity*, et al., also endear Allen to the critics . . . and to the overall movie-lover, as well.) In and around all this, the film tells the story of a mismatched relationship between neurotic, intellectual New Yorker Alvy and Wisconsin transplant Annie Hall (Diane Keaton, in an excellent performance). The details of the relationship are delineated with aching realism: the tentative getting-to-know-you stage, the petulant break-ups, the warm making-ups, the mundanities (like getting... Read more

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful

Continually rewarding, ever funny, rich and warm. Buy It!, April 25, 2005

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Annie Hall (DVD)

`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... Read more