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Directed by: Woody Allen Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton I'd say Annie Hall's a comedy only because to say it's a romance would put you in the "OMFG Richard Gere LOL" mode. It's a romance in an old-fashioned way: there's a beginning and an ending and things happen in between. Some are funny, some are sad, all of them are so much like life it makes you want to laugh out of the sheer kinda truth of it all. Woody Allen plays himself (well, Alvy Singer, yet another character with his neuroses) over the course of his tumultuous relationship with Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), a girl who, as he says, "walked out of a Norman Rockwell painting". There are numerous hilarious cameos (Paul Simon, Christopher Walken) and clever non-sequiturs (At one point the action shifts entirely to a Disney-style cartoon with Keaton voicing the Wicked Queen from Snow White), but the whole thing lies in the fact that it is a romance. Every one of Allen's little vignettes are side-splittingly funny (I have incorporated the phrase "You're like a New York, Jewish, left-wing, liberal, intellectual, Central Park West, Brandeis University, the socialist summer camps and the, the father with the Ben Shahn drawings, right, and the really, y'know, strike-oriented kind of, red diaper, stop me before I make a complete imbecile of myself" into my Massachusetts life) but somehow deeply moving. You really feel for the guy, but you can see why he's so hard to live with. It's very hard to explain the film because it takes so many twists and turns, but I can just say this: even though the ending isn't particularly happy or sad, it's uplifting. Watching this film honestly makes me feel good about everything. This is, for reasons I can't quite comprehend, my favorite movie ever. 5/5
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May 3, 2004 02:52
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"You try to get things right in art because it's not so easy in real life." Completely changed my outlook on happy endings. Just brilliant.
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May 3, 2004 03:16
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Basically, if you think you hate Woody Allen, see this movie. It's really that good, and holds up really well, unlike some of his other comedies. I don't even know one person who has seen it and not liked it, Woody Allen fan or otherwise.
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May 3, 2004 03:56
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FANTASTIC movie. Also, note that this won best picture in 1977. 5/5 Probably my favorite quote: "OH MY GOD, IT'S BIGGER THAN A BUICK!!"
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May 3, 2004 04:49
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By far the most classic of Woody Allen's pictures. I read an interview with Allen about this film and interestingly enough, the plot for Manhattan Murder Mystery was originally going to be interwoven with Annie Hall but the studio felt it was too much, so he just left it as a love story. Go figure it wins Best Picture of the Year. If you watch Manhattan Murder Mystery, you'll see how easily the characters could have been the same only it would be too much to have both plots (love/sleuth) in the same movie.
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May 3, 2004 15:28
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Yeah, this and Manhattan are both stunning examples of an artist at the top of his game. 5/5.
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May 4, 2004 13:55
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Enjoyable look at relationships that drips with Woody Allen-ness. All of his neuroses are evident here and even visible in the framework of the narrative. The story felt really genuine and the ending, while sad, was actually kind of bittersweet (in my eyes, at least). More romantic comedies should be like this. 5/5
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Mar 6, 2006 09:55
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I saw this in a film class, it's top quality. It's hilarious, true to life in a ridiculous way, and it holds up well. Woody Allen is an inspiration to me as an aspiring film maker. Though, he does tend to make himself a lot more prestigous in his movies than he actually is.
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Mar 9, 2006 06:25
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Annie Hall is amongst my favourite films. It really was Woody Allen and Diane Keaton at their very best. It works well because the characters are lovable and imperfect, and the humour is not invented, but just flows naturally from the story. My favourite scene is the one where they are talking to each other on the balcony, about art and philosophy, and have subtitles explaining what they're really thinking.
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Mar 10, 2006 13:41
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One of my favorite movies of all times. And not just cause Christopher Walken makes an appearance as a creepy suicidal youth. It's witty, fast paced, quirky, intelligent and original. I'm very glad I watched this movie because before then, I couldn't care less about Woody Allen. I've seen several of his films since, but this one remains my top favorite. I absolutely love it.
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Apr 9, 2006 06:01
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How Woody Allen manages to blend an honest and realistic portrayal of romance and a constant stream of witty references and laugh out loud moments is beyond me. Annie Hall is an incredibly good film, both as entertainment and as a commentary on love and relationships. Although many of the jokes rely on the viewer getting literary and cultural references, Annie Hall is still pretty loving funny. Whether or not the ending is tragic or uplifting is debatable - I found it both uplifting and strangely therapeutic. 5/5
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Feb 22, 2012 02:28
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A very sweet and funny film that guaranteed a measure of immortality for Woody. I often think of Woody fumbling with the lobster when I see people create drama just because they can't live without it. 5/5.
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Jun 3, 2012 05:26
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The New Zorker posted:"You're like a New York, Jewish, left-wing, liberal, intellectual, Central Park West, Brandeis University, the socialist summer camps and the, the father with the Ben Shahn drawings, right, and the really, y'know, strike-oriented kind of, red diaper, stop me before I make a complete imbecile of myself"  Excellent film, I thought I hated Woody Allen but it turns out I don't. I genuinely enjoyed the comedy. I honestly didn't realize it was also a romance until after it was over, although after the fact it just hit me like a ton of bricks--of course It's a romance. maybe I just don't see enough romantic films to judge. v  vI found the ending to be uplifting. Nothing extremely special, but rewarding after seeing the rest. 5/5
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Jul 24, 2012 21:18
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My initial experience with the movie can best be described by the movie itself, like when Woody Allen's character is in the line at the cinema, complaining in a very elaborate way about some loud guy behind him who is trying and failing to sound intelligent and interesting. I really sympathized with this situation throughout the movie, because Woody Allen's character really felt like that guy to me, but at the same time I realized that him complaining so much about other people was what made him such a sad character. Feeling guilty for being so annoyed at him, I watched the rest of it like a mildly fascinated robot. My reaction to all of the jokes was thinking "I get it. This is humor. Even better, this is cynical humor. This is supposed to make me laugh.", with a deadpan expression on my face. By the end of the movie my wide eyes were starting to lose their focus, and when flashbacks started I could only barely with the use of clinical logic recognize it as a trick meant to move me to tears. In summary, this movie made me sink into deep thought and reflect upon myself, my sense of humor, and my tolerance for personality flaws in fictional characters, while I was watching it. 1/5
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Aug 13, 2012 12:47
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