Journal Entry #7

The Week of Friday October 31st

MID-TERM

10.31.2008
ANNIE HALL (1977) In Class Viewing/150 Word Review
Directed by: Woody Allen

REVIEW

Annie Hall is your proverbial, classic Woody Allen film and like one of the last lines of the film ("your like N.Y. city, an island unto yourself") it is a movie unto itself. I think that line in it's simplicity says a lot about the film itself. It's a film chock full of double meaning, with a multi faceted spider web of thoughts and directions. One huge snow ball, avalanche, train wreck which manages to stay charming due to it's deep wit and banter. Case in point "I'm a Bigot...but for the left" or "my Grandma never gave gifts she was too busy getting raped by Cossacks"...."He said as he removed her brassiere" It's masterful.
My mother grew up in Yonkers, N.Y. The first baseball game I went to was at Yankee Stadium with my Grandfather. So when you here Woody Allen or watch a film by him, there's a certain nostaligia that wafts over you, N.Y. city in all it's crassness, in all it's aplomb comes drifting back to you. That's the beauty of this film. That's the beauty of Woody Allen.
In my opinion one of the most groundbreaking scenes in this film comes during the first "meeting" of Allen and Annie Hall when he drives her home and they sit on the rooftop and share a glass of wine. In it Allen employes his tactic of having the actors conversing with each other while the thoughts in their mind also enters the scene...it's brilliant, instead of using a tactic made famous by comic books (with the thought bubble over the characters head) Allen makes there thoughts known to all out loud as it sounds to us when we speak in real life.
Finally I think whats hard to dispute about Woody Allen is hate him or love him the man has made a movie every year for 45 years. So despite his faults you have to respect him as a director, as someone who is dedicted to his art. I think that quality above all else make him a master, really, a dedicated film maker who has poured his heart and soul into making films, into his art.