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| Annie Hall (1977), MGM Studios |
"Annie Hall" is amazing and hilarious. Either you hate Woody Allen's humor or you love it, and I love it. In my humble opinion, it's clever, witty, intelligent, and neurotic.
Woody Allen's influence has been far-reaching in the world of film, television, and trends (*cough* hipsters). "Annie Hall" is a major example of how much impact he's had on the entertainment industry in terms of humor and style.
Woody Allen's influence has been far-reaching in the world of film, television, and trends (*cough* hipsters). "Annie Hall" is a major example of how much impact he's had on the entertainment industry in terms of humor and style.
Notes on the film:
The movie opens with Woody Allen aka Alvy Singer looking like this:
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| Meet Alvy Singer aka The Original Hipster |
He's telling jokes to explain his outlook on life. The punch line to the first joke is something like, "The food is terrible and the portions are too small." Alvy remarks, "Well, that's essentially how I feel about life. Full of loneliness, misery, suffering and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly." The second joke goes like this:
"I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member."
And he says, "That's the key joke of my adult life in terms of my relationships with women."
Alvy talks about how he just turned 40, and he's having some kind of life crisis. He reveals that he and Annie broke up a year ago and he can't wrap his mind around it.
He then starts going into details and stories about his childhood. He thinks maybe the fact he grew up in a house directly under a roller coaster on Coney Island accounts for his nervous personality. He didn't get along with his classmates or his teachers and his mother accuses him of always seeing the worst in people.
The film then jumps back to present day, when Alvy is still dating Annie, and they meet up to see a movie.
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| My child disappoints me |
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| Meet Annie Hall |
They decide to go see another film (that hasn't started yet), 1972's "The Sorrow and the Pity." While they are waiting in line, the man behind them begins sharing his opinions on film and media to his date loudly. This is driving Alvy nuts, and he begins to make wry comments about the guy while simultaneously arguing with Annie about various things.
Alvy becomes so annoyed with the man behind him that he starts complaining directly to the camera, and the man overhears him and they both start arguing back and forth about Marshall McLuhan. At one point, Alvy demands
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| This guy is the worst |
"Aren't you ashamed to pontificate like that?"
Is this one of the best lines in movie history? The answer is yes.
Alvy puts an end to the discussion by pulling the actual person of Marshall McLuhan into the conversation, and Mr. McLuhan takes Alvy's side. Alvy looks at the camera and quips, "Boy, if life were only like this."
Back at home, Alvy and Annie discuss the movie and then their non-existent sex life when Alvy tries to kiss Annie and she's not into it. Annie says she's just going through a phase and reminds him that he was married once, and doesn't he know how these things go? Now there is a flashback to the conversation between Alvy and his first wife, Allison (Carol Kane), when they first met. At one point Alvy starts making presumptions about her life and then says, "stop me before I sound like an imbecile," and Allison replies,
"No, that was wonderful, I love being reduced to a cultural stereotype."
The film jumps to the end of their relationship when Alvy is going over his theory on who shot JFK while Allison is trying to get him into bed. Exasperated with him, she says, "You're using this conspiracy theory as an excuse to avoid sex with me." Alvy turns to the camera and says, "Oh my God... she's right."
Alvy and Annie are on a beach vacation, trying to wrangle live lobsters that are crawling around on the kitchen floor. Annie decides it's a photo-op.
Then they are walking along the beach, and Alvy is asking Annie about her past relationships. They jump back in time to when she was dating an actor and they watch as he explains to a younger Annie, "Acting is like an exploration of the soul, it's very religious. Like a kind of liberating consciousness. It's like a visual poem." To which Alvy remarks, "Is he kidding with that crap?"
Flashback to Alvy's second marriage, where he and his wife argue about the validity of watching sports, psychoanalytical categories for Alvy's sexual advances, and living in the country vs living in the city.
Alvy and his friend, Rob (Tony Roberts) are discussing living in California vs living in New York. Rob points out that you can lay outdoors everyday in the sun in California, to which Alvy responds,
"The sun is bad for you. Everything our parents said is good is bad. Sun... milk... red meat... college."
Rob and Alvy walk into an indoor tennis court where Rob's girlfriend and her friend, Annie, are waiting, and this is when Alvy and Annie first meet.
After the match, Annie comes upon Alvy packing up his stuff and awkwardly tries to flirt with him.
Alvy doesn't seem to mind and eventually it's decided that she'll give him a lift home. It turns out Annie drives very fast and haphazardly, which makes Alvy nervous and he asks where she's from. She says Wisconsin and asks, "Do you drive?" Alvy replies that he has a problem with driving and explains, "I got a license but I have too much hostility."
Once they are safely parked in front of Annie's apartment, she invites Alvy up for a glass of wine, to which he accepts. As they talk, Annie's personality begins to takes shape. She's ditzy and tends to put her foot in her mouth, but she's fun and interesting and into a lot of things.
When Alvy asks if she has plans Saturday night, she confides that she is going to be singing at a nightclub for the first time, and Alvy says he wants to go see her sing.
Cut to her singing at the nightclub, and afterwards she's devastated, thinking that she did terribly, but Alvy assures her that she has a great voice. They go to dinner at a diner, where Alvy briefly comments on his two failed marriages, and then cut to Alvy and Annie talking in bed after sex, and Annie casually lights up a joint.
Cut to a bookstore, where Alvy is recommending books that he likes to Annie, one of them titled, "The Denial of Death." She comments that it's pretty serious stuff and Alvy says, "Well, you know I'm obsessed with death, I think. Big subject with me.
"I have a very pessimistic view of life, you should know this about me if we're going to go out. I feel that life is divided up into the horrible and the miserable."
On another date, Alvy and Annie are sitting on a park bench playing the classic game of profiling people as they walk by (What's his deal? What does she do for a living? Is he married to his cat?).
A few days later, Alvy and Annie are standing at the waterfront and admit that they love each other.
Cut to Annie moving in with Alvy. Then they are back at the beach vacation and Alvy is asking Annie to try having sex without smoking pot first. Cut to a flashback of early on in Alvy's comedic career and then to him doing stand-up where Annie is in attendance backstage. When Alvy is finished and joins her backstage, Annie starts talking about how great it will be to have Easter dinner at her parents' house and how they will love Alvy. Alvy predicts otherwise.
Alvie and Annie are having Easter dinner with Annie's family. Everything Alvy says is met with confused stares, or in the case of Annie's grandmother (or as Alvy calls her "the Jew hater,"), disgusted glares. Next, as Alvy is passing the room of Annie's brother Duane (Christopher Walken), Duane beckons him in and proceeds to sit creepily in the near-dark and tell a creepy story. It's awesome.
Alvy and Annie are walking down the street and Annie is accusing Alvy of following her, and Alvy says that he was actually "spying" on her, and that's how he saw her hugging her professor.
Alvy then accuses her of having a thing for the professor, and Annie says that they should end their relationship.
Rob sets Alvy up with Pam (Shelley Duvall), a reporter for Rolling Stone, and they go to a concert and then back to Alvy's apartment. While they are laying in bed after sex, Alvy gets a phone call from Annie, and he rushes over to her apartment thinking there is an emergency.
When he arrives at her door and demands to know what's wrong, she informs him that there is a big spider in the bathroom. He's angry that she called him over at three in the morning to kill a spider, and he's also angry when he sees that she went to a rock concert with another guy and that she's reading the magazine "The National Review." But he finally agrees to dispose of the spider, and Annie is telling him how to do it, and he assures her,
"Darling, I've been killing spiders since I was 30, ok?"
Once the spiders are dead (turns out there were two), Annie begins to cry and tells Alvy that she misses him. They sleep together and Annie says, "let's never break up again." So they get back together and make plans to go see Alvy's old neighborhood and the house where he grew up (underneath the roller coaster).
Annie sings Carmen Lombardo's "Seems Like Old Times" at a nightclub, and is approached afterward while she is sitting at the bar with Alvy, by a man named Tony Lacey (Paul Simon), who's interested in recording an album with her.
Annie and Alvy are both talking to their shrinks at the same time in a split-screen shot, complaining about their sex life. When both of their respective shrinks ask how often they have sex, Alvy responds, "Hardly ever! Three times a week!" and Annie responds, "All the time! Three times a week!"
Alvy and Annie fly out to visit Rob in California, and Rob is driving them around Beverly Hills. Annie remarks that everything is so clean and Alvy says, "That's because they don't throw their garbage away. They turn it into television shows."
Rob, Alvy, and Annie attend a party at Tony Lacey's home. As Tony talks about the California lifestyle and shows them his screening room, Annie marvels to Alvy, "It's wonderful, you know they just eat and watch movies all day." Alvy replies, "Yeah, and gradually you get old and die. You know, it's important to make a little effort once in awhile."
On the flight back home, Annie and Alvy both come to the conclusion that they should break up again.
Back at their apartment, they start separating their stuff, and Annie says,
"All the books on death and dying are yours."
Alvy is walking along the street alone and says, "I miss Annie, I made a terrible mistake." He starts talking about Annie with random strangers on the street, the one man telling him that Annie is living in California at Tony Lacey's house. An elderly woman asks him why he doesn't date other women. Alvy replies that he does date other women, "but it's very depressing." Cut to a scene with Alvy trying to wrangle lobsters again in a kitchen, with a new woman that he's dating standing by watching. He makes a joke about quitting smoking 16 years ago, and she looks at him blankly, asking him to explain what he means. Cut to Alvy on the phone with Annie, telling her to come back to New York right away, and then he's on a plane to go get her.
Alvy calls Annie as soon as he lands in California and warns her, "I'm getting my chronic Los Angeles nausea." He meets her at an outdoor cafe and tells her that he thinks they should get married. Annie doesn't agree and tells him, "Alvy you're incapable of enjoying life, you know that? You're like New York City, you're like this island unto yourself."
Annie gets up and says she's leaving.
As Alvy tries to back out of the cafe parking lot, he hits three cars and a police officer pulls over and asks to see his license. Alvy rips it up and says, "I have a terrific problem with authority, it's not your fault, don't take it personal." Alvy is put in a jail cell until Rob shows up and bails him out.
Alvy finishes writing his play, and it's about his relationship with Annie. In the play, Annie agrees to go back to New York with him.
Annie does end up eventually moving back to New York. She and Alvy run into each other and have lunch together, laughing over old memories.
A montage of the good times in their relationship plays on the screen to the song "Seems Like Old Times." After it grows late and they part ways, Alvy reflects on how much fun he's had just knowing Annie and he thinks of an old joke: A man tells a psychiatrist that his brother thinks he's a chicken, and the psychiatrist asks why the man doesn't turn him in and the brother responds, "I would, but I need the eggs." And Alvy explains,
"Well, I guess that's pretty much, now, how I feel about relationships. They're totally irrational and crazy and absurd, but I guess we keep going through it, because most of us, need the eggs."
"Annie Hall" won Best Picture (Charles H. Joffe), Best Actress (Diane Keaton), Best Director (Woody Allen), and Best Screenplay (Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman) at the 1978 Academy Awards. Wood Allen was also nominated for Best Actor.
Is this one of the best lines in movie history? The answer is yes.
Alvy puts an end to the discussion by pulling the actual person of Marshall McLuhan into the conversation, and Mr. McLuhan takes Alvy's side. Alvy looks at the camera and quips, "Boy, if life were only like this."
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| "I happen to have Marshall McLuhan right here" |
"No, that was wonderful, I love being reduced to a cultural stereotype."
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| You're kind of an asshole, but I like it |
Alvy and Annie are on a beach vacation, trying to wrangle live lobsters that are crawling around on the kitchen floor. Annie decides it's a photo-op.
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| Cheeeeese |
Flashback to Alvy's second marriage, where he and his wife argue about the validity of watching sports, psychoanalytical categories for Alvy's sexual advances, and living in the country vs living in the city.
Alvy and his friend, Rob (Tony Roberts) are discussing living in California vs living in New York. Rob points out that you can lay outdoors everyday in the sun in California, to which Alvy responds,
"The sun is bad for you. Everything our parents said is good is bad. Sun... milk... red meat... college."
Rob and Alvy walk into an indoor tennis court where Rob's girlfriend and her friend, Annie, are waiting, and this is when Alvy and Annie first meet.
After the match, Annie comes upon Alvy packing up his stuff and awkwardly tries to flirt with him.
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| Commence awkward flirting |
Once they are safely parked in front of Annie's apartment, she invites Alvy up for a glass of wine, to which he accepts. As they talk, Annie's personality begins to takes shape. She's ditzy and tends to put her foot in her mouth, but she's fun and interesting and into a lot of things.
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| "I'm ditzy and beautiful and you love it" |
Cut to her singing at the nightclub, and afterwards she's devastated, thinking that she did terribly, but Alvy assures her that she has a great voice. They go to dinner at a diner, where Alvy briefly comments on his two failed marriages, and then cut to Alvy and Annie talking in bed after sex, and Annie casually lights up a joint.
Cut to a bookstore, where Alvy is recommending books that he likes to Annie, one of them titled, "The Denial of Death." She comments that it's pretty serious stuff and Alvy says, "Well, you know I'm obsessed with death, I think. Big subject with me.
"I have a very pessimistic view of life, you should know this about me if we're going to go out. I feel that life is divided up into the horrible and the miserable."
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| "If you want to be my lover, you have to get into death" |
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| We're adorable in a neurotic way |
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| "I love you" |
Alvie and Annie are having Easter dinner with Annie's family. Everything Alvy says is met with confused stares, or in the case of Annie's grandmother (or as Alvy calls her "the Jew hater,"), disgusted glares. Next, as Alvy is passing the room of Annie's brother Duane (Christopher Walken), Duane beckons him in and proceeds to sit creepily in the near-dark and tell a creepy story. It's awesome.
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| Wins all the creepy awards |
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| "It's called spying, ok?" |
Rob sets Alvy up with Pam (Shelley Duvall), a reporter for Rolling Stone, and they go to a concert and then back to Alvy's apartment. While they are laying in bed after sex, Alvy gets a phone call from Annie, and he rushes over to her apartment thinking there is an emergency.
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| "Later, Pam" |
"Darling, I've been killing spiders since I was 30, ok?"
Once the spiders are dead (turns out there were two), Annie begins to cry and tells Alvy that she misses him. They sleep together and Annie says, "let's never break up again." So they get back together and make plans to go see Alvy's old neighborhood and the house where he grew up (underneath the roller coaster).
Annie sings Carmen Lombardo's "Seems Like Old Times" at a nightclub, and is approached afterward while she is sitting at the bar with Alvy, by a man named Tony Lacey (Paul Simon), who's interested in recording an album with her.
Annie and Alvy are both talking to their shrinks at the same time in a split-screen shot, complaining about their sex life. When both of their respective shrinks ask how often they have sex, Alvy responds, "Hardly ever! Three times a week!" and Annie responds, "All the time! Three times a week!"
Alvy and Annie fly out to visit Rob in California, and Rob is driving them around Beverly Hills. Annie remarks that everything is so clean and Alvy says, "That's because they don't throw their garbage away. They turn it into television shows."
Rob, Alvy, and Annie attend a party at Tony Lacey's home. As Tony talks about the California lifestyle and shows them his screening room, Annie marvels to Alvy, "It's wonderful, you know they just eat and watch movies all day." Alvy replies, "Yeah, and gradually you get old and die. You know, it's important to make a little effort once in awhile."
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| "This is pure, unadulterated hell" |
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| "We should definitely break up again" |
"All the books on death and dying are yours."
Alvy is walking along the street alone and says, "I miss Annie, I made a terrible mistake." He starts talking about Annie with random strangers on the street, the one man telling him that Annie is living in California at Tony Lacey's house. An elderly woman asks him why he doesn't date other women. Alvy replies that he does date other women, "but it's very depressing." Cut to a scene with Alvy trying to wrangle lobsters again in a kitchen, with a new woman that he's dating standing by watching. He makes a joke about quitting smoking 16 years ago, and she looks at him blankly, asking him to explain what he means. Cut to Alvy on the phone with Annie, telling her to come back to New York right away, and then he's on a plane to go get her.
Alvy calls Annie as soon as he lands in California and warns her, "I'm getting my chronic Los Angeles nausea." He meets her at an outdoor cafe and tells her that he thinks they should get married. Annie doesn't agree and tells him, "Alvy you're incapable of enjoying life, you know that? You're like New York City, you're like this island unto yourself."
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| I'm not marrying you, Island Person |
As Alvy tries to back out of the cafe parking lot, he hits three cars and a police officer pulls over and asks to see his license. Alvy rips it up and says, "I have a terrific problem with authority, it's not your fault, don't take it personal." Alvy is put in a jail cell until Rob shows up and bails him out.
Alvy finishes writing his play, and it's about his relationship with Annie. In the play, Annie agrees to go back to New York with him.
Annie does end up eventually moving back to New York. She and Alvy run into each other and have lunch together, laughing over old memories.
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| "Remember the lobsters?!" |
"Well, I guess that's pretty much, now, how I feel about relationships. They're totally irrational and crazy and absurd, but I guess we keep going through it, because most of us, need the eggs."
"Annie Hall" won Best Picture (Charles H. Joffe), Best Actress (Diane Keaton), Best Director (Woody Allen), and Best Screenplay (Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman) at the 1978 Academy Awards. Wood Allen was also nominated for Best Actor.
Annie Hall (1977)
Director: Woody Allen
Producers: Charles H. Joffe and Jack Rollins
Screenplay: Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
Cinematography- Gordon Willis
Cinematography- Gordon Willis
Cast:
Woody Allen- Alvy Singer
Diane Keaton- Annie Hall
Tony Roberts- Rob
Carol Kane- Allison
Paul Simon- Tony Lacey
Shelley Duvall- Pam
Christopher Walken- Duane Hall
Tony Roberts- Rob
Carol Kane- Allison
Paul Simon- Tony Lacey
Shelley Duvall- Pam
Christopher Walken- Duane Hall
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