Actors - Annie Hall

Home > Listing Index > Actors > Annie Hall

	Actors - Annie Hall

Annie Hall is a 1977 romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen from a script he co-wrote with Marshall Brickman. Allen's working title for the film was Anhedonia, but this was considered unmarketable. Brickman's suggested alternative, It Had to Be Jew, was considered even less marketable, and ultimately Annie Hall was settled upon as the release title. Because of biographical similarities with Alvy, including Allen's previous relationship with co-star Diane Keaton (real name Diane Hall), Annie Hall has been widely assumed to be semi-autobiographical, but Allen has denied this.

Plot

The film is set in New York City and Los Angeles.

Allen plays Alvy Singer, a comedian obsessed with death, attempting to maintain a relationship with the ditzy title character (played by Diane Keaton), who loves life. The film goes on to chronicle their relationship over several years, intercut with various trips into each others' history (Hall is able to "see" Singer's family when Singer was only a child, and likewise Singer experiences Hall's past sexual relationships). After several years, the two realize they are too fundamentally different and split up. However, they are able to meet later on good terms and seem to have no regrets about the relationship.

Alvy Singer grew up in Brooklyn. His father operated a bumper cars concession. He claims the family home was located below a roller coaster on Coney Island.

Film technique

The film makes use of various techniques such as split-screen imagery, double exposure, breaks in character to address the camera directly (breaking the "fourth wall"), and elements of magic realism. For instance, Allen's character, standing in a cinema queue with Annie and listening to someone behind him expound on Marshall McLuhan's work, leaves the line to speak to the camera directly. The man comes to speak to the camera in his defense, and Allen resolves the dispute by pulling McLuhan himself from behind a counter to tell the man that his interpretation is wrong.

Another scene is animated, featuring a cartoon Allen and the Witch from Snow White.

Awards

Academy Awards

The film is consistently in the top 100 on the Internet Movie Database's list of top 250 films, and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Zagat Survey Movie Guide (2002) ranks Annie Hall one of the top ten comedies of all time, one of the top ten movies of the 1970s and as Allen's best film as a director. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted it the forty-second greatest comedy film of all time.

Influence

Annie Hall is a benchmark for modern romantic comedies, with a large influence over future films. In fashion, Keaton dressed in layers with a tie (by Ralph Lauren), which became a popular style. This movie was also Christopher Walken's first notable performance as Annie's strange and suicidally fixated brother. It brought the actor and his unusual qualities to the attention of the mainstream viewing public.

Cast and roles include

Woody Allen
- Alvy Singer
Diane Keaton
- Annie Hall
Tony Roberts
- Rob
Carol Kane
- Allison Portchnik
Paul Simon - Tony Lacey, a music producer
Shelley Duvall
- Pam, Alvy's one-night stand
Janet Margolin
- Robin
Colleen Dewhurst
- Mrs. Hall
Christopher Walken
- Duane Hall, the suicidally fixated brother of Annie Hall
Donald Symington - Mr. Hall
Helen Ludlam - Grammy Hall
Mordecai Lawner - Mr. Singer
Joan Neuman - Mrs. Singer
Jonathan Munk - Alvy Singer at 9
Ruth Volner - Alvy's Aunt
Martin Rosenblatt - Alvy's Uncle
Hy Anzell
- Joey Nichols
Rashel Novikoff - Aunt Tessie
Russell Horton - Man in theatre line
Marshall McLuhan - Himself

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Annie Hall ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Annie Hall; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay