Annie Hall
d. Woody Allen, 1977
In my opinion one of the funniest movies ever made, Woody Allen's Annie Hall represents some kind of landmark in all of the films that I have seen. It is one of the first few that I can truly remember loving and, after five viewings, I like it more than ever.
With that said, I still believe Manhattan is Allen's best film, one of the greatest of all movies for that matter. With its amazing black-and-white images and George Gershwin score, Manhattan was the pinnacle for Allen. But, all in all, Annie Hall is probably the best script he's written.
The film is made up of one unforgettable sequence after another. The way Allen holds his shots is fantastic and this film really shows how great a filmmaker (not just a comic) he truly is. Annie Hall is about Alvy Singer, a stand-up comedian living in New York. At the beginning of the film, he is speaking directly to the camera (something Allen uses throughout) about his recent break-up with his girlfriend. The film is essentially his reconstruction of the relationship, maybe to figure out where it went wrong.
Alvy's girlfriend, Annie Hall, is played by Diane Keaton in probably my favorite of all her performances (though all of her roles in Allen's movies are great). Despite the fact that the plot lends itself to be a standard romantic comedy, Annie Hall is not so much about their relationship but about the way they, especially Alvy, interact with people. It is clear from the start that these two are made for each other, and that it's very unlikely they will ever meet anyone else who can keep up with them.
Annie Hall is probably the movie with the most cultural references and witticisms that I've ever seen. The whole film is driven by Allen's dialogue and some of his lines have become so famous that people who have never seen it are able to recognize them, and this is probably the first time anyone heard the Groucho Marx joke about not wanting to be part of any group that would have him as a member.
To quote the film would be pointless in that the effect of the script relies almost solely on the delivery (an early monologue by Diane Keaton is as perfect as any I've seen). Suffice it to say, I have rarely been more amazed by a movie than I have been while watching Annie Hall.
