Monday, November 20, 2006

The "Citizen Kane" of comedies

It had been several years since I had watched "Annie Hall," and after reading about all of the accolades (four Oscars, including Best Picture), I began to wonder if it had been overrated.
I watched it tonight, and I can safely say IT IS NOT OVERRATED.
It ranges from poignant to side-splittingly funny.
There are so many wonderful one-liners that Woody Allen just tosses off, like a modern-day Groucho.
"What do you mean, our sexual problem? I mean, I'm comparatively normal for a guy raised in Brooklyn."
"Annie, there's a big lobster behind the refrigerator. I can't get it out. Maybe if I put a little dish of butter sauce here with a nutcracker, it will run out the other side?"

"I have been killing spiders since I was 30."
The lines come fast and furious, but apart from the funny lines, "Annie Hall" demonstrates Allen's remarkably innovative filmmaking technique.
Here is a bittersweet romantic comedy that includes:
* Flashbacks.
* Split screens.
* Direct addresses to the camera.
* Use of double exposure.
* Animation.
Allen pulls out all of the tricks he knows, but somehow the film seems more real because of the tricks. To me, that is the hallmark of a great filmmaker, and "Annie Hall" is nothing short of a great film.

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