Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

kjphyland This could well be a review of 90% of Woody Allen's oeuvre. The film is a smorgasbord of fabulousness - exquisite concepts, very clever lines and very funny ones. No film maker has ever had such a grasp of irony, sarcasm and the ridiculous, and still imbue it with wit and (occasionally) subtlety. But it is the relentless self-deprecation and extant feelings of worthlessness that eventually become wearing after you have watched as many Allen films as I have. This is the film that most impresses you with his confusion over identity however. I could go on about self-analysis for pages but it's unnecessary...just watch any given Woody Allen film. He mellows it out with a rather forlorn sense of romance that becomes endearing rather than pathetic...a skill that is essential to engage with his films. This is a fine film. Oh yeah...and very funny...if you get the references.

peter henderson Ned Flanders, the Simpson's next door neighbour, said he liked Woody Allen films, but was not quite sure about the nervous little guy with the glasses who always appeared in them. Neither am I.There were only four I have ever really warmed to. "Play It Again, Sam".(The personal Bogart mentor is fun but the slapstick becomes tedious) "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex" (It is still funny and insightful) "Radio Days" (a rare delight - but the little guy with glasses is an offscreen narrator) "Broadway Danny Rose" (an examination of the idea of "grace", forgiveness, turning the other cheek as an alternative to revenge)"Crimes and Misdemeanours" - The suggestion that you tend to forget about guilt if you live with it long enough and make enough money to buy respectability is interesting. But is the film just a technicolor morality tale.In "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan", the little guy with glasses reveals himself as a self deluded, self obsessed brat.And then there was "Zelig". It runs out of steam about half way through and has to be resuscitated by a rescue mission resulting in a new world record for flying a plane upside down across the Atlantic.It seems to depict the age old plight of Jews, who were kicked out of Israel by the Romans and have endeavoured to become citizens of North Africa, then Spain, then mid Europe then Russia. The more ambitious and successful tried to assimilate with the people they lived amongst, (take on the identity of such people) only to be violently rejected in the end. However there is a universality to "Zelig". "Man is born free but all around us we see him in chains". If you try to make yourself identical to everyone else to 'fit in', you will never know who or what you really are. You will ultimately miss out on the wisdom gained through atonement - the means to 'Know Thyself". That may well apply to the timid Germans of the 1930's, the conformist faces in the crowds in those old newsreels. But it's not just about1930's Germans.You can see it acted out in Luis Bunuel's, "Exterminating Angel". The high society supper party guests slowly realise that they can not escape from the room in which they have gathered. Their increasingly desperate plight is finally brought to a head when one of them suggests they go back to doing what they were doing before it dawned upon them that they were trapped. The solution works. They find a way to exit the room. To celebrate their deliverance, they all attend a grand cathedral church service. And at the conclusion of the film, they realise they are trapped in the cathedral.So how do you escape the invisible chains that trap people in a society that is very imperfect? Ask the Greek philosophers.The beginning and end of all wisdom is to "Know Thyself" By beauty it is that we come at WisdomIn Keats' words,"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all  Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."But what is the route that leads to that beauty that is wisdom, that is self knowledge?Woody Allen might well have gained some insight into that question had he spent more time becoming acquainted with the Hebrew scriptures than he did in "Crimes and Misdemeanours". Moses' Law and the Prophets have a great deal to say about the journey that leads to wisdom and beauty. Take the feasts prescribed in Moses' Law.Moses' Law ties the Exodus from Egyptian slavery story to a fortnight in early spring in which Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits feasts are observed. They celebrate redemption. Of course only two of the people who were redeemed on that first passover made it to the promised land. The rest did not even make it into God's rest (Psalm 95), whatever that means.A fortnight at the end of summer contains the new year, atonement and tabernacles feasts. They commemorate the forty years of wilderness wandering (atonement) that allowed them to see and know God's ways(wisdom) . Passover is about redemption. The child at the loving mother's breast is protected from harm, nourished and kept warm. It would die without that redemptive care. Think of redemption as beauty, love, mercy, forgiveness, grace. Think of the closing scene of "Broadway Danny Rose"Atonement is about law, truth, consequences of actions. The child who has been weaned and goes out into the world soon discovers the truth that it is not at all like suckling at mommy's bosom. Wisdom is truth. The truth that is discovered about oneself by life experiences in the hard, cold world. They either make you, or break you. You get to decide by the way you react to the calamities of nature and actions of other people. Think of wisdom as truth. It is symbolised as a virtuous wife in the book of Proverbs. It is expressed as the knowledge of God that comes from riding out grief, pain and loss, in the book of Job. Apotheosis.The man who had his ex- lover murdered in "Crimes and Misdemeanours" failed to gain that wisdom.Beauty is truth, truth beauty Redemption is beauty. The Wisdom discovered by atonement is truth.If you want a new definition of the construct referred to as "God", recast that idea as what happens at some abstract point at which Redemption intersects with Atonement - at which grace and beauty intersect with truth. Using that definition, knowing God is to know redemption and atonement - beauty and truth - true wisdom.There's an idea for some new movies, Woody. Some really worthwhile movies, with or without the little guy who wears glasses.

Sergeant_Tibbs I'm starting to think that I've underrated Woody Allen. Sure, he can make some half-hearted stinkers but his good stuff is the best of the best. It's remarkable how he can take this simple surreal idea and have it blossom into a unique experience with a mockumentary style. Not only is it profound and heartfelt, but also hilarious every time Zelig's chameleon-like condition effects him. From the plot line, I thought it was some kind of gimmick, but the fact that it's involuntary and Zelig is played as such a blank and naive slate makes him brilliant and sometimes quite relatable. It touches on one of the greatest social dilemmas of the human condition. Blend in at the expense of personal identity or be opinionated and ostracised? This idea hits the gut. Hard.The cause-and-effect of Zelig's condition is highlighted by its broad stroke documentary style where information is given by a narrator or talking head interviews. Consequences are shown immediately and allows the film in its 70 minutes runtime to explore a vast amount of detail, especially in studying celebrity culture and how icons are embraced then ignored. We only get snippets of Zelig himself which are often Allen delivering sharp punchlines but it's Mia Farrow's involvement that gives it a heart. I usually don't feel too engaged by Allen's romances but this one I really wanted to see them get together. With its technical prowess in its innovation matching its profound ideas and creativity, this is one well-rounded picture and one of Allen's best works.9/10

mark-whait Woody Allen has long been considered a genius of cinema, and here again is another example of how he has always been ahead of his time. The story is about Leonard Zelig (Allen), who when in the company of academics or famous people can morph himself into them, regardless of race, colour or creed. Allen cleverly superimposes himself onto newsreel footage so that he appears on screen with such recognisable figures (for example, there is a scene where he is seated just behind Hitler at a Nazi rally). Yes, the intelligence of this kind of footage was explored to huge commercial success with films like Forrest Gump, but, as that film was released well over 10 years after this one, it again shows how Allen was trailblazing a path in cinema long before others. Most of the film is naturally therefore in black and white, and told in a documentary style, and there are numerous clever sequences that uphold Allen's reputation as a master film maker. For me, there is no doubt that the quality of the piece is visible pretty much from the first frame of film, but conversely, this for me is also the problem. You can't slate the film because it is obviously something very unique and well made, but I fidgeted, because I think the germ of the idea was not (in my humble opinion) strong enough to extend over a feature length movie. To be honest, the mood and feel of the picture got on my nerves, and that is my problem with it, but I cannot doubt the obvious work of genius that is going on underneath.