ANNIE HALL

Review: A comical look about the up and down relationship between a neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer and the ditzy Annie Hall an aspiring singer/actress.
Director: Woody Allen
Actors: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Paul Simon and Christopher Walken
Year: 1977
Genre: Comedy and Romance
Conclusion: 5/5
One of Woody Allen’s defining moments. This is the film where he found his own singular voice. I don’t know what it is about Woody Allen or how he does it but he always somehow has the ability to tap into and articulate the very feeling of being alive. Both Woody Allen and Diane Keaton excel themselves. It deals very well with the meaning of life, love, psychiatry, art and New York. It also works because at the time Woody Allen and Diane Keaton were in a real-life relationship. The script is brilliant in this and I just found myself laughing all the way through, for instance look out for the most funny quote in movie history “I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark”. During filming both Diane and Woody had trouble keeping a straight face when working together. I loved the costumes that Diane Keaton wore and in fact were her own clothes and at the time created a brief fashion rage. At the time of release they quickly had to come up with a title for this film. Three of the possibilities were “It Had to Be Jew”, “A Rollercoaster Named Desire” and the last one “Me and My Goy”. Interestingly this film was intended to be a period comedy set in Victorian London. At the Academy Awards in 1978 this won 4 Oscars. They were for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Diane Keaton), Best Director (Woody Allen) and for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. At the Golden Globe Awards also in 1978 Diane Keaton won for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. At the Bafta Awards also in 1978 this won 5 Awards. They were for Best Actress (Diane Keaton), Best Direction (Woody Allen), Best Editing, Best Film and also Best Screenplay. The late film critic Barry Norman produced a list in the Radio Times in 2012 of the 100 Greatest Films of all time and this was in the list.