Blog Directory CineVerse: Everything you ever wanted to know about Annie Hall

Everything you ever wanted to know about Annie Hall

Thursday, July 12, 2012

If you enjoyed last evening's exploration of "Annie Hall," or want to better understand how and why this film works, here is a summary of our CineVerse discussion talking points:

WHAT IS INNOVATIVE, DIFFERENT AND REFRESHING ABOUT ANNIE HALL, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT WAS RELEASED IN 1977?

  • It was a different take on the romantic comedy, a movie about the breakup and what led to it, as opposed to the "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back" boring formula or a romcom that ends up in marriage
  • It is non-chronological in structure, bouncing around in time and space with flashbacks, breaking the fourth wall by addressing the audience, stream-of-consciousness scenes, etc.
  • It's a semi-autobiographical picture, in that Alvy is like Allen--nervous, paranoid, nebbish, and Allen also had a real-life relationship with Keaton
  • It uses a variety of interesting techniques to help tell its story:   
    •  direct addresses to the camera: Reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman films, and films such as Strange Interlude (1932), or Alfie (1966) with Michael Caine  
    • memory-flashbacks and other flashbacks: Influenced, in part, by Citizen Kane (1941)
    • adult time-travel back to childhood: Reminiscent of Bergman's Wild Strawberries (1957)
    • interjections into the scene (unseen by others): Reminiscent of Bergman's Persona (1960) 
    •  the sudden production of a real-life character ( "Boy, if life were only like this"): Author Marshall McLuhan appears, to conveniently settle an argument 
    •  split screens, and conversations across the two screens: The dual psychiatrist scene, and the conversation between the two families 
    •  transformations: Alvy becomes a bearded Hasidic Jew while visiting Annie's anti-Semitic family 
    •  double-exposed action: Annie's ghost scene 
    •  subtitles that contradict the action: The famous balcony scene 
    •  voice-over commentary and asides to the camera or to complete strangers about the events of the film 
    •  dialogue between two introspective voice-overs 
    • animation: The Snow White cartoon
  • It influenced fashion design in the way Keaton dressed
  • It was a marked departure from Allen's previous 5 films, which were more exercises in absurd, irreverent, anarchic comedy that seemed to spoof various genres, such as "Bananas" satirizing war films; Annie Hall demonstrated a greater focus and blending of comedic and dramatic elements from Allen
  •  It isn't afraid to be a "zeitgeist" movie of its time: it's very centered in its specific time and place in 1977 New York, which runs the risk of dating the film, yet imbues it with a timeless time-capsule sheen
  • Allen lingers on characters and scenes longer than typical filmmakers of the day: his average shot length is about 15 seconds a shot vs an average of 4 seconds per shot for other 1977 movies
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE IMPORTANT THEMES EXPLORED IN "ANNIE HALL"?
  • The paradox of love: how it's both necessary and absurd
  • How most relationships usually fail and are reliant on factors that are primarily random and arbitrary to succeed
  • Intellectual elitism and pomposity
  • Life has a lot of limitations, but art (including film and writing) has the transformative power to shape reality and offer some degree of control: Alvy (and Allen) uses cinema to revisit the past, obtain more control over reality and better understand his problems and his failed relationships.
  • The power to transform: Alvy changes into an Hasidic Jew; Annie changes, from a shy wallflower to an active, energetic artist; Rob relocates to L.A. and accepts its lifestyle
  • How geographical location shapes one's identity: Alvy is associated with New York, a gloomy, socially cold and claustrophobic place, like himself; those from California are depicted as shallow, vapid and superficial.
  • The importance of performance: sexual performance, professional performance (Alvy is a comedian, Rob is an actor, Annie is a singer), etc.
ANNIE HALL IS FILLED WITH PARADOXES AND IRONIES. CAN YOU CITE ANY EXAMPLES?
  •  Alvy criticizes and is irritated by the very group (intellectual and artistic New Yorkers) he wants to be accepted by
  • Alvy is amazed by Annie's cultural background, but ridicules her for it
  • Alvy urges Annie to better herself and keep singing, but when she has success, he is unsupportive and controlling. In this way, Annie Hall is like Pygmalion--Alvy wants to shape Annie to his mold until she discovers the independence and self-confidence to go on her on.
  • Alvy uses the famous Groucho line about he wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have him as a member
IS THE FILM TOO SET IN ITS TIME AND PLACE (1977 NEW YORK) TO BE RELEVANT TODAY? IS IT TOO DATED?

OTHER FILMS AND WORKS THAT ANNIE HALL BRINGS TO MIND:
  • The Marx Brothers' movies
  • When Harry Met Sally
  • Forget Paris
  • The films of Ingmar Bergman
  • Pygmalion and My Fair Lady

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