1977--Annie Hall, Woody Allen

 

1977--Annie Hall, Woody Allen

Nominated: The Goodbye Girl, Julia, Star Wars, Turning Point

Should have won: Star Wars

Be sure to see: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Eraserhead, The Hills Have Eyes, Housu, The Kentucky fried Movie, Kingdom of Spiders, Smokey and the Bandit, Suspiria

“My grammy never gave gifts. She was too busy getting raped by Cossacks.”--Alvy Singer

     There has never been, and probably never will be, a more dialogue-driven movie in Oscar winner history than Annie Hall. There are no elaborate effects; no tricky camera shots (not even the so-called split screen; the set was built in two sides); and no choppy edits (the average shot length is 14.5 seconds). What it does have is more memorable quotes than any winner ever. So many that I had trouble finding the one to pull out for the quote section. It is a funny movie and, as of 2013, the last comedy to win best picture. That being said, the biggest laugh is probably the fact it beat Star Wars.

     Alvy Singer, a pessimistic New York comedian, is introduced to Annie Hall. Other than the fact that they both see psychiatrists, they are completely different. The story follows their romance, break up, and lives in general. But Alvy is the center, and he breaks the fourth wall.

     I am tempted to type nothing but quotes because there are a ton of memorable ones in the movie. My two favorite moment are probably on Alvy's balcony the day he and Annie meet. As they are talking to each other, closed captions show us what each are actually thinking. This moment rang true for me. I've thought the same things he was and I know I've desired the power to read the mind of the person across from me.The other moment comes in line at the movie theater when the person behind Alvy and Annie is rambling on about the works of Marshall McLuhan using incorrect information. Alvy calls him out on it and the man retaliates. How Alvy handles the situation is hysterical and his punchline to us, the audience, could not be more true.

    Woody Allen was nominated for best actor but didn't win and that is okay with me. I'm not sure how good of an actor I could say he is but as a comedian he is tip top. Not only the things he says but his delivery is so infectious. Odd because Richard Lewis also has the pessimistic, "whoa is me" delivery and I don't find him funny at all. But there is something about Allen that made me laugh.

 

    Some things to notice is Christopher Walkin's name is misspelled in the final credits and Sigourney Weaver appears in a long shot with no dialogue at the end. But this movie isn't about your eyes seeing the film, it is about your ears hearing the jokes. And those jokes come at you rapid fire. I have watched this movie three times. The first time was in the theater and I laughed seven or eight times. The later viewings I must say I laughed a lot more. But let's be real here, was it worthy of its best picture win? Not a chance. In fact, I'd say it beating Star Wars is right along with Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan, A Beautiful Mind beating The Lord of the Rings and The English Patient beating Fargo as the biggest "What were they thinking?" choices in Oscar history. It is a must see for Woody Allen fans and for those who have never seen him, I would imagine this is the one to start with.

    And now for this movie (and only this movie) I am going to break my rule and add a few more quotes. I just can't leave it at the one but I made sure I put my favorite up top.

--“Hey don't knock masturbation. It's sex with someone I love.”--Alvy

--“They don't throw their garbage away; they make it into television shows.”--Alvy about California

--“Don't worry, we can walk to the curb from here.”—Alvy about how far Annie parked from the curb

--“How often do you sleep together?”--Alvy's therapist (split screen)

“Do you sleep together often?”--Annie's therapist

“Hardly ever, maybe three times a week”--Alvy

“Constantly, I'd say three times a week”--Annie

--“Sun is bad for you. Everything our parents said was good is bad. Sun, milk, red meat, college.”--Alvy

--”What are you sad about? What did you want me to do? Capture him and rehabilitate him?”--Alvie on the spider he killed in Annie's bathroom

– “(My sister) mentioned penis envy. Do you know about that?”--Annie

“Me? I'm one of the few males who suffer from that.” --Alvie

--“I was thrown out of N.Y.U my freshman year for cheating on my metaphysics final, you know. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me.”--Alvie

--“Maybe if I put a little dish of butter sauce here with a nutcracker it will run out the other side.”--Alvie trying to get a lobster that crawled behind the stove

– “The force will be with you, always.”--Obi Wan...oops, that was a quote from the real winner of 1977.