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Bananas (1971)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
19 July 1971 (Sweden) morePlot:
When a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he travels to a tiny Latin American nation and becomes involved in its latest rebellion. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
1 nomination moreNewsDesk:
(10 articles)
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Whatever Works’ Coasts on Worn Formula (From HollywoodChicago.com. 28 October 2009, 7:58 AM, PDT)
Kritzerland releases early Woody Allen scores
(From MovieScore Magazine. 8 October 2009, 1:07 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
One-liners aplenty, and definitely worth a watch. more (78 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Woody Allen | ... | Fielding Mellish | |
| Louise Lasser | ... | Nancy | |
| Carlos Montalbán | ... | General Emilio M. Vargas | |
| Nati Abascal | ... | Yolanda (as Natividad Abascal) | |
| Jacobo Morales | ... | Esposito | |
| Miguel Ángel Suárez | ... | Luis (as Miguel Suarez) | |
| David Ortiz | ... | Sanchez | |
| René Enríquez | ... | Diaz (as Rene Enríquez) | |
| Jack Axelrod | ... | Arroyo | |
| Howard Cosell | ... | Himself | |
| Roger Grimsby | ... | Himself | |
| Don Dunphy | ... | Himself | |
| Charlotte Rae | ... | Mrs. Mellish | |
| Stanley Ackerman | ... | Dr. Mellish | |
| Dan Frazer | ... | Priest |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for comic sexuality including some pin-up nudity, some drug use and crude language.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
82 minCountry:
USAColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Netherlands:6 | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:16 | Iceland:Unrated | Ireland:15 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 (video rating) (1988) | UK:AA (cut) | USA:GP (original rating, certificate #22817) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) | Singapore:PGFun Stuff
Trivia:
In an interview, Woody Allen was asked why he named the movie "Bananas". His response: "Because there are no bananas in it." moreGoofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Fielding is driving his Volkswagen and talking, there is a shot where his lips clearly aren't moving. moreQuotes:
[first lines]Don Dunphy: Good afternoon. Wide World of Sports is in the little republic of San Marcos where we're going to bring you a live, on the spot assassination. They're going to kill the president of this lovely Latin American country and replace him with a military dictatorship...
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV) moreSoundtrack:
1812 Overture in E Flat, Op.49 moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (78 total)
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At the recommendation of a friend, I watched Woody Allen's Bananas. Allen is often portrayed in the media and by critics as an albatross of Hollywood, and I really don't have a lot of experience with his films. Besides Bananas, I have only seen Match Point, which is one of the best films I've ever seen. Being made in 1971, Bananas touches on the activism culture of the time, and the USA's involvement in South American politics. Focused around the the fictitious country of San Marcos, presumably any number of nation-states the USA was involved in destroying. It opens with the president of San Marcos being assassinated and a general taking the reigns of power in the country.
Good afternoon. Wide World of Sports is in the republic of San Marcos where we are going to bring you a live on the spot assassination. They're going to kill the president of this lovely Latin American country and replace him with a military dictatorship.
A strong-handed dictator, a group of (apparently marxist) rebels ban together in opposition. Woody Allen's character is living in the States and falls in love with an activist who is looking for support of the people of San Marcos. They make plans together to fly down there in a show of solidarity, but his girlfriend breaks up with him (in one of the most humorous moments of dialog recorded on film). Because he already had plans to go, he visits San Marcos where he is unwittingly joined to the rebel cause.
This is a very funny movie, especially is you are a fan of Groucho Marx - Allen's influence is quite obvious through lines such as, "I object, your honor! This trial is a travesty. It's a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham." But Woody also brings his own spin, which is pretty political - "You cannot bash in the head of an American citizen without written permission from the State Department." Most of it is one-liners or character comedy, but there are also cleverly composed dialog sequences and wacky settings. The film making is somewhat weak, and the musical score is odd, but this is about on par with early 70s movies. The story was flimsy, but apparently most of the movie was filmed improv. It is definitely worth a watch if only for the last scene alone.