|
Zelig (1983) 7.7
"Documentary" about a man who can look and act like whoever he's around, and meets various famous people. Director:Woody AllenWriter:Woody Allen |
| 0Share... |
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Zelig (1983)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Photos
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
The Purple Rose of Cairo
(1985)
Comedy
|
Fantasy
|
Romance
Director:
Woody Allen
Stars:
Mia Farrow,
Jeff Daniels,
Danny Aiello
Mighty Aphrodite
(1995)
Comedy
|
Fantasy
|
Romance
Director:
Woody Allen
Stars:
Pamela Blair,
Rene Ceballos,
Woody Allen
Alice
(1990)
Comedy
|
Fantasy
|
Romance
Director:
Woody Allen
Stars:
Joe Mantegna,
Mia Farrow,
William Hurt
Delicatessen
(1991)
Comedy
|
Fantasy
|
Sci-Fi
Directors:
Marc Caro,
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Stars:
Pascal Benezech,
Dominique Pinon,
Marie-Laure Dougnac
Liar Liar
(1997)
Comedy
|
Fantasy
Director:
Tom Shadyac
Stars:
Jim Carrey,
Maura Tierney,
Justin Cooper
Beetlejuice
(1988)
Comedy
|
Fantasy
Director:
Tim Burton
Stars:
Alec Baldwin,
Geena Davis,
Annie McEnroe
Death Becomes Her
(1992)
Comedy
|
Fantasy
Director:
Robert Zemeckis
Stars:
Meryl Streep,
Bruce Willis,
Goldie Hawn
Comedy
|
Fantasy
Director:
Bruce Robinson
Stars:
Richard E. Grant,
Rachel Ward,
Richard Wilson
Loong Boonmee raleuk chat
(2010)
Drama
|
Fantasy
Director:
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Stars:
Thanapat Saisaymar,
Jenjira Pongpas,
Sakda Kaewbuadee
Harvey
(1950)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Henry Koster
Stars:
James Stewart,
Josephine Hull,
Peggy Dow
Amélie
(2001)
Comedy
|
Romance
Director:
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Stars:
Audrey Tautou,
Mathieu Kassovitz,
Rufus
Pleasantville
(1998)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Fantasy
Director:
Gary Ross
Stars:
Tobey Maguire,
Reese Witherspoon,
Joan Allen
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Woody Allen | ... | ||
| Mia Farrow | ... | ||
 |
Patrick Horgan | ... |
The Narrator
(voice)
|
|
|
John Buckwalter | ... |
Dr. Sindell
|
|
|
Marvin Chatinover | ... |
Glandular Diagnosis Doctor
|
|
|
Stanley Swerdlow | ... |
Mexican Food Doctor
|
|
|
Paul Nevens | ... |
Dr. Birsky
|
|
|
Howard Erskine | ... |
Hypodermic Doctor
|
|
|
George Hamlin | ... |
Experimental Drugs Doctor
|
|
|
Ralph Bell | ... |
Other Doctor
|
|
|
Richard Whiting | ... |
Other Doctor
|
|
|
Will Hussong | ... |
Other Doctor
|
|
|
Robert Iglesia | ... |
Man in Barber Chair
|
|
|
Eli Resnick | ... |
Man in Park
|
|
|
Edward McPhillips | ... |
Scotsman
|
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See more »
Storyline
Fictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig, a man who becomes a celebrity in the 1920s due to his ability to look and act like whoever is around him. Clever editing places Zelig in real newsreel footage of Woodrow Wilson, Babe Ruth, and others. Written by Scott Renshaw <as.idc@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Plot Keywords:
1920s | newsreel | chameleon | man with glasses | written and directed by cast member |Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See more »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
15 July 1983 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Identity Crisis and Its Relationship to Personality Disorder See more »Box Office
Gross:
$11,800,000 (USA)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
See more »
(1983)
Composed by Dick Hyman
Sung by Bernie Kuce, Steve Clayton and Tony Wells
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The house in the closing scene is the same house used as the location for A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy. See more »Goofs
At one point, the narrator mentions that there is a photo of Leonard Zelig as Pagliacci. "Pagliacci" is the Italian plural for "clowns". The correct way to say it would be " a photo of Leonard Zelig as Pagliaccio", or "a photo of Leonard Zelig as Canio (the leading male character, who plays Pagliaccio in a play-within-the-play in the opera "Pagliacci".). See more »Quotes
Leonard Zelig: And to the, to the gentleman who's appendix I took out, I...I'm, I don't know what to say, if it's any consolation I... I may still have it somewhere around the house.See more »
Soundtracks
"Doin' the Chameleon"(1983)
Composed by Dick Hyman
Sung by Bernie Kuce, Steve Clayton and Tony Wells
See more »
Leapin' lizards! This film is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
"Zelig" was a revelation in 1983, an utterly ingenious faux-documentary, without any precedent, at least not on this scale. Hilarious then, it still is today. That quick glimpse you get of the all-Hasidic production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is priceless. It gives renewed meaning to "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
Allen's technique is extraordinary. "Zelig" has the best bogus documentary footage quite probably since "Citizen Kane".
As the film urges, everyone should "Do the Chameleon", by seeing "Zelig". Woody Allen creates a trenchant comment on people's desire for conformity: "Everybody, go chameleon." We all tend to do that to some degree, but it's not usually so amusing. Try to blend in with the crowd rushing out to find "Zelig" on video.
It is probably worth noting that a Jewish Nazi is not as ridiculous a stretch as Woody makes it seem. Reinhard Heydrich, the vicious organizer of the Final Solution, fell into that category. The top Nazis were all misfits in one way or another.