Deconstructing Harry (1997)

Suffering from writer's block and eagerly awaiting his writing award, Harry Block remembers events from his past and scenes from his best-selling books as characters, real and fictional, come back to haunt him.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Judy Davis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephanie Roth Haberle

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judy Davis	...	Lucy
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Leslie
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Janet (as Stephanie Roth)
Dan Frazer	...	Janet's Dad
Joel Leffert	...	Norman
Lynn Cohen	...	Janet's Mom
Richard Benjamin	...	Ken
Joe Buck	...	Yankee Announcer (voice)
Jane Hoffman	...	Grandma
Woody Allen	...	Harry Block
Tobey Maguire	...	Harvey Stern
Annette Arnold	...	Rosalee
Frederick Rolf	...	Harvey's Doctor
Elisabeth Kieselstein-Cord	...	Rosalee's Sister
Lortensia Hayes	...	Jennifer

Storyline

Harry Block is a well-regarded novelist whose tendency to thinly-veil his own experiences in his work, as well as his un-apologetic attitude and his proclivity for pills and whores, has left him with three ex-wives that hate him. As he is about to be honored for his writing by the college that expelled him, he faces writer's block and the impending marriage of his latest flame to a writer friend. As scenes from his stories and novels pass and interact with him, Harry faces the people whose lives he has affected - wives, lovers, his son, his sister.

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Plot Keywords:

writer's block | writing | novelist | marriage | voice over narration | 

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Taglines:

Harry Block wrote a bestseller about his best friends. Now, his best friends are about to become his worst enemies.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Fine Line Features

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Meanest Man in the World

Filming Locations:

Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

DEM 948,872 (Germany) (22 May 1998)

Gross:

DEM 1,795,078 (Germany) (29 May 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sweetland Films, Jean Doumanian Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (Mono)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Woody originally wanted Elliott Gould to play his part as Harry Block.

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Quotes

Burt: Do you care even about the holocaust, or do you think it never happened?
Harry Block: Not only do I know that we lost 6 million, but the scary thing is that records are made to be broken

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Connections

Referenced in V.I.P.: Deconstructing Peri (1998)

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Soundtracks

"I Could Write a Book"
(1940)
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Performed by the Stebbins Hall Band

User Reviews

Deconstructing Woody Allen

Very funny, very coarse, very Woody Allen. This movie not only has autobiographical elements, Harry Block to a large extent is Woody Allen himself. I think never a director exposed the weaknesses of his own "ego" as mercilessly as Woody did in this film, descending into the deepest layers of the "id", into the very depths of hell (literally, with all the molten lava and sulfur smoke that go with it)! But Woody Allen covers this merciless exercise of psychoanalysis with a thick cover of humor. It is also a very funny movie!