Annie Hall (1977)

Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditzy Annie Hall.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writers:

Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman

Stars:

Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts

Won 4 Oscars. Another 26 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Allen	...	Alvy Singer
Diane Keaton	...	Annie Hall
Tony Roberts	...	Rob
Carol Kane	...	Allison
Paul Simon	...	Tony Lacey
Shelley Duvall	...	Pam
Janet Margolin	...	Robin
Colleen Dewhurst	...	Mom Hall
Christopher Walken	...	Duane Hall (as Christopher Wlaken)
Donald Symington	...	Dad Hall
Helen Ludlam	...	Grammy Hall
Mordecai Lawner	...	Alvy's Dad
Joan Neuman	...	Alvy's Mom (as Joan Newman)
Jonathan Munk	...	Alvy - Age 9
Ruth Volner	...	Alvy's Aunt

Storyline

Alvy Singer, a forty year old twice divorced, neurotic, intellectual Jewish New York stand-up comic, reflects on the demise of his latest relationship, to Annie Hall, an insecure, flighty, Midwestern WASP aspiring nightclub singer. Unlike his previous relationships, Alvy believed he may have worked out all the issues in his life through fifteen years of therapy to make this relationship with Annie last, among those issues being not wanting to date any woman that would want to date him, and thus subconsciously pushing those women away. Alvy not only reviews the many ups and many downs of their relationship, but also reviews the many facets of his makeup that led to him starting to date Annie. Those facets include growing up next to Coney Island in Brooklyn, being attracted to the opposite sex for as long as he can remember, and enduring years of Jewish guilt with his constantly arguing parents.

---

Plot Keywords:

breaking the fourth wall | long take | dialogue driven | talking to the camera | written and directed by cast member | 

---

Taglines:

A nervous romance.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie's line "La-dee-da, la-dee-da." was voted as the #55 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).

---

Goofs

Near the end of the film when Annie and Alvy meet outside at the restaurant, the crew is reflected in Annie's glasses throughout the scene.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Alvy Singer: [addressing the camera] There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly. The... the other important joke, for me, is one that's usually attributed to Groucho Marx; but, I ...

---

Alternate Versions

In the beginning of the film, Alvy Singer paraphrases what is ostensibly a quote from comedian Groucho Marx. When the movie was dubbed in socialist Hungary, the quote was instead attributed to Buster Keaton at the strict insistence of the dubbing studio, for fear that audiences might confuse Groucho Marx with philosopher and socialist figure Karl Marx.

---

Connections

Referenced in Stuck on You (2003)

---

Soundtracks

It Had To Be You
(1924)
Music by Isham Jones
Lyrics by Gus Kahn
Sung by Diane Keaton (uncredited) accompanied by Artie Butler (uncredited)

User Reviews

The Definitive Woody Allen Movie

I am not a huge fan of Woody Allen and my wife can't hardly stand to watch him. As a result, I have only seen a half-dozen of Woody Allen movies. With the exception of "Manhattan", I have been unimpressed or felt them to be downright horrible.

I have heard so much about "Annie Hall" that I had to take the time to watch it. It was on HBO in Hi-Definition, so why not? Indeed, this is a wonderful movie. While not a big Diane Keaton fan, it was most certainly the best performance of her career that I have seen. I think the casting was exceptional and she handled the material well.

I tend to like to immerse myself in a movie. Woody's use of the aside (talking to the audience), is a little distracting, but the short scene with Marshall McLuhan was a wonderful shot at self-absorbed intellectuals.

The plot idea is very good. I think so many of Woody Allen's characters in so many of his movies have been this same character over and over again. I think this is the definitive Woody Allen character. So much of his recent work as been a pale imitation.

Even if you aren't a Woody fan, I have to recommend this as a creative piece of comedic cinema.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

20 April 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anhedonia

Filming Locations:

W. Century Blvd. & Airport Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$38,251,425

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$38,287,178

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions, Rollins-Joffe Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1