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IMDbPro

Zelig

  • 19831983
  • PGPG
  • 1h 19m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
42K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
13,416
928
Zelig (1983)
Set in the 1920s and 1930s, the film focuses on Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen), a nondescript man who has the ability to transform his appearance to that of the people who surround him. He is first observed at a party by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who notes that Zelig related to the affluent guests in a refined Boston accent and shared their Republican sympathies, but while in the kitchen with the servants, he adopted a coarser tone and seemed to be more of a Democrat. He soon gains international fame as a "human chameleon".
Play trailer0:47
1 Video
58 Photos
Comedy
"Documentary" about a man who can look and act like whoever he's around, and meets various famous people."Documentary" about a man who can look and act like whoever he's around, and meets various famous people."Documentary" about a man who can look and act like whoever he's around, and meets various famous people.
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
42K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
13,416
928
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Woody Allen
    • Writer
      • Woody Allen
    • Stars
      • Woody Allen
      • Mia Farrow
      • Patrick Horgan(voice)
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Woody Allen
    • Writer
      • Woody Allen
    • Stars
      • Woody Allen
      • Mia Farrow
      • Patrick Horgan(voice)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 125User reviews
    • 63Critic reviews
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 7 wins & 19 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 0:47
    Official Trailer

    Photos58

    Woody Allen and Calvin Coolidge in Zelig (1983)
    Mia Farrow in Zelig (1983)
    Woody Allen in Zelig (1983)
    Woody Allen in Zelig (1983)
    Zelig (1983)
    Zelig (1983)
    Zelig (1983)
    Zelig (1983)
    Zelig (1983)
    Zelig (1983)
    Woody Allen in Zelig (1983)
    Zelig (1983)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Woody Allen
    Woody Allen
    • Leonard Zelig
    Mia Farrow
    Mia Farrow
    • Dr. Eudora Nesbitt Fletcher
    Patrick Horgan
    Patrick Horgan
    • The Narrator
    • (voice)
    John Buckwalter
    John Buckwalter
    • Dr. Sindell
    Marvin Chatinover
    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 Hussung
    Will Hussung
    • Other Doctor
    • (as Will Hussong)
    Robert Iglesia
    • Man in Barber Chair
    Eli Resnick
    • Man in Park
    Edward McPhillips
    • Scotsman
    Gale Hansen
    Gale Hansen
    • Freshman #1
    Michael Jeter
    Michael Jeter
    • Freshman #2
    • (as Michael Jeeter)
    Peter McRobbie
    Peter McRobbie
    • Workers Rally Speaker
    • Director
      • Woody Allen
    • Writer
      • Woody Allen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      To create authenticity, the production used actual lenses, cameras and sound equipment from the 1920s, and used the exact same lighting that would have been done. In addition, 'Gordon Willis' took the exposed negatives to the shower, and stomped on them. As a result, even having shot and being acclaimed for The Godfather I & II before, Willis was greeted with his first Academy Award nomination.
    • Goofs
      The speaking person in his 60s in one of the modern interviews in the film is subtitled as "Former SS-Obergruppenführer Oswald Pohl". If the interviews were conducted in the early 1980s, the person is evidently too young; the real Pohl was born in June 1892, so he would have been in his late 80s/early 90s at the time - of course if he had not been hanged for war crimes in 1951.
    • Quotes

      Leonard Zelig: I'm 12 years old. I run into a Synagogue. I ask the Rabbi the meaning of life. He tells me the meaning of life... But, he tells it to me in Hebrew. I don't understand Hebrew. Then he wants to charge me six hundred dollars for Hebrew lessons.

    • Connections
      Featured in Scene by Scene: Woody Allen (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Leonard the Lizard
      Composed by Dick Hyman

      Sung by Bernie Knee, Steve Clayton and Tony Wells

    User reviews125

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Woody Allen Does the Chameleon
    "Zelig" is a very clever movie, the kind you just know Woody Allen is capable of. In this "mockumentary," Woody plays Leonard Zelig, an insecure man who goes to the ultimate length to fit in. Mia Farrow offers the love interest as Dr. Eudora Fletcher. In "Zelig," we get to see Woody spliced into old footage, including the Nazi rally. This came before the effect became used more often, in movies like "Forrest Gump." I see this as a transition in Woody's movies. It comes somewhere between his early funnier movies, like "Bananas" and "Take the Money and Run," and his later, more introspective ones, like "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Husbands and Wives." It makes a statement about individuality, and produces laughs in the process.
    helpful•31
    4
    • EmperorNortonII
    • Apr 25, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 25, 1983 (Argentina)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Identity Crisis and Its Relationship to Personality Disorder
    • Filming locations
      • New Jersey, USA
    • Production companies
      • Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions
      • Orion Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $11,798,616
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $60,119
      • Jul 17, 1983
    • Gross worldwide
      • $11,798,616
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 19 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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