Zelig (1983)

"Documentary" about a man who can look and act like whoever he's around, and meets various famous people.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Patrick Horgan

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Allen	...	Leonard Zelig
Mia Farrow	...	Dr. Eudora Nesbitt Fletcher
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 Hussung	...	Other Doctor (as Will Hussong)
Robert Iglesia	...	Man in Barber Chair
Eli Resnick	...	Man in Park
Edward McPhillips	...	Scotsman

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.

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Plot Keywords:

mockumentary | character name as title | man wears eyeglasses | woman wears eyeglasses | germany | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Susan Sontag: The academic as herself.

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Goofs

Stock footage, particularly of crowd scenes, from the mid-to-late 1920s, continues into the 1930s decade.

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Quotes

[Leonard Zelig is apologizing on radio to all the people he misrepresented himself to]
Leonard Zelig: My deepest apology goes to the Trochman family in Detroit. I... I never delivered a baby before in my life, and I... I just thought that ice tongs was the way to do it.

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Connections

Featured in Scene by Scene: Woody Allen (2000)

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Soundtracks

Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)
Written by Fred Fisher
Performed by Dick Hyman

User Reviews

Zealous about "Zelig"

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

25 August 1983 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

The Cat's Pyjamas

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$60,119, 17 July 1983

Gross USA:

$11,798,616

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,798,616

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions, Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1