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 & 14 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

mockumentary | character name as title | newsreel | 1920s | chameleon | 

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

PG

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of a number of pictures which were filmed in black-and-white by director Woody Allen during his immediate post-Annie Hall (1977) period between the late 1970s and early-mid 1980s. The films include Manhattan (1979), Stardust Memories (1980), Zelig (1983) (also in color) and The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) (mostly in color but also in B&W). After that movie, Allen would then not make another b&w film for about another six years, until Shadows and Fog (1991) in 1991.

---

Goofs

The film begins in 1928 and some added time later into the film Zelig cohorts with Jack Dempsey at his 'training camp.' Dempsey last fight, and ergo his last training camp, was back in September 1927.

---

Quotes

Zelig's Wife: He married me up at the First Church of Harlem. He told me he was the brother of Duke Ellington.

---

Connections

Referenced in Calvary (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)
(1922)
Written by Fred Fisher
Performed by Dick Hyman

User Reviews

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.