Shadows and Fog (1991)

With a serial strangler on the loose, a bookkeeper wanders around town searching for the vigilante group intent on catching the killer.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Michael Kirby

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Kirby	...	Killer
Woody Allen	...	Kleinman
David Ogden Stiers	...	Hacker
James Rebhorn	...	Vigilante
Victor Argo	...	Vigilante
Daniel von Bargen	...	Vigilante (as Daniel Von Bargen)
Camille Saviola	...	Landlady
Tim Loomis	...	Dwarf
Katy Dierlam	...	Fat Lady
Mia Farrow	...	Irmy
John Malkovich	...	Clown
Madonna	...	Marie
Dennis Vestunis	...	Strongman
Donald Pleasence	...	Doctor
Lily Tomlin	...	Prostitute

Storyline

A small and insignificant bookkeeper, Kleinman, is awoken one night by his neighbors who wants his help to track down a strangler who has been killing people all over town. The citizens form vigilance committees, but when Kleinman has dressed, his neighbors have disappeared. Meanwhile a circus has come to town. Irmy and Paul are two of the artists. After a fight, Irmy leaves the circus in the middle of the night. Eventually she meets Kleinman, scared and alone.

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | directed by star | circus | man wearing glasses | lynch mob | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sombras y niebla

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,111,314, 20 March 1992, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,735,731

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions, Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the TCMDb, the film was "originally scheduled for release in United Kingdom October 23, 1992, but pushed back to 1993 to make way for Allen's controversial Husbands and Wives (1992) (USA/1992)".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hacker: Kleinman, Kleinman, open up! Kleinman! We know you're in there!

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Connections

Featured in American Masters: Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)

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Soundtracks

When the White Lilacs Bloom Again
(1928)
Music by Franz Doelle
Poem by Fritz Rotter
Performed by Jack Hylton and His Orchestra (as The Jack Hylton Orchestra)
Courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc.
By Arrangement with CEMA Special Markets

User Reviews

Vintage Woody (either you love him or hate him there is no inbetween)

This excellent black and white, set perhaps in Berlin in the 20's has no conclusion, only vignettes in the period from midnight to dawn. The city is engulfed in fear. A serial killer is at large..

The camera shots illicit tension. All is shrouded in dark and murky unusual camera angles. The outdoor scenes are always somewhat blurred and slightly out of focus adding to the climate of fear.

There is no plot per se, only chance meetings between participants. Of note is the conversation in the whorehouse, stimulating and extremely thought provoking. Woody's use of a revolving camera in the shot from face around to face around to face while the girls talk and the conversation is heard no matter on whom the camera is focused, -- this is a first. The viewer needs to pay extreme attention. Moreover the background music of Kurt Weill adds so much to the ambience.

Seeing this now makes me wish wholeheartedly that Woody and Mia never had that horrible unpleasantness between them. Now the future forebodes there never being such a pairing. We all do suffer, including them.

I say this film deserves a 10 out of 10 and the critics be damned. So many critics are prone to criticize every theatrical offering of Woody just because of his personal behavior.