Napoleon invades Russia, but never fear. Woody Allen is there to provide a stout defense of his native country. Okay, not his but his character's. If your country is depending on Woody Allen to save it, you're doomed.When people talk about Allen's earlier, funnier movies, this must be the one they mean. It has some of Allen's best slapstick and best one-liners. It's hilarious. Also philosophical. Characters are likely to break into philosophical discussions or monologues at any moment. Most often even these discussions are funny, as they're meant to be, but they're also quite serious. Allen gets into plenty of his main concerns about love and death here.
The movie was made when Allen was still doing anarchic comedy. It's off-the-wall, and it borrows from just about everybody. It was made when Allen could parody Bergman and before he tried to become Bergman. The trailer posted down below gives you some idea of things, but here's a sampler of scenes. If you like what you see, you'll like the movie. If not, forget it. As for me, I love this movie.
5 comments:
I love this movie, too! I'm also tempted to take a rare trip to New York City to see BULLETS OVER BROARDWAY.
I'd love to see that one, too. The movie is another overlooked one.
This and Annie Hall represent the apex of Woody's career, IMHO. It has do many great lines and sight gags. The countess, the duel, the herring merchant, meditations on wheat, Don Francisco's sister, the list goes on.
See, I laugh just reading off that list. I agree that it's the height of Allen's career, right up there with Annie.
It's the only early film of his I've never seen. And, not just because of this, I'd guess it is his most obscure early film (except perhaps for TIGER LILY, which for a variety of reasons is probably my sentimental favorite)...
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