Annie Hall (1977) is the story of a slightly neurotic Brooklyn comedian and his on-again/off-again relationship with nightclub singer Annie Hall.  Woody Allen stars as comedian Alvy Singer, who has a seeming inability to see anything but the worst in any situation.  His neurotic tendencies and his extreme introverted thinking provide a stark contrast to free-wheeling, full of life, outgoing (read: flaky) singer Annie Hall (Diane Keaton.)   The film goes through the various aspects of their relationship, observing their interests (the movie theater scene made me laugh hysterically), their “real life”, and their intimacy.  Eventually, Alvy and Annie break up and Annie moves to LA.  Alvy struggles with his loss, and eventually builds up the courage to go out to LA and meet up with Annie.  Having failed at that quest, he returns to New York and writes a play chronicling their relationship, changing the ending so that Alvy and Annie end up together.  Interspersed throughout the film are flashbacks of both Alvy’s and Annie’s pasts.

This film was nominated for 5 major Academy Awards and won 4:  Best Original Screenplay (Allen, Marshall Brickman), Best Director (Allen), Best Actress (Keaton), and Best Picture.  Keaton also won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy, and it won the Best Film BAFTA award. 

This movie represents a paradigm shift in Allen’s work as well.  Before this, the majority of his films can best be described as “screwball comedies.”  With Annie Hall, Allen said he wanted to take a different direction and make it a  little deeper, looking more fully at the personalities and lives of the characters.  Almost every film critic (at least, the ones who get paid to watch movies and write reviews) will tell you that this is easily the apex of Allen’s work.

The main takeaway from this movie to me is that relationships are complicated.  People are different, and when those differences run up against each other, conflict results.  Sometimes relationships are resolved, sometimes they can’t be, but they’re always important, and you can learn from them.

Overall, this movie is a good one.  There’s some sexual content to be wary of, and some suggestive dialogue, so be cautious, but overall, a good movie describing relationships. I rate this one an 8/10.

The movie is based on the book of the same name, written by Lew Wallace.  It tells the story of a Jewish man, and the conflict with a Roman captain who was a childhood friend.  As the two grew up, the nationalist and political strain tore apart the friendship and caused an irreparable rift.  Messala, the captain sent Judah ben Hur to the galleys and sentenced his family to prison.  The bulk of the movie pits the story of Judah’s anger and revenge against the story of another young Jewish man whose life was centered around love and forgiveness – Jesus Christ.

Charlton Heston starred as Judah ben Hur, and Stephen Boyd played the Roman Massala.  Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Cathy O’Donnell and Martha Scott also starred in this movie.   The acting quality is so/so in this movie, and to be honest, from what I’ve seen of Charlton Heston, I really think he could have done better, but it was not by any  means a terrible performance.

This movie reaches AFI’s top 10o list based on the epic nature of the movie (length, broadness of the story, and emotional nature of the story) as well as the more technical aspects, particularly of the chariot race.  An awe-inspiring moment of cinema, the 11-minute race became one of the most important pieces of film history.   The plot pivots on this point in the film, as it is the downfall of the antagonist, Massala, who is mortally wounded in the race.  Legends have been created about this, most notably that a stunt man was killed during the filming of the race, but these are widely believed to be untrue.  Shot in a 2.76:1 aspect ratio, the extreme wide angle provides the viewer with an incredible look into the fierceness of a chariot race, and the danger than is inherent.  Several times you can see human dummies get run over, but even the dummies take such a beating that you don’t want to look.

The most important moral point in this film is undoubtedly the comparisons between the hatred and rage of Judah and the love and mercy of Jesus.  Judah spends the majority of this movie plotting his revenge against Massala who caused him so much pain, while Esther (Judah’s love interest) tells him of the love and grace that Jesus speaks of.  Judah cares little of this Jesus until he remembers a moment from his past, when Jesus showed mercy to him and gave him a drink.  Judah brings his mother and sister (long since stricken with leprosy) to Jesus for healing, but it is too late:  Jesus is on his way to the cross.  Judah tries to intervene, but the Roman guards get in the way, and he can do nothing.  However, the ultimate gift is given at the moment Jesus dies, Judah’s family is healed, and he sees the wisdom of Jesus.  Judah learns that God’s plan of mercy is superior that his life of hate.  At the end of the movie, Judah says, “Almost at the moment He died, I heard Him say, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do’.”  “Even then… I felt His voice take the sword out of my hand.”  It truly is moving to see a man let go of his rage and see that there is a better way.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and would be glad to watch it again, as long as I had plenty of free time to kill.  I rate this movie a 9/10.

Tune in as I make my way through the list, in no particular order to start with.

I’m currently on a trip through AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies (the 1997 list)  and will be sharing my experiences on those movies and others I watch as well.
Won’t you walk with me?