subscribe to this pageCowie, Peter. Annie Hall. London: The British Film Institute, 1996.
Peter Cowie’s investigation of Annie Hall is a rather complete one, focusing on the film’s role as it relates to the period of the 1970s. On one level, Cowie simply summarizes the making of the film, the elements which had the greatest impact on it, and the ways in which the film has now impacted the industry. Cowie argues that both the decade and the film influenced each other. The film then went on, due to its wonderful, philosophical exploration of society at that time, to secure its position as one of the great American comedic films of all time. Cowie also discusses the film in a similar fashion as many other Allen scholars do. One common theme of Annie Hall which Cowie discusses is Woody Allen’s direct and indirect connections and influences on the film. As many have considered Annie Hall to be a potential autobiography, Allen’s personality is clearly instilled in the film’s plot, the characters and the themes. Cowie argues that, because one can find so many elements of Woody Allen in Alvy Singer, Annie Hall serves as the strongest means by which one can learn the most about its creator. Cowie continues to study Allen’s application of humor and his unique approach to narrative – an element of Annie Hall which allows the film to stand out in Allen’s repertoire. Cowie also considers the film in relation to cultural stereotypes, claiming that Allen’s handling of such subjects through the context of Annie and Alvy’s relationship is, instead of offensive, rather relatable. It is what allows Annie Hall such a widespread appeal that has stood the test of time.
Bernheimer, Kathryn. “Annie Hall.” The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies. Secaucus, New Jersey: Carol Publishing Group, 1998. 28-33.
In a chapter that is one in a book on the best Jewish films which exist today, Bernheimer explores Annie Hall’s characters of Annie and Alvy in terms of their ethnic conflict. She claims, first, that Annie Hall is the strongest example of a film examining the natural differences between Jews and gentiles and the ways in which these differences can inhibit a romance from advancing. This theme is Annie Hall’s main one, according to the author. Bernheimer regresses from this theme for some time to discuss the film on a less specific level. She considers what the film represents for Allen as a major player in today’s film industry: it establishes him as a serious artist and exemplifies an aesthetic shift in his work. Bernheimer then continues to discuss the main characters and their romance, bringing the religious theme back into play. Allen, she says, utilizes humor to illustrate philosophical points. Often, Allen chooses to address contrast, whether it be contrast within his own personality or contrast within Alvy’s relationship with Annie. Bernheimer attributes the majority of the conflict between the main characters, and perhaps the final reason for their failure as a couple, to their ethnic differences. She suggests that these ethnic differences have played a part in forming each of their outlooks on life. Alvy, on the one hand, suffers from anhedonia (mentioned in almost every article or chapter on the film, as it was originally the title for the film and well encompasses a general idea of it), an inability to enjoy oneself. Bernheimer argues that, while Annie has issues to work out as well, she can still enjoy the company of others and of herself. Perhaps, this major personality difference allows Annie to ironically outgrow Alvy, even though Alvy molded and cultivated Annie at the start. Bernheimer then returns to the religious theme, making an example of the scene juxtaposing a dinner between the two characters’ families - a scene which is noted in most sources as wonderfully offering the audience a display of Annie and Alvy’s ethnic differences. Bernheimer concludes by addressing Alvy’s jokes; in a distinctively Jewish manner, the character makes fun of himself while simultaneously enjoying the ability to be different. She claims that this is the main reason for Annie Hall’s success: audiences can make fun of Alvy too, while at the same time relate to him in a way that was never presented to audiences before. It is successful as a Jewish film because Woody Allen, an extremely Jewish character in his films and in life, provides us with a particular Jewish identity to explore.
The chapter is relevant to the concept of Annie Hall’s succeeding due to a humorous exploration of cultural contrast because it addresses how the theme of religion is paramount in the characters’ lives and in the cultivation of the film as an intellectual commentary and comedic masterpiece.
Tolich, Martin. “Bringing Sociological Concepts into Focus in the Classroom with Modern Times, Roger and Me, and Annie Hall.” Teaching Sociology, Vol. 20, No.4. (Oct, 1992), pp. 344-347.
Tolich’s article is a type of university lesson plan involving the use of Annie Hall. A sociology professor at Massey University in New Zealand, Tolich utilizes sociologically-relevant films to provide more stimulating lessons for his students. Among the three films he chooses is Annie Hall. It allows for the students to retain a deeper understanding of sociological analysis, because film is a medium with which they more easily connect. Tolich argues that Annie Hall is pertinent in teaching many subjects, in that it strongly relates to many different aspects of today’s society. The author specifically uses Annie Hall to demonstrate an early component of romantic relationships: the pickup. Utilizing the scene in which Alvy Singer and Annie Hall first meet at a tennis club in New York City, Tolich describes, in detail, the steps a person must follow to successfully persuade another person to spend further time with him on a more intimate level. Tolich mentions every detail of the scene, displaying how Alvy and Annie engage in a perfect pickup scenario, which eventually leads to the initial phases of their romantic relationship. The article’s argument concerning the theme of the pickup more generally demonstrates the types of sociological components which exist in film and how, if created successfully, they can communicate sociological themes to students.
This work is relevant to Annie Hall because it makes a strong case for the film’s sociological elements and its ability to communicate to people on a broader scale. The use of the example of Annie and Alvy’s initial interaction makes Tolich’s argument even more pertinent, for it successfully expresses how very relatable the characters are to the everyday audience member. The article supports Annie Hall as an extremely relevant commentary on the world and the ups and downs of relationships between individuals.
Julian Fox’s discussion of Annie Hall is primarily a summary of the film’s coming into being, its development by Woody Allen, and its ultimate impact on audiences worldwide. Calling it Allen’s first mature film, Fox (similarly to Ascione) argues that the film succeeds in reaching an entire generation through its combination of romance, humor, and deep thought. The piece contains such details as the particular locations of shooting, original pieces of plot which were cut, and an investigation of the three-color approach used to add mood to the film. While the piece does not directly focus on Annie Hall’s social impact, it does highlight its main themes as well as the ways in which, after coming together, the film succeeded in reaching the hearts of the audiences. Fox claims that Annie Hall’s main focus is on the relationship of Alvy and Annie and their respective abilities, or inabilities, to handle its intricacies. Supporting themes involve aspects of religion (particularly traditional Jewish humor) and psychoanalysis. Audiences in the 1970s (and still today) found it easy to relate to such themes, comparing the insecurities inherent in their romantic relationship to the occurrences in their own lives. Interestingly, though, Fox chooses to focus on the character of Annie, portrayed wonderfully by Diane Keaton, as the true reason for the film’s lovability. Not only is Keaton “perfect” for the role, but the character of Annie Hall is the key emotional component of the movie to which the audiences attached at the time of its premiere. When this element is combined with that of Allen’s artistic and comedic ingenuity, Annie Hall is obviously a significant film to the film industry and to the generation it first reached.
Fox’s summary of Annie Hall underscores the general themes of the film which have had a worldwide, lasting impact. Woody Allen’s smart combination of incessant humor, cultural contrast, and insecure romance truly brought a new level of comfort to audiences, in that these themes were themes easily found in the audience members’ own lives. Thus, Annie Hall majorly impacted the American film industry, but it more importantly made a lasting impression on its many viewers.
Ascione, Lou. “Dead Sharks and Dynamite Ham: The Philosophical Use of Humor in Annie Hall.” Woody Allen and Philosophy (You Mean My Whole Fallacy is Wrong?). Ed. Aeon J. Skoble and Mark T. Conard. Chicago: Open Court Publishing, 2004. 132-151.
In his article on Woody Allen’s use of humor in Annie Hall, Ascione touches on some of the major themes of the film and how humor inventively brings the themes into focus on a philosophical level. Ascione introduces Schopenhauer’s theory of humor to display what types of situations are humorous and the ways in which such humorous situations can have strong or weak impacts. He adds to this theory the concept that humor has an entire second level of value aside from being entertaining– a philosophical one which Allen masterfully applies to Annie Hall. Ascione believes that Annie Hall is the prime example of how Woody Allen uses straight humor to achieve both entertaining and philosophical ends. To further explain how Allen achieves this on such a successful level, Ascione discusses such themes as social analysis, the nature of romance, cultural analysis and provincialism and, in each discussion, mentions Allen’s application of humor for philosophical reasons. For instance, humor is a medium for social criticism in such scenes as the scene where Alvy and Annie first spend time together, speaking with their true thoughts on display for the audience through subtitles, suggesting that romantic relationships can often involve some form of deception. Similarly, the relationship between culture and the individual is humorously explored by Allen and by the character Alvy, who cannot seem to control this relationship’s debilitating effect on his relationship with other people, including Annie. The concept that the important questions in life cannot be easily answered is often an underlying one presented by Alvy through his jokes. In general, Allen uses humor to make a critical commentary on social issues and human behavior.
Ascione’s thesis directly complements the general idea that Annie Hall was such a huge success on both comedic and social levels due to its sophisticated combination of humor and inventive narrative. Through the application of jokes and revolutionary narrative techniques, Allen wisely comments on many of the social truths of the period which very few other people had yet questioned. Thus, audiences could easily, and happily, relate to Annie and Alvy, understand the issues that they faced, and appreciate their romantic relationship and the course that it ran.
Girgus, Sam B. “Desire and Narrativity in Annie Hall.” The Films of Woody Allen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 44-61. In this chapter of Girgus’ book on Woody Allen films, the theory of narrativity is related to the concept of desire in an attempt to explain the success of Annie Hall. In addressing this fusion of theories, Girgus argues that Annie Hall survives and succeeds by sitting on this idea of the relationship between desire and narrativity and utilizing it to explain Alvy Singer and Annie Hall’s explorations of their respective identities in relation to the other’s. Furthermore, Woody Allen’s exploration of this theoretical relationship is what makes Annie Hall so enjoyable and at the same time revolutionary. Girgus explains that desire and narrative work together in the same process of the search for self. He notes Annie Hall’s chronological dislocation as an example of Woody Allen’s employment of the narrative. Describing narrative as “mimesis,” and contrasting it with “diegesis” (histoire), Girgus claims that Allen’s exploring this contrast is what allowed the film its initial success; it is what, on a broader scale, allows the film to be considered “important,” both in its relation to the film industry and in relation to other Allen films. Girgus continues to explain that this exploration can be found by viewers in the humor employed by Allen. Through humor, Allen, as Alvy Singer, places himself at the center of the narrative, and in effect explores the theme of psychoanalysis – one that is mentioned to be one of the film’s main themes in most articles and chapters written. His placement reminds us of Allen’s self-centeredness; while the film is named after its female star, the narrative really revolves, comically, around the inner workings of Annie and Alvy’s romantic relationship. Thus, Girgus argues, we only get to know Annie so well through Allen’s application of narrative desire to the plot. Narrative desire in Annie Hall provides a means by which Alvy Singer is deconstructed before the audience’s eyes, and humor accompanies this narrative desire to bring the film to a deeper philosophical level, where conventional perceptions and ideas of reality are “invaded” and reconstructed in a new, creative way. In utilizing narrative desire and humor, Allen successfully considers such themes as the unconscious, religion, and language. Girgus employs such examples as the characters’ speech patterns and the random inclusion of outside characters to demonstrate how Allen visually reinvents reality through humor and through the art form of film. Girgus points to Allen’s use of humor and narrative desire as the reasons for Annie Hall’s worldwide impact. These elements are what allowed Annie Hall to serve as Allen’s artistic and intellectual breakthrough in cinema. Without them, the film would not have been as revolutionary, nor would it still strike a chord with audience members today.
Fabe, Marilyn. “Film and Postmodernism: Woody Allen’s Annie Hall.” Closely Watched Films: An Introduction to the Art of Narrative Film Technique. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2004. pp. 173-190.
In this chapter, Marilyn Fabe considers postmodernism in Woody Allen’s films, particularly in Annie Hall. She begins by pointing to postmodernist themes like skepticism, irony, and depression, and notes that these themes are often key components in Allen’s films. Generally, Allen looks at the predicament of humans living in a post-sacred world. But Allen specifically reflects on this work in a parodic way. Allen mirrors life as it is presented in other films in his own films. His works are extremely self-reflexive and, at the same time, utilize traditional forms. However, he uses traditional forms in an ironic manner, to undercut their realistic pretentions. Annie Hall is the perfect example of Allen’s parodic style as it relates to postmodernism. In it, Allen undercuts his own pretentions by providing audiences with a filmed autobiography (which can be considered to be simply another fictional work). Fabe mentions many particular reasons why Annie Hall seems to be totally autobiographical, but notes that the story is still fictional. Within the fiction of the movie, Woody Allen seems to be confessing everything through the fictional character of Alvy Singer, who is constantly trying to work out his inner problems. Imbedded in Alvy is a serious level of emotion that seems relatable, even if it is fictitious. Thus, Annie Hall revolves around truly postmodernist themes in that each character, particularly Alvy, are extremely skeptical about the world in which they live and approach it with an ironic attitude.
Like all of Allen’s postmodernist films, Annie Hall is not about love but is more about its impossibility, which is a theme to which all audience members can connect at some point or another in their adult lives. Fabe confirms the reasons why Allen’s films, most importantly Annie Hall, make such strong connections to their audiences. Annie Hall stands today as one of the best comedies of our time because its themes are ones which occur often in the postmodern lives of every viewer. Allen presents the characters and their relationships in a very revolutionary way – one which brings out the insecurities and instability in each audience member, letting them know that they are not alone in their thoughts.
Nilsen, Don L. F. “Humorous Contemporary Jewish-American Authors: An Overview of the Criticism.” MELUS. 21. 4 (Winter, 1996). JSTOR:71-101.
Nilsen’s article demonstrates Woody Allen’s abilities in the area of Jewish-American humor as decided by other authors. The article serves as a discussion of the various takes on Allen’s humor, as a means by which to showcase Allen as a premiere Jewish-American comedian. Generally, the consensus is that Allen’s humor is strong because it pertains to society’s (sometimes troubling realities). While the humor is dark, touching on some sensitive subjects such as genocide, it is philosophical and consistently comments on the nature of today’s world. Nilsen points to one take on Allen’s humor, which describes it as stereotypical at times. If his humor considers stereotypes and cultural differences, then Annie Hall is Allen’s most successful use of humor. Described as a parody comparing and contrasting the lifestyles of Jews and gentiles, Annie Hall is extremely philosophical and provides a strong comparison through the use of inventive, often typically Jewish, jokes. The author providing such insight believes Annie Hall to be Allen’s “most sincere, most personal, and most richly comic statement about both his life and his art.”
This article, while not solely focusing on Annie Hall, does point to the film as being Allen’s most successful film in terms of his application of Jewish humor, as well as to Allen for being one of the most famous Jewish comedians and directors of our time. Thus, Nilsen confirms the strength of Allen’s humor, particularly as it is found in Annie Hall, as well as the reasons why Allen’s work successfully translates even today to many types of audiences.
Yacowar, Maurice. “Annie Hall.” Loser Take All: The Comic Art of Woody Allen. New York: Continuum Publishing Company, 1991. 171-186.
In Yacowar’s chapter, similar topics are addressed concerning the functions and success of Annie Hall: Alvy’s inability to enjoy life to the fullest, the contrast between Alvy and Annie’s upbringings and identities, and Woody Allen’s use of narrative and humor. The start of the chapter involves a summary of the film, with mention of some of the key elements which make it such a success. The piece is essentially a description of the main themes of the film, most significantly that of the relationship between art and reality. Yacowar first addresses the reoccurring idea of Alvy’s “sifting the pieces” of his relationship with Annie, which results in the blossoming of Annie and the continued confusion of Alvy. He then suggests that Alvy’s “sifting the pieces” is displayed through freely associated memories and ideas that Allen constructs through his use of narrative. It is argued that the narrative employed is what best expresses Alvy’s inability to balance his desire to confront and avoid troubling memories or issues from throughout life. Thus, this chapter, like other chapters and articles, investigates Alvy’s own investigation of his personality and its problems. Alvy cannot handle Annie’s outgrowing of him because he fell in love with his own creation and then lost it, similar to the Pygmalion myth. The chapter then transitions into a more in-depth exploration of the points of climax in Annie Hall and how they differ according to the two main characters’ experiences and personalities. This description further displays how the two characters, regardless of being in a romantic relationship, are individuals interested in their own personal ambitions and issues, first and foremost. Further dramatizing their differences, Yacowar makes use of the dinner table example, where a split screen shows the differences in each family’s habits at dinnertime, to show how the situation is simply “like oil and water.” Yacowar notes that in order to place more emphasis on contrast, Allen places contrast scenes in parallel spots in the plot. By doing this, Allen suggests Alvy’s narrow interests and his eventual alienation by Annie as a result of their differences, as well as the idea that Alvy can never survive any romantic relationship due to his handling of his personality. Yacowar concludes by delving into the topic of art versus life, transitioning by saying that the parallels of Annie Hall point to the fact that art and life are continuous forces. To him, the primary theme of Annie Hall is that art has the power to compensate for the limitations of life. As this is the primary theme, Alvy Singer employs the art of comedy to make up for the immediate and deeper issues complicating his life, such as his obvious differences from Annie.
Yacowar correctly pinpoints Alvy’s artistic use of comedy to substitute for solutions to the issues in his life. Similar to Alvy, many people use a particular talent or habit to avoid handling larger issues in life, and thus audience members could relate to Alvy’s habit when the film premiered. Alvy’s use of comedy is so continuous and so unique that it pushed the film to succeed on many levels.
Kamp, David. “Woody Talks.” New York Times on the Web. 18 November 2007. University of Pennsylvania Van Pelt Library, 06 April 2008. <http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/books/review/Kampt.html?pagewanted=1&sq=annie%20hall&st=nyt&scp=9>
This recent book review of Conversations with Woody Allen from the New York Times mentions Annie Hall, although it does not directly focus on the film. However, it does focus on Woody Allen’s directorial achievements throughout his career, which is pertinent because Allen’s choices in directing Annie Hall allowed it much of its success. Kamp first addresses Allen’s notorious inability to give himself credit, enjoy himself or celebrate his achievements (with another reference to the “anhedonia” title once given to Annie Hall). This omnipresent issue in Allen’s life is also the driving force behind Alvy Singer’s inability to succeed in a romantic relationship with Annie Hall. Kamp mentions how the book succeeds in making light of Allen’s development of his most famous stylistic trademarks on the set of Annie Hall. Ultimately, the review is a slightly negative one, in that the author finds the book to lack drama. He attributes this, though, to the lack of drama in Allen’s life and behavior; Allen’s demeanor does not ever seem to change drastically over the decades of his career. He makes sure to comment on the strong relationship between the author and Allen to highlight why the lack of drama may have been a conscious choice by both men involved. Kamp criticizes the author, Eric Lax, for not being aggressive enough in his approach to interviewing Allen. Kamp does conclude, however, by noting Allen’s continuous ability, through his film and through such things as the interviews included in Lax’s book, to entertain.
Kamp’s investigation of the book, and his deeper exploration of Woody Allen - the character and the director – confirms Allen’s status in the industry as one of the most influential and well-respected directors of our time. Although it does not particularly consider Annie Hall in relation to Allen’s career, the discussion of Allen alone shows how all films by Allen, including his most successful, Annie Hall, have had a deep impact on the film world and on society in general.