The GENIUS of Woody Allen #film #romance #comedy #legend

The 1975 Allen offering LOVE AND DEATH was the first Woody film that made me feel he had written a film to directly make fun of me during my university years. I was obsessed with intellectual debate and as he put it 'mental masturbation with concepts and ideas that truly have no answer.' Actually it would be more accurate to say I loved ideas that could be argued around in a circular defense and attack at the same time; such as fate or destiny vs. free will or choice. But attending a Woody Allen film festival during my university days in the late 80's opened my mind to Woody's love of making fun of the exact character I was trying to become; the dreaded pseudo-intellectual.

I was laughing so hard at the conclusion of this film my date asked, 'what was so funny about that?' 'Just a bit of self-degradation I guess. Nothing is funnier than someone drawing universal truths with an etch a sketch.'
I don't think she thought I was funny or that the film had been. Never ask someone from the accounting program to go see an art film. Dating 101 I guess.

Anyway, the film LOVE AND DEATH is dated, in face I would guess today's audiences would have a lot of trouble getting into the film. I would encourage students of film to take a look at the masterful timing of the cast and the way they used their dramatic touch to deliver the comedy. The scenes in the film rely heavily on dialogue and create a comical sense of Russian life without an extensive budget. At times Diane Keaton is so good that she completely takes over this male dominated cast with her eye contact with other actors, her waiver in voice to express her uncertainty or lies, and perhaps best of all she kept the straightest face during some of the most absurd scenes written in this era. 

If you enjoy this clip, give the film a try.