grindal@utcsrgv.UUCP (David Grindal) (08/08/83)
This film was an incredible suprise to me. I like almost all of Woody Allen's work, but this picture won me over in a totally different way. Unlike most of his stuff (I must admit, I haven't seen Stardust Memories) the humour is very low-key. The beauty of it though is that it never stops coming. The film takes the form of a documentary. Most of it is in old looking black-and-white newsreels. (Apparantly, the studio had a devil of a time in getting modern high-quality film to look as grainy and shabby as it did. I'm glad they took the trouble. The effect adds greatly to the film). The main premise of the film (don't worry I'm not going to spoil it) is highly amusing, but used very sparingly. This is what makes the film different from most of Allen's work that I've seen. The many plot twists, very few being predictable, keep the viewer completely entertained for the entire 87 minutes. Yes, that's right it is a short film. What I really liked about this film, is that while the audience never absolutly cracked up laughing, there was almost always a chuckle. The wit is dry, the satire biting, and a number of other cliches I can't think of at the moment. A very satisfying experience, and well worth the $5.00 admission. David Grindal (...!utzoo!utcsrgv!grindal)
citrin@ucbvax.UUCP (08/10/83)
I too enjoyed "Zelig." I found the film technically excellent and the humor good. However, I did not get the feeling of satisfaction that I have gotten from some of Woody Allen's other films. Despite the raves of the critics, this is a lesser film than "Annie Hall," "Manhattan," or "Stardust Memories," and I enjoyed "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy" more. However, like all of his previous films, this one is worth seeing, both on its own merits, and as another stage in the artistic growth of Woody Allen. Wayne Citrin (ucbvax!citrin)
brt@pyuxvv.UUCP (09/03/83)
i have just seen the new woody allen movie "zelig" . in 5 words or less , he has done it again . the film was definitely worth the $4.50 i had to shell out at the "beautiful amboy multiplex" ( i probably should have looked around for a cheaper place , but i was in a crummy mood and couldn't care less ). i went in expecting a film very different from the "sleeper" and "bananas" genre , and was not disappointed . as siskel&ebert put it ...it is not a hilarious film , but a steady stream of hearty chuckles... ( the quote may or may not be precise ) . he does slip into his younger self occasionally (??????) : ..... i am a doctor [ of psychology - brt.] . and i am expected in town . i am treating a very interesting case , two sets of siamese twins with split personalities....... .......... i'm getting payed by eight people... ..... in addition to a very solid script , the photography is super ( especially if you appreciate the films of times past ) , the editing is very good and the cast is simply excellent ! one last word of warning , this movie is unusual , sometimes strange , but at the same time very optimistic and uplifting . it got me first smiling and then laughing out loud together with some 20 other strange souls in that empty theater. enjoy, B.Reytblat ...!pyuxvv!brt ...!pyuxvv!std02!brt (201)-981-2044 (office) (201)-752-4758 (home) REYTBLAT@RU-GREEN
hope@gatech.UUCP (09/11/83)
Although the photographic technique used in Zelig is "original", the movie's
theme is basically the same as most other Woody Allen films. Zelig, the main
character (played by Allen), is portrayed as the typical wimpy, guilt-ridden,
sex-starved underdog. I didn't realize this until a few hours after the movie,
because the story is very entertaining, and gags abound. Definitely worth the
five bucks I shelled out to see it.
Ted
--
Theodore Hope
CSNet: Hope @ GaTech ARPA: Hope.GaTech @ UDel-Relay
uucp: ...!{sb1,allegra,ut-ngp}!gatech!Hope
...!duke!mcnc!msdc!gatech!HopeHolbrook.ES@PARC-MAXC.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (09/13/83)
Date: 7 Sep 1983 1445-PDT
From: EISELT@UCI-20A
Subject: Zelig
To: movies@UCI-20A
Received: from UCI-20a by UCI; 7 Sep 83 14:49-PDT
May I have the envelope please? The best picture of 1983 is..."Zelig"!!
Woody Allen's latest is, for my money, the heavy favorite to take Best
Picture at the Oscars in the Spring. The critical acclaim "Zelig" has
been receiving is entirely deserved, as this film far outshines anything
else that has been released in 1983 (my apologies to all RotJ fans).
It's a pseudo-documentary about Leonard Zelig, played by Woody, who
wants so much to be liked by others that he takes on the
characteristics of the people around him. Zelig doesn't just mimic
their ideas to gain acceptance, he actually takes on their physical
and mental characteristics: he gains two-hundred pounds in the
presence of heavy people, he becomes black when in the company of
black men, he becomes a Republican around rich folks. He is taken to
a psychiatric hospital for treatment, where his doctor, played by Mia
Farrow, devotes her career to ridding Zelig of his strange malady.
While their weird doctor-patient relationship turns into a weird
romantic relationship, Leonard Zelig becomes a popular cult figure of
the 1920's and 30's. He's in the newspapers, newsreels, there are
songs written about him ("Leonard the Lizard"), there is a dance named
for him ("The Chameleon"), he mingles with F. Scott Fitzgerald and
Eugene O'Neill, and so on. Why, Warner Bros. even does a movie of his
life!
Through "Zelig", Woody Allen pays homage to the classic documentary
film style (which I think is sort of epitomized by documentaries
produced by David L. Wolper). Allen's fondness for the documentary
has been seen before: his use of the style in "Take the Money and Run",
Alvy Singer's obsession with "The Sorrow and the Pity" in "Annie Hall".
While the audience is re-introduced to Allen's long-running love affair
with film, it is not subjected to too much of the autobiographical,
self-deprecating humor for which Allen has been criticized in recent
movies, particularly "Stardust Memories".
Also through "Zelig", Woody Allen pokes fun at the 20's, at
historians, at psychology/psychiatry, at romanticized movie versions
of real events, and just about everything else. But the jabs are
never vicious; they are always friendly. In fact, "Zelig" has this
feeling of warmth and affection about it that I've never sensed in any
other movie. The result of all the work done to take new black and
white footage and make it look sixty years old is quite astonishing;
it is almost impossible to distinguish the new film from the old
newsreel and home movie stock. The love and care and patience that
went into the making of "Zelig" is apparent, and could be expected
only from someone who is as much a film fan as he is a film maker.
If you've come to the rather obvious conclusion that I am a rabid
Woody Allen fan, you're right, and I'm not ashamed. But you should
probably keep that observation in mind when I say that "Zelig" is the
BEST movie I have seen this year.
KurtRAcosta.ES@PARC-MAXC.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (09/13/83)
"Zelig" is certainly a technological marvel and another credit to Woody Allen's amazing ability to simultaneously write, direct and star-in a quality movie, but Best Movie honors? I don't think so. Too soon into the movie "Zelig" starts to become a one joke act. Zelig with Blacks jazz musicians becomes a Black jazz musician. Zelig with Chinese looks Chinese, and so on. The humor is usually dry and witty, when Zelig's personality is a psychiatrist who specializes in teaching a class in masturbation (what else?), he quips to his shrink "If I don't show up on time they start without me!" Mia Farrow has little dialogue so she is better than usual. Allen takes a genre of movie, the documentary, and gives us a great satire and good insight into it. I don't think anyone but the most rabid Woody Allen fan would give this more than an 8/10.
Gilman.ES@PARC-MAXC.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (09/16/83)
Did anything happen in the second half of the movie? I walked out halfway through in disgust.
eli@uw-june (Eli Messinger) (09/16/83)
I can't really say too much about this film without giving away some of the surprises which make it so interesting. My initial impression is that Woody Allen has come up with a film concept on the same level as his redubbing of what became "What's Up Tiger Lilly." Another of my film-going party commented that Allen had come up with a very complicated and clever (and humorous) way to tell what is essentially a love story. I really did like his earlier, funnier films... ... uw-june!eli
edward@utcsrgv.UUCP (Edward Hsing) (09/21/83)
I doubt that Zelig will win the BEST PICTURE oscar whether it actually
deserves it or not. Let`s not forget that when Woody Allen won
that same award for Annie Hall he did not even show up at the
ceremony but instead was performing with his jazz band.
That was a no no in the eyes of the Academy. And anybody who snubs
the Academy is unlikely to be considered for any future awards.
Let`s face it. The Academy certainly does not make awards on the
basis of the movie`s merit alone. The politics and money of the
industry has a lot of sway.
Ed Hsing
utzoo!utcsrg!edwardberry@zehntel.UUCP (09/27/83)
#R:utcsrgv:-230000:zinfandel:8300012:000:192 zinfandel!steve Sep 26 08:08:00 1983 When Woody Allen's "Manhattan" was released early in its year (1978?) it, too, received the highest critical praise, but was not even nominated for the academy award. zinfandel!steve nelson
knight@rlgvax.UUCP (Steve Knight) (09/30/83)
I won't go on record for or against a Best Movie bid for "Zelig", but if Gordon Willis does *not* win the award for Best Cinematography, I, for one, will be extremely surprised. Good to be back on the net after a change of locale, but still not completely acclimated, Steve Knight seismo(and a bunch of other sites)!rlgvax!knight
toms@syteka.UUCP (Tom Shearer) (10/28/83)
-f mr.mincemeat I just saw zelig at last... This is an amazing exercise in meticulous historical fabrication and i thought absolutely hilarious; This is the most absurd movie I have ever seen. I usually don't like woody allen, too much leaping and shouting and mugging and too little wit, but this one is just swell. Not for everyone I suppose though, only about six people in the theater were laughing. No "jokes"; no "punch lines"; thankfully few woodyallen boffo sight gags; lots of marvellously twisted historical nonevents and a nearly flawless air of authenticity. I'd go see this before almost any other comedy except harold & maude. mincemeat. ...hao!menlo70!sytek!toms
Caro.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA (11/11/83)
Ok, if you're still pining for the "good old days" of "What's Up Tiger
Lily" and "Bananas", forget this movie. Woody's older now and doesn't
much go for that easy comedy stuff.
Zelig, as you may have heard, is a masterpiece of movie making
technology. The whole thing is set up like a documentary that spans the
20's and 30's about an odd fellow named Leonard Zelig. Much of the film
is set in the old "movietone" b&w newsreel format. There are occasional
cuts to modern time (color) interviews with contemporary people (Saul
Bellow, Susan Sontag, etc), but most of the movie is in b&w.
The most amazing things are done with newsreel footage. Woody, as
Zelig, shows up in the most unlikely places of the 1920's. The story is
that Zelig, suffering from a psychological disturbance caused by a rough
childhood ("...his family lived over a bowling alley, but it was the
bowling alley that complained of the noise," a typical Allen scenario),
develops the ability take on the appearance of whoever he is near. In a
Jazz Speakeasy he first looks like a gangster, then like a black trumpet
player. Talking to two rabbi's he grows a beard and a hat(!). As you
might expect, the press lables him the Chameleon.
There is SOME of the old Allen humor left, especially in the interviews
with Mia Farrow (as his psychologist). But the theme reminds one of
"Stardust Memories", that bitter attack against the Allen fans that want
more "funny pictures." "Zelig", however, is not so bitter, thankfully.
On the Commodore's Scale of Merit (six bells being all's well), I'd give
this one a 4.
Commodore Perry