I thought of that old joke, y'know, the, this... this guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, "Doc, uh, my brother's crazy; he thinks he's a chicken." And, uh, the doctor says, "Well, why don't you turn him in?" The guy says, "I would, but I need the eggs." Well, I guess that's pretty much now how I feel about relationships; y'know, they're totally irrational, and crazy, and absurd, and... but, uh, I guess we keep goin' through it because, uh, most of us... need the eggs.
— Alvy Singer
Annie Hall (1977) is an American romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen from a script co-written with Marshall Brickman. One of Allen's most popular films, it won numerous awards at the time of its release, including four Academy Awards, and in 2002 Roger Ebert referred to it as "just about everyone's favorite Woody Allen movie".Allen had previously been known as a maker of zany comedies; the director has described Annie Hall as "a major turning point", as it brought a new level of seriousness to his work, in addition to consolidating his signature cinematic style, which includes long, realistically written scenes of conversation, often shot in uninterrupted takes, and an equal thematic investment in both hilarity and heartbreak.
This Movie Contains Examples Of:
Actor Allusion: Annie arrives to meet Alvy while a group of stereotypical Italian-Americans are hounding him for autographs. He immediately describes them to her as "the cast of The Godfather" - the movie that arguably made Diane Keaton's career.
Also one of the actors playing the autograph hounds (Rick Petruccelli) had a very small role in The Godfather.
Annie Hall is Diane Keaton's real name (Annie is a nickname variant of Diane)
Author Avatar: Hmmmm...Alvy's neurotic, Jewish, from New York, with a fixation on Diane Keaton, who is also incidentally a stand-up comic...nope, probably just a coincidence...
Alvy himself proves to be a horrible driver when he takes out an entire parking lot in Los Angeles. Yes, he had just lost Annie, but after the first couple of fender benders, that's no excuse.
Annie: Well, she said that I should probably come five times a week. And you know something? I don't think I mind analysis at all. The only question is, is 'Will it change my wife?'
Alvy: Will it change your wife?!
Annie: Will it change my life?
Alvy: Yeah, but you said, 'Will it change my wife?'
Annie: No I didn't. I said, 'Will it change my life, Alvy?'
Alvy:(directly to audience) She said, 'Will it change my wife?' You heard that, because you were there. So I'm not crazy.
Fun with Subtitles: Alvy and Annie's first awkward conversation comes with these.
Genius Bonus: Alvy's stand up routines in universe. This is Lampshaded by Annie, who—through reading books that Alvy buys for her—begins to understand more of the references he makes.
Godwin's Law: "What's with all these awards? They're always giving out awards! Best Fascist Dictator: Adolf Hitler!"
Duane: Can I confess something? I tell you this as an artist, I think you'll understand. Sometimes when I'm driving... on the road at night... I see two headlights coming toward me. Fast. I have this sudden impulse to turn the wheel quickly, head-on into the oncoming car. I can anticipate the explosion. The sound of shattering glass. The... flames rising out of the flowing gasoline.
Alvy: Right. Well, I have to - I have to go now, Duane, because I, I'm due back on the planet Earth.
Imagine Spot: Seamlessly integrated in many times, most notably the scene in the movie theater line where he pulls in Marshall McLuhan to disprove a blowhard prattling on and on about him. "Boy, if life were only like this!"
Reality Subtext: Woody Allen always used "Max" as his fake name in hotel registers.
Nietzsche Wannabe: A number of Alvy's opinions on life and relationships reek of pessimism and nihilism, best exemplified by the film's opening lines,
Alvy: There's an old joke, um... Two elderly women are at a Catskill Mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life—full of loneliness and misery and suffering and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly.
This, however, is turned around when Alvy shares another joke at the very end of the film (See the page quote, at the top of the page) and rationalizes that he has a reason to endure all of the absurdity and suffering "because he needs the eggs".
No Fourth Wall: Which makes sense, since the entire film is a story that Alvy is telling the viewer.
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