Zelig (1983)
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, (more)
- Director(s):
- Woody Allen
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG
- Category:
- Comedy
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Leonard Zelig, the "human chameleon", is profiled in this mock-documentary. Director Woody Allen appears as Zelig in scenes that purport to be vintage newsreel clips of the 1920s and 1930s, but are actually clever recreations, "aged" and scratched-up Citizen Kane-style by special-effects maestros Joel Hynick, Stuart Robinson and R. Greenberg Associates. An appropriately pompous narrator details the life and times of Leonard Zelig, whose overwhelming desire for conformity is manifested in his ability to take on the facial and vocal characteristics of whomever he happens to be around at the moment. He shows up at batting practice with Babe Ruth, among William Randolph Hearst's guests as San Simeon, side by side with Pope Pius at the Vatican, and peering anxiously over the shoulder of Adolf Hitler at the Nuremberg Rally. Becoming a celebrity in his own right, Zelig inspires a song, a dance craze, and a Warner Bros. biopic. Mia Farrow plays Dr. Eudora Fletcher , a psychiatrist who tries to "reach" Zelig and ultimately falls in love with him (all of Farrow's scenes are in black-and-white and allegedly culled from archive footage; Ellen Garrison, whose resemblance to Farrow is uncanny, plays the older Dr. Fletcher in the interview sequences). In the manner of Reds, the influence of the fictional Leonard Zelig on popular culture is discussed by such real-life notables as Susan Sontag, Irving Howe, Saul Bellow and Dr. Bruno Bettenheim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 79 mins
Complete Cast:
- Woody Allen - Leonard Zelig
- Garrett M. Brown - Actor Zelig
- Will Holt - Rally Chancellor
- John Rothman - Paul Deghuee
- Marianne Tatum - Actress Fletcher
- Susan Sontag - Herself
- Saul Bellow - Himself
- Dr. Bruno Bettelheim - Himself
- Prof. John Morion Blum - Himself
- Sharon Ferrol - Miss Baker
- Richard Whiting - Other Doctor
- John Doumanian - Greek Waiter
- Jean Trowbridge - Dr. Fletcher's Mother
- Ken Chapin - On-Camera Interviewer
- Richard Litt - Charles Koslow
- Howard Erskine - Hypodermic Doctor
- Gale Hansen - Freshman No. 1
- Jurgen Kuehn - German UFA Newsreel
- Erma Campbell - Zelig's Wife
- Will Hussung - Other Doctor
- Ed Herlihy - Pathe News
- Dwight Weist - Hearst Metrotone
- Ellen Garrison - Older Doctor Fletcher
- Louise Wilson - Sister Ruth
- Mia Farrow - Dr. Eudora Fletcher
- Stephanie Farrow - Sister Meryl
- Sol Lomita - Martin Geist
- Deborah Rush - Lita Fox
- Mary Louise Wilson - Sister Ruth
- Irving Howe - Himself
- Bricktop - Herself
- George Hamlin - Experimental Drugs Doctor
- Gordon Gould - Radio
- Vincent Jerosa - Hearst Guest
- Kuno Sponholz - Oswald Pohl
- Ralph Bell - Other Doctor
- Robert Berger - Zelig's Lawyer
- Jeanine Jackson - Helen Gray
- Michael Jeter - Freshman #2
- Paula Trueman - Woman at Telephone
- Wendy Craig - Herself
- Marvin Chatinover - Glandular Diagnosis Doctor
- Dimitri Vassilopoulos - Martinez
- Stanley Simmonds - Lita's Lawyer
- Peter McRobbie - Workers Rally Speaker
- Gerald Klein - Hearst Guest
- Alice Beardsley - Telephone Operator
- Patrick Horgan - Narrator
- Director(s):
- Woody Allen
- Writer(s):
- Woody Allen
- Producer(s):
- Robert Greenhut
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG(Adult Situations, Adult Language, Questionable for Children, Adult Humor)
- Categories:
- Comedy
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1983 - Zelig - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Cinematography
