Humphrey Davis Movies
Woody Allen's romantic comedy of the Me Decade follows the up and down relationship of two mismatched New York neurotics. Jewish comedy writer Alvy Singer (Allen) ponders the modern quest for love and his past romance with tightly-wound WASP singer Annie Hall (Diane Keaton, née Diane Hall). The twice-divorced Alvy knows that it's not easy to find a mate when the options include pretentious New York intellectuals and lifestyle-obsessed Rolling Stone writers, but la-di-dah-ing Annie seems different. Along the rocky road of their coupling, Allen/Alvy weigh in on such topics as endless therapy, movies vs. TV, the absurdity of dating rituals, anti-Semitism, drugs, and, in one of the best set pieces, repressed Midwestern WASP insanity vs. crazy Brooklyn Jewish boisterousness. Annie wants to move to Los Angeles to find that fame that finally does in the relationship -- but not before Alvy gets in a few digs at vacuous, mantra-fixated California. Originally entitled Anhedonia (the inability to enjoy oneself), Annie Hall blended the slapstick and fantasy from such earlier Allen films as Sleeper (1973) and Bananas (1971) with the more autobiographical musings of his stand-up and written comedy, using an array of such movie techniques as talking heads, splitscreens, and subtitles. Within these gleeful formal experiments and sight gags, Allen and co-writer Marshall Brickman skewered 1970s solipsism, reversing the happy marriage of opposites found in classic screwball comedies. Hailed as Allen's most mature and personal film, Annie Hall beat out Star Wars for Best Picture and also won Oscars for Allen as director and writer and for Keaton as Best Actress; audiences enthusiastically responded to Allen's take on contemporary love and turned Keaton's rumpled menswear into a fashion trend. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, (more)
- 1972
City in Fear was an attempt at socio-political commentary by soft-core porno star Cheri Caffaro and her director/husband Don Schain. The film takes place during a heated political campaign, wherein the "race card" is played up for all it's worth. The bigoted whites attack the blacks, the militant blacks attack the whites, and gallons of blood are spilled. Playing the mistress of a candidate, Caffaro is kidnapped and murdered in a particularly repulsive fashion -- and that isn't the end of the film. Originally released as A Place Called Today, this is no more or less than an ultraviolent sexploitationer masquerading as a "statement." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1962
At his retirement party, Miles Cheever (Henry Jones) is disappointed by the tacky gift he receives for 25 years' loyal service. Goaded by his wife (Ruth Storey) to get a bigger piece of the financial pie, Cheever robs his former place of business. However, Miles has no intention of sharing his ill-gotten fortune with his wife -- not so long as he has a girlfriend (Rebecca Sand) waiting for him at the airport. What our "hero" doesn't know is that Mrs. Cheever has drawn up a set of retirement plans all her own. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1956
A mentally ill young woman honestly believes that she is the reincarnated lover of Crown Prince Rudolph, a woman who died with the prince in a suicide pact in 1889. Over the course of her treatment, her psychiatrist falls in love with her, but then she gets caught up in a trance and withdraws. It is only when she gets involved with a crazed killer who looks just like the dead prince, that she returns to normalcy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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