MovieChat Forums > Annie Hall (1977) Discussion > Horribly dated, or perhaps something els...

Horribly dated, or perhaps something else

posted 12 years ago by damiano-1
63 replies | jump to latest

Having endured my insistent and gushing recommendations for some time, my parter agreed to sit down and watch Annie Hall with me yesterday. It was a great disappointment for her and for me.

It must be 20 years since I last saw the film, which hitherto occupied a place in my memory as one of the funniest I had ever seen. I am afraid time has not been kind to Annie Hall, at least for me. Scenes which previously provoked belly laughter fell completely flat, and the whole movie was suffused with a sense of self-regarding importance that was uncomfortable to behold. I felt the same way when I watched California Suite recently, another film I remember as being much better tham it now appears to be; there is a sense that the actors felt they were taking part in Something Important which, while possibly true at the time, serves only to draw attention to itself when watched today.

There are a lot of films from this period which are still every bit as good as they were, so it is clearly not simply a matter of it being dated, but for whatever reason, Annie Hall is now a pale shadw of its former self. I wish it were otherwise.

[–] JurijFedorov 10 years ago

It felt fresh in 1977. But it is a mediocre movie compared to all movies since then. Top250? It is there for its historical value, nothing to do about that.

[–] thefly50 10 years ago

"It is there for its historical value..."

Not necessarily. While I'm sure there are people who force themselves to like Annie Hall or simply appreciate it for its historical value, a ton of people truly love it and find it hilarious. I do, I get all the references, despite being born 23 years after its release, and simply think it is a well-constructed, sweet and all-around great movie.

I don't think any romantic comedy (or any kind of comedy, period) has eclipsed Annie Hall since. I'm not the kind of guy who loves everything that people say is great, and in fact think most of the 8.6+ rated movies on IMDb are overrated as all hell (Fight Club, Star Wars, The Usual Suspects, Intouchables, etc.).

But then again, it seems like you rated Taxi Driver 6/10 and Eraserhead 1/10, so I'm not sure what kind of taste you have. Not deriding, just observing.

[–] JurijFedorov 10 years ago

I think David Lynch and Woody Allen are 2 of the most overrated directors. I don't care what the majority thinks. I have yet to be surprised by these 2. Even Hitchcock is less overrated. I like Scorsese but Taxi Driver and Hugo are duds.

[–] srinath_r_htanirs 9 years ago

If only this were a sarcastic post!

[–] JurijFedorov 9 years ago

I will make sure to ask you who you like before I post my opinion again.

[–] srinath_r_htanirs 9 years ago

I like quite a large number of filmmakers and I try to find value in most filmmakers I explore.

American Cinema is not what I've explored much in comparison with quite a few other major industries, but Allen and Lynch are two auteurs whose work I've enjoyed immensely. They have dared to escape conventions. And I consider Taxi Driver as Scorsese's only master-piece or close to one, if any

My favourites are Tarkovsky, Bergman, Bresson, Lynch, De Sica, Resnais, Fassbinder, de Oliveira, Allen and Cronenberg to name a few.

Now that, the ball's started rolling, go on, state your opinion.

[–] JurijFedorov 9 years ago

Click my username. All my ratings are free for all to see. You will see that I like movies where a lot of things happen and that are fast paced. I love intellectual movies and movies that keep me interested in the story.

[–] srinath_r_htanirs 9 years ago

I don't know. You've listed Inception as intelligent and as a bit hard to understand, while naming Spielberg as the best director of all time.

[–] JurijFedorov 9 years ago

Inception is not intelligent? Probably the movie that I have seen most people not intuitively get. That at least means it's complicated to understand. Steven Spielberg has made top 10 action movies and top 10 best ever dramas. He even made a great 3D cartoon.

[–] srinath_r_htanirs 9 years ago

If you're trying to critique artists like Allen and Lynch and then consider Inception as intelligent and Spielberg as the greatest filmmaker, I'm at a loss for words. It just can't be serious.

Inception is lousy and is filled with exposition. There's nothing even remotely hard to understand. It's not even a good film. Spielberg is an average filmmaker at a best with a few good films. Even Bergman hasn't made the top 10 best 'ever' dramas

The problem with the majority of film audience of this world is lack of exposure, a number of mediocre and popular contemporary filmmakers are associated with superlatives without them having known what real cinema is about. Anyway, that's for a different conversation.

[–] schwapj 10 years ago

I can't speak for you, but here's my take. I didn't love Annie Hall the first time I saw it, being about 15, but I started to love it later and have seen it maybe ten times completely through since it came out. However, it also occurred to me that Woody Allen started to take himself very seriously after winning the Oscar, and stopped writing pure comedies like "Sleeper" and "Bananas" in favor of darker comedies that often had funny scenes that stopped dead in their tracks ("Radio Days" comes to mind"). So for me Annie Hall doesn't hold up as well as it should mostly because of the effect it had on Woody Allen, rather than any flaw or "dated-ness" in the movie itself. (Plus New York had a bit of a renaissance under Giuliani and isn't the gloomy city it used to be, so that could date it in a sense.)

[–] kevin-bergin 10 years ago

Saw it in the late 70s. I forget if I saw it in theater or did it come to college for movie night?
All these years later it doesn't seem nearly that funny nor that romantic.

"It's the system, Lara. People will be different after the Revolution."

[–] residentevil6901 10 years ago

I think it's the most overrated movie of all time and it's a crime that it won best picture over Star Wars. Once that happened I knew all the award shows are fixed. NO WAY this is best picture of the year over STAR WARS, Annie Hall didn't change the world, Star Wars did. What a crock of shizzzz

[–] CursedShadow 10 years ago

I just watched the movie for the first time in perhaps twenty years and while I thought some of the cultrual references dated, overall I found the movie to be terrific. Great script!

[–] Piperson 10 years ago

I am a big Star Wars fan from the era when it first came out. I don't know if you were around at that time but if you were, you might recall that successful blockbusters NEVER won the Academy Award for Best Picture. (They still don't do they?)

That doesn't mean that Star Wars wasn't the best. It just means that the Academy Awards don't always hit the target.

There is a scene late in Annie Hall where Woody Allen ridicules Hollywood and the culture that gives out awards saying that they would give an award to Hitler for "Best Fascist Dictator". After Hollywood watched that scene, they went right out and voted "Annie Hall" Best Picture of the year. Some kind of self-loathing going on there.

[–] cuaamir 9 years ago

You are absolutely right. I left this movie at 54th minute. that was enough.

[–] pjwag-15448 8 years ago

I watched this film again after nearly 20 years. It is still incredibly funny, the dialogue fast paced with laugh out loud gags and set ups and incredibly innovative. Why is that dated? it's even better than I remember. What is noticeable for me is that it's a grown up film, for adults. The characters are not 20 somethings or teenagers setting out in life but in their 40s with the baggage of adult lives - divorce, failure and fear. I don't remember many films covering these topics in such a delightful and entertaining way. Woody Allen is not everyones cup of tea, jbut that does not mean we should not see the brilliance of this film. I am not sure I see the relevance of comparing to Star Wars, each have their place. If we are complaining about dated then Star Wars with dogfights and poor looking tech on the Death Star with its throw to Saturday morning pictures is more dated than many. Bring on the dog!

[–] bringbackberniew 9 years ago

has destroyed your taste in films & probably, more generally, your sense of humor.

[–] nocomputer1962 9 years ago

I agree with bringbackberniew. It sounds like your girlfriend brings a chill to the room whenever you pick the movie. I hope you have dumped her since your original post.

[–] srinath_r_htanirs 9 years ago

It isn't a laugh out loud comedy per say. There are quite a lot of subtle moments in the film. I did not laugh out many times in my second viewing, but still enjoyed it much the same as I did the first time.

[–] captskidmarkgoatcabin 9 years ago

One of a handful of movies I have watched many times and it still makes me laugh.

[–] [email protected] (6052) 5 years ago

This one still makes me laugh. I remember the first time I saw it and I laughed non-stop. I pop it into the DVD player every now and then when I want a good laugh. It never fails to deliver.

[–] Owlwise (1536) 4 years ago

I think "dated" is a horribly overused word these days. The fact that a film is of its time doesn't make it less interesting to me; that makes it more interesting to me. It opens a window on the world as it was then, not as seen in retrospect through changed mores & attitudes. And beyond that, the human condition is never dated. The outward trappings & then-current fads & trends will change, but human desires, fears, foibles, aspirations, failures & hopes are are always the same when you get down to it.