Product Description

Woody Allen reinvents himself again with the epic historical satire that is a "wonderfully funny and eclectic distillation of the Russian literary soul" (New York Magazine). One of his most visual, philosophical and elaborately conceived films, Love and Death "demonstrates again that [Allen] is an authentic comedy genius" (Cosmopolitan). Cowardly scholar Boris Grushenko (Allen) has the hots for the beautiful Sonja (Diane Keaton), but cold feet for the Napoleonic Wars. Devastated by news of Sonja's plans to wed a foul-smelling herring merchant, Boris enlists in the armyonly to return home a penniless hero! Finally agreeing to marry him, Sonja settles down with poor Boris, to a rich life of philosophy, celibacy and meals of snow. But when the French troops invade Russia and Sonja hatches a zany scheme to assassinate Napoleon, Boris learnsin a hilariousbut fatal coup attemptthat God is an underachiever, there are no girls in the afterlife and thatthe angel of death can't be trusted!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10053 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 2000-07-05
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 85 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Writer-director Woody Allen's 1975 comedy finds the familiar Allen persona transposed to 19th-century Russia, as a cowardly serf drafted into the war against Napoleon, when all he'd rather do is write poetry and obsess over his beautiful but pretentious cousin (Diane Keaton). A total disaster as a soldier, Allen's cowardice serves him well when he hides in a cannon and is shot into a tent of French soldiers, suddenly making him a national hero. After his cousin agrees to marry him, thinking he'll be killed in a duel he miraculously survives, the couple must hatch a ludicrous plot to assassinate Napoleon in order to keep the coward Allen out of yet another war. Allen and Keaton show what a perfect comic team they make in this film, even predating their most celebrated pairing in Annie Hall. Working so well as the most unlikely of comedies, of all things a hilarious parody of Russian literature, Love and Death is a must-see for fans of Woody Allen films. --Robert Lane

Customer Reviews

Hot cockles and wheat
For me, "Love and Death" bridges together the slapstick satire of Woody's early movies with the grand verbal wit of the later movies. It never falls into the trap of relying too much on the former, and its reliance on the latter produces some of the silliest Woody dialogue I've ever heard. But it's the perfect mixture between the two that makes this my pick for funniest Woody Allen flick. So far.

I've always felt that the context (Russia in the 19th century and the Napoleonic Wars) and the content (pre-existentialist philosophy) were fine targets to satire. The opening scenes, where Woody as narrator introduces his screwball family, are truly looney-tuney. And the scenes where Woody (Boris) and Diane Keaton (Sonja) talk philosophy, serve more to make fun of the ridiculous gibberish they are engaged in than to further the philosophical discourse. The truer philosophical discussions come in the form of setup-punchline jokes delivered later on ("If it turns out that there IS a God, I don't think that he's evil; I think that the worst you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever"). This is all good stuff.

Woody's performance here reminded me a lot of really good Groucho Marx. His wiseguy retorts to oblivious inquisitors are done in the same winking/nod to the camera manner that Groucho mined for gold. And Woody, with his messy red hair and horn-rimmed glasses, looks every bit the sarcastic clown that Groucho did. There's one particular scene ("She's a great kidder... No, you're a great kidder... No, you're Don Francisco's sister") which mimics the Marx Brothers doubletalk style perfectly. In the film's second half, Woody takes a step back, to allow Diane Keaton some grand time in the Groucho persona. And she runs with it. Keaton is an underrated comic actress, usually overshadowed by Woody. Here, she rolls her eyes, grins goofily, has great comic timing, and appears to be having a gloriously good time delivering her dialogue. You can see Woody's pride as he stands to the side and watches her go great guns.

There are many truly hilarious scenes here (my favourite: Woody, drawn into a duel, is offered to choose his weapon from a pair of guns; he picks them both up, examines them for a moment, and then says "I'll take these"), the scenery is shot gorgeously, the music by Prokofiev is jubilant and fits in perfectly with the film, and there is never a down moment. Come to think of it, the pace reminds me of the joke-a-minute style "pioneered" by the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker "Airplane" movies. Only Woody, dear Woody, bestows such intelligence and wit upon the material that it is elevated to a divine state.

Woody's Best
Over the years, this is one of the Allen films that I most often revisit. It truly gets better the more times it is seen. The dialog is brilliant. The interplay between Allen and Keaton is perfect. I also think it is Diane Keaton's best role as she has the opportunity to exercise her wonderful comic touch and timing. Each scene contains lines that have become classics: Allen; "I heard voices". Keaton: "I was praying". Allen: I heard two voices". Keaton: "I do both parts". The dialog is layered and the Russian literature references are very funny. This is a film treasure and certainly ranks with the great comedies of all time.

"Once Would've Been Nice" ~ or ~ "At Least After Death You're Not Nauseous"
Question: Take Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Napoleon Bonaparte and a Bergmanesque Grim Reaper - drop them into a 19th century Russian setting fit for an adventure/romance epic and what do you get?

Answer: One of the funniest films you'll ever see.

This is Woody Allen at the peak of his creativity. The fun never stops and it has tons of quotable lines that only get funnier with each repeat viewing. In my estimation this film, along with Annie Hall, are Woody's best work! A MUST OWN for anyone who loves to laugh!