Harvey Alvy Popular Books

Harvey Alvy Biography & Facts

Annie Hall is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer, who tries to figure out the reasons for the failure of his relationship with the eponymous female lead, played by Diane Keaton in a role written specifically for her. Principal photography for the film began on May 19, 1976, on the South Fork of Long Island, and continued periodically for the next ten months. Allen has described the result, which marked his first collaboration with cinematographer Gordon Willis, as "a major turning point", in that, unlike the farces and comedies that were his work to that point, it introduced a new level of seriousness. Academics have noted the contrast in the settings of New York City and Los Angeles, the stereotype of gender differences in sexuality, the presentation of Jewish identity, and the elements of psychoanalysis and modernism. Annie Hall was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival on March 27, 1977, before its official release in the United States on April 20, 1977. The film received widespread critical acclaim, and was nominated for the Big Five Academy Awards, winning four: the Academy Award for Best Picture, two for Allen (Best Director and, with Brickman, Best Original Screenplay), and Best Actress for Keaton. The film additionally won four BAFTA Awards, including Best Film, Best Direction (for Allen), Best Screenplay (for both Allen and Brickman) and Best Actress in a Leading Role (for Keaton), in addition to the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical (for Keaton). The film's box office receipts in the United States and Canada of $38,251,425 are fourth-best of Allen's works when not adjusted for inflation. Considered among the best films ever made, it ranks 31st on AFI's List of the greatest films in American cinema, 4th on their list of greatest comedy films and 28th on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". Film critic Roger Ebert called it "just about everyone's favorite Woody Allen movie". The film's screenplay was also named the funniest ever written by the Writers Guild of America in its list of the "101 Funniest Screenplays". In 1992, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Plot Comedian Alvy Singer is trying to understand why his relationship with Annie Hall ended a year ago. Growing up in Brooklyn, he vexed his mother with impossible questions about the emptiness of existence, but he was precocious about his innocent sexual curiosity, suddenly kissing a classmate at six years old and not understanding why she was not keen to reciprocate. Annie and Alvy, in a line for The Sorrow and the Pity, overhear another man deriding the work of Federico Fellini and Marshall McLuhan. Alvy imagines McLuhan himself stepping in at his invitation to criticize the man's comprehension. That night, Annie shows no interest in sex with Alvy. Instead, they discuss his first wife, whose ardor gave him no pleasure. His second marriage was to a New York writer who did not like sports and was unable to reach orgasm. With Annie, it is different. The two of them have fun cooking a meal of boiled lobster together. He teases her about the unusual men in her past. They had met playing tennis doubles with friends. Following the game, awkward small talk leads her to offer him a ride uptown, and then a glass of wine on her balcony. There, what seemed a mild exchange of trivial personal data is revealed in "mental subtitles" as an escalating flirtation. Their first date follows Annie's singing audition for a nightclub ("It Had to be You"). After their lovemaking that night, Alvy is "a wreck," while Annie relaxes with a joint. Soon, Annie admits she loves Alvy, while he buys her books on death and says that his feelings for her are more than just love. When Annie moves in with him, things become very tense. Eventually, Alvy finds her arm-in-arm with one of her college professors, and the two begin to argue about whether this is the "flexibility" they had discussed. They eventually break up, and he searches for the truth of relationships, asking strangers on the street about the nature of love, questioning his formative years, and imagining a cartoon version of himself arguing with a cartoon Annie portrayed as the Evil Queen in Snow White. Alvy attempts a return to dating, but the effort is marred by neurosis and an episode of bad sex that is interrupted when Annie calls in the middle of the night, insisting that he come over immediately to kill two spiders in her bathroom. A reconciliation follows, coupled with a vow to stay together, come what may. However, their separate discussions with their therapists make it evident there is an unspoken and unbridgeable divide. When Alvy accepts an offer to present an award on television, they travel to Los Angeles with Alvy's friend Rob. However, on the return trip, they agree that their relationship is not working. After losing Annie to her record producer Tony Lacey, Alvy unsuccessfully tries rekindling the flame with a marriage proposal. Back in New York, he stages a play of their relationship, but he changes the ending: now she accepts. The last meeting between Annie and Alvy is a wistful coda on Manhattan's Upper West Side after they have both moved on to someone new. Alvy's voice returns with a summation: love is essential, especially if it is neurotic. Annie sings "Seems Like Old Times," and the credits roll. Cast Woody Allen as Alvy Singer Diane Keaton as Annie Hall Tony Roberts as Rob Carol Kane as Allison Portchnik Paul Simon as Tony Lacey Janet Margolin as Robin Shelley Duvall as Pam Christopher Walken as Duane Hall Colleen Dewhurst as Mrs. Hall Donald Symington as Mr. Hall Joan Newman as Mrs. Singer Tracey Walter as Actor in Rob's T.V. Show Mordecai Lawner as Alvy's father Marshall McLuhan as himself Truman Capote has a cameo in the film. Alvy is making quips about people walking by. He says "There's the winner of the Truman Capote look-alike contest" as Truman Capote walks through the frame. Several actors who later gained a higher profile had small parts in the movie: John Glover as Annie's actor boyfriend, Jerry; Jeff Goldblum as a man who "forgot [his] mantra" at Tony Lacey's Christmas party; Beverly D'Angelo as an actress in Rob's TV show; Christopher Walken as Annie's brother, Duane; and Sigourney Weaver, in her film debut, in the closing sequence as Alvy's date at the movie theater. Laurie Bird also appears, two years before her suicide. Style and technique Technically, the film marked an advance for the director. He selected Gordon Willis as his cinematographer—for Allen "a very important teacher" and a "technical wizard," saying, "I really count Annie Hall as the first step toward maturity .... Discover the Harvey Alvy popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Harvey Alvy books.