Love and Death (1975)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

10 June 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | War

Tagline:

The Comedy Sensation of the Year!

Plot:

In czarist Russia, a neurotic soldier and his distant cousin formulate a plot to assassinate Napoleon.

Plot Keywords:

Russia | Army | Slapstick | Philosophy | Stadium Vendor

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Woody Allen	...	Boris Grushenko
Diane Keaton	...	Sonja
Georges Adet	...	Old Nehamkin
Frank Adu	...	Drill sergeant
Edmond Ardisson	...	Priest (as Edward Ardisson)
Féodor Atkine	...	Mikhail Grushenko (as Feodor Atkine)
Albert Augier	...	Waiter
Yves Barsacq	...	Rimsky (as Yves Barsaco)
Lloyd Battista	...	Don Francisco
Jack Berard	...	Gen. Lecoq
Eva Betrand	...	Woman hygiene class
George Birt	...	Doctor
Yves Brainville	...	Andre
Gérard Buhr	...	Servant (as Gerard Buhr)
Brian Coburn	...	Dimitri

Also Known As:

Guerre et amour (France)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Netherlands:6 | Brazil:12 | USA:PG (certificate #24301) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:16 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions

Trivia:

The shots of the lion statues edited into the love scene between Boris and the Countess, and the shot of the soldier being shot in the eye through his glasses are parodies of similar statues in Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925), shown during the Odessa Steps massacre scene.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The credits state that the music is all by Prokofiev. However, you can distinctly hear Boccherini at one point. Also, the sonata for violin and piano that Sonja plays with her extra-marital lover is Beethoven's Spring sonata, Op. 24. When Boris is at the opera, it is the Magic Flute, which was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Quotes:

Boris: [sleeve bloodied after being grazed by bullet] Does this come out, from dry cleaning, or is it like gravy?

Movie Connections:

References A Night at the Opera (1935)

Soundtrack:

Lt. Kije

A great woody flick, one of his better ones

This Woody Allen flick is by far the funniest of his that I have seen thus far, although i don't think its as good as a film as Annie Hall or The Purple Rose of Cairo, both which I consider masterpieces of Woody's, Love and death is still a brilliant film. The story of Boris Grushenko (Allen), a Russian who is caught up in the invasion of the french lead by Napoleon (Tolkan). Meanwhile he also loves Sonja (Keaton), a girl who has confusions of her own. The film is written brilliantly, great dialogues and wit, its truly offbeat humor, the funniest from Woody. Although his direction here is a bit weird, and at times the plot is not believable at all and obviously satirical, the performances and great dialogues make it work. It was a bit redundant and had a bit too much slapstick at times but still enjoyable. Watching this film, truly had me laughing throughout. Woody was perfect in his role, probably my favorite acting from him along with his acting in Annie Hall. Diane Keaton was also great here, not as good as her other work in this decade (GF, GF2 and Annie Hall), however still great here. James Tolkan was also great as Napoleon. 9/10 #91 on list of all time favorite films