Annie Hall was one of the big hits of Woody Allen's career and in my opinion his most mainstream work. This film is classic Allen right from the hilarious debates between LA and NYC to his neurotic self. Of course the star is Diane Keaton as the titular character and she is excellent in the role. The scene where Allen visits her family and meets amongst others Christopher Walken is subtle humor redefined. If you aren't aware of why Woody Allen is such a cultural icon I suggest you rent Annie Hall. I think this is one of the finest comedy-dramas out there.

Woody Allen at his best: baring his insecurities and shortcomings, muttering and mumbling his way through a string of sharp, witty statements, experimenting with film techniques, admiring the lost landscape of 1970s New York and, still, finding time for a rich, colorful portrayal of a years-long romance. Allen and Diane Keaton really make the film work, their rapport is so smooth, easy and genuine. We want to see them tough it out together, because their good times are so pure and true, but we know that fresh infatuation has a relatively short shelf life and the characters' essential differences make a longer, more serious relationship impossible. We see it all in a string of short snapshots, an expert mix of vital moments that anyone who's been through such a whirlwind will no doubt recognize. Those early, sunny memories you won't forget and the later, stormier ones you can't. Funny and poignant, with a dash of playful fourth-wall recognizance to keep us on our toes, it expertly churns all sorts of universal emotions.

"Annie Hall" is what you consider a typical Woody Allen movie, although he'd probably hate this classification. It centers around the concept of love and human relationships, expectations, fears and needs. In the typical mixture of comedy, drama and stylistic elements we follow a couple falling in love and growing out of it, learning about themselves through the other.I really like how unconventional this movie deals with the topic. A movie about love and relationships is really not on top of innovation, yet it feels like this film has a sense for the undertones of love. In many ways philosophical, it raises questions and searches for answers, not always finding the right ones maybe but matching the complexity of human relationships.I found it interesting to learn that Allen himself doesn't think highly of this film. Indeed I also liked other of his films, especially "Whatever works" more, that seemed to be even more on point to me. "Annie Hall" sometimes takes quite a lot of time to make a point and at times gets lost in itself.Nonetheless this is a movie you should see. It leaves you with a lot to think about.

I am, unapologetically so, a big fan of Woody Allen's work. Annie Hall, directed by Allen in 1977, was one of the great masterworks of his career. Starring Woody Allen, and Diane Keaton in the titular role, Annie Hall presents the lives of socially awkward, incredibly neurotic individuals, who are perfect only for each other, from the beginning to the end of their relationship. Woody Allen always injects a bit of himself in each film he has directed, Annie Hall, however, may be the most self-actualizing of Allen's films that audiences have ever seen. Idiosyncracies and nuances commonly known to be those of Allen's himself, give the audiences an insight into one of the most famed directors of our time.Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) has the only career he could possibly have, he is a comedian. Not that Alvy isn't intelligent, he is, or that he isn't capable of doing anything else, he would be, it's just that Alvy is an incredibly introspective and pensive individual who uses his own self-realizations to influence his comedy. At the beginning of the film, the audience learns that Alvy has broken up with the titular character and the succeeding film is his exploration of that relationship, in hopes to discover why it ended. Alvy is so stricken by the ending of his relationship with Annie because he truly believes that his 15+ years of psychological analysis has solved his problems which should have ensured his relationship with Annie would last. On the surface, the high-brow New Yorker Alvy, and the flighty Midwestern-born Annie would have no success in a union, yet, their peculiarities were such that they ended up being perfect for each other, or so it seemed. Perhaps it's his much discussed Jewish guilt or just his introspective nature, but Alvy just can't let go of his relationship with Annie Hall until he has come to a logical reason for why it ended. The introspective nature which Allen used as a vehicle for Annie Hall was brilliant and surely added to the host of reasons in which Annie Hall took Oscar's top prize for 1977. Annie Hall does something movies rarely get away with by breaking the 4th wall. Annie Hall breaks the wall so perfectly because the breaks add to the film, rather than take the audience away from the film. The technical aspects of this movie make it a dream to watch. The film is done almost exclusively using long takes, which are gutsy, but suited the conversational nature of Annie Hall to perfection. Another great technical attribute of mention is the title cards to input English on the "foreign language" scene on the roof. The script in which Allen penned in cooperation with Marshall Brickman was pure cinematic gold. One of my favorite scenes of all- time is contained within this film; the scene in which Alvy and Annie are in line at a movie theater and a guest behind them is loudly giving his sanctimonious opinion of the film in which they are about to see. Alvy is unable to hold his tongue any longer as the diatribe continues and he interrupts the gentleman to give his opinion, point out the flaws in his argument, and introduce him to the writer of the source material to further prove how wrong he was. This moment, though it happened only in Alvy's mind, was perfect, because who hasn't this happened to? Speaking of relatability, Alvy's character is one in which most everyone can relate to. Though probably not all of Alvy's mannerisms are present in one person at any given time, there are certainly many idiosyncracies one can identify in themselves that is present on screen in Allen's Alvy. As noted, I am a huge fan of Woody Allen's work. His ability to pull the worst parts of himself and humanity from his own being and put it on screen for others to realize they also possess are extraordinary. I can't think of any other modern director who nails the human aspects in their films like Allen can. Everything about Annie Hall works, even the parts that shouldn't. The split-screens, the breaking of the wall, the "meeting the past" it all works the way Allen puts it together. Has there ever been any criticism of this film? I'm sure there has been, I'm just not aware of it. It is for good reason Annie Hall won Best Picture, Best Director, a Best Actor nod for Allen, and Best Original Screenplay; and one doesn't even have to be a fan of Allen's work in order to appreciate his master work, Annie Hall.