Woody Allen capers through nineteenth century Russian history, literature, and theater (with some Ingmar Bergman-esque touches thrown in for good measure), all filtered through his Brooklyn sensibilities in the often hilarious Love and Death. While Woody wouldn’t begin exploiting cinematic technique to its fullest extent until his next film Annie Hall, Love and Death moves his comedy to a grander scale than his previous films and finds time to focus even more seriously on his muse of the era Diane Keaton for this often surprisingly lavish period comedy.
Studio: MGM
Distributed By: Twilight Time
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English 1.0 DTS-HDMA (Mono)
Subtitles: English SDH
Rating: PG
Run Time: 1 Hr. 25 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
keep caseDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: All
Release Date: 02/10/2015
MSRP: $29.95
The Production Rating: 4/5
Filmed rather grandly in France and Germany and with far more extras than one normally associates with a Woody Allen movie of the period (the battle scenes are quite extensive), Love and Death nevertheless contains the expected Woody Allen sight gags (a treasurable Russian army training sequence finds the nebbish at his funniest and anachronistically includes Frank Adu as a jive-talking drill sergeant) and the customary emphases on lusting after beautiful women and the continual pondering on the existence of God. There’s a running gag that doesn’t work all that well: lengthy pauses of esoteric mumblings between Allen and Keaton on the nature of existence that recalls Strange Interlude and is meant to suggest the pages of conscious thought found in the writings of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Checkov (aided further by the use of Russian composer Sergey Prokofiev’s compositions as background music). Otherwise, though, the events of the movie whether they involve fighting, feuding, or family matters (there are extended introductions to his weird, wacky family to start the picture) and the ever-present chasing of beautiful women fall strictly within the purview of an Allen movie experience. Allen takes the time, however, to set up some breathtaking shots: the view in the wintry forest at dawn as Boris prepares for his duel with the Count is staggeringly exquisite, and the period costumes and décor have been extravagantly appointed and shot proving that Allen’s maturation as a filmmaker was firmly on the rise during this film’s production.
Don’t expect Russian accents from Woody or Diane as they play their Russian roles: they’re the same rather familiar characters (he: girl crazy and filled with witty banter even down to sharing quips with Death; she: clueless about his feelings and interested in securing her own happiness by any means possible) we’ve seen in previous Allen flicks. Other roles are all rather small but can carry some impact. Henry Czarniak and Feodor Atkine play Boris’ brothers with smooth aplomb, and Harold Gould is an always welcome presence as the blustering Count Anton. Despo Diamantidou and Olga Georges-Picot play well the two other important women in Boris’ life: his mother and his lover the Countess Alexandrovna. As did several youthful actors in this period of Allen works, Alfred Lutter III plays the young Woody/Boris.
Video Rating: 4.5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 4/5
Special Features Rating: 2.5/5
Theatrical Trailer (2:31, HD)
MGM 90th Anniversary Trailer (2:06, HD)
Six-Page Booklet: contains a selection of color stills, original poster art on the back cover, and film historian Julie Kirgo’s effusive analysis of the movie.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
Support HTF when you buy this title: