Without a doubt the GREATEST romantic Comedy EVER MADE!

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2001)

Woody Allen's ANNIE HALL is my favorite movie of all time. Simply because it manages to keep the perfect pitch throughout it's length. The film is very funny throughout, without repeating jokes, or even going down the road to sick toilet humor. It is hard to say why I and thousands other people like this movie so much, I think its because the more familiar you are with it, the more you like it. Some movies, even great movies get old the more you watch them, but with Annie Hall, you get excited every time you know a great line or great scene is coming up.
The movie is filled with great moments, not surprising considering that the plot not only centers around Woody Allen's character's relationship with Diane Keaton's character (Annie Hall), but with themes of obsession, religious differences, loneliness, and if there's a price to pay for love. Every romantic comedy made since this movie owes it something (especially "When Harry Met Sally"), and if you are familiar with a lot of modern sitcoms, especially the TV show "Friends," you'll notice how much was derived from here. (For six million dollars a week, you'd think they could afford orignal scripts) There are thousands of scenes and lines in the movie worth calling attention to here, but if you haven't seen the movie yet, you deserve to see them without expecting them, so I won't mention them here.
Annie Hall won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Woody Allen), Best screenplay written for the screen (Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman) and for Diane Keaton's performance as Annie Hall. Her performance is without a doubt one of the greatest performances ever done by an actress, actually, but anyone, take notice of the scene where Annie tells Alvy Singer(played by Woody Allen) that she misses him. She starts crying, then hits her bed with her fist. She loves him, but is ashamed of being weak. That is such an honest, subtle, and perfect motion that I really start to care for Annie at that point-and so does Alvy, because we start to overlook her flaws (her carelessness, immaturity, and her naivety and so forth), and really start to care about her. Woody Allen also gives a good performance, but unline Ms. Keaton, he knows he's performing (when he breaks the forth wall by talking to the camera), but still gives one of the best monologues I've ever seen. (notice how his hands never stand still, yet never make the same movement twice- every physical comedian should take note of this, from Jim Carrey to Groucho Marx)
I first saw this movie when I was in 7th grade, and laughed uproariously at the animated segment, and all the one-liners and jokes (its amazing how with this amount of jokes, every single one of them works, none miss their mark) when it was over, I rewound it, and started over again. Now that I'm older, and hopefully more mature, the movie is even better, and the last scene never fails to inspire me, and the jokes that used to make me laugh, still do, with the added bonus of my also getting the more subtle ones as well.
Woody Allen is one of the all-time great film-makers, and this is his masterpiece in my opinion, there are no flaws in the script, even though it has flash-forward, flash-backs etc, etc. He makes one movie a year on average, and he writes, directs, and usually stars in them too. If there's one person who I'd want to continue working, it'd be him. If you want to start watching Woody Allen movies but are unsure where to start, Annie Hall is a great place to start, its modern, yet a classic.
If I haven't made the movie sound as good as it is to me, that is my fault, and not the movie's. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I suggest you go out and watch it now, making sure you don't read its IMDB quote page. Best to watch this movie, and be wonderfully surprised. I would be surprised if you don't love this movie. You've have to have a heart of stone to resist it. It is very funny, quite moving at sometimes, inspiring, perfectly acted and written. It deserves it's awards, and it's place on AFI's 100 best movies of all time (I think #32). Movies like this are the reason cinema was invented.
NOTE: If you like ANNIE HALL, here are some other great Woody Allen movie you might enjoy: Manhattan, Love & Death, Stardust Memories, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Crimes and Misdemeanors.