One of Woody's best!!!

Rating: Null/10 (4 January 2003)

Hilarious comedy inspired by philosophy, Russian literature, Swedish & French films looks better with each passing year. Woody himself has declared this film to be his favorite -even more than Annie Hall. His Boris is a fine comic creation and almost sexy in a loopy sort of way; it's here in Love and Death where he seems strangely confident and hasn't settled into the heavy stammering and constant neurotic fidgeting that has now become his trademark.
Diane Keaton as half saint/half whore Sonja (foreshadowing her serious Looking for Mr. Goodbar character) is simply marvelous and provides a beautiful comic foil for Allen. (It's hard to remember how good of a dramatic actor she is while watching her flirt with a Napoleon impostor.) The two zing in their scenes together -Don't! Not here!- carrying them off with a played-to-the-hilt, frothy zestfulness that make you long for the days when we had good comic film duos: Silent Bob and Jay, Matt and Ben, Danny and Mel just don't quite cut it for me.
The now 28 year old film -like most of Allen's films- has hardly aged and should be seen if you haven't already. There's a beautiful DVD treatment that's been released and I highly recommend it. Enjoy!