Not Quite As Funny As "The Seventh Seal" But Close...

Rating: 6/10 (12 September 2004)

LOVE AND DEATH (3 outta 5 stars)
Minor Woody Allen comedy but it has a few laughs in it... which is more than one can say for a lot of his later efforts. It probably helps to have read a lot of Russian novels or seen a lot of Russian (and Swedish) films before trying to watch this. Still, Allen and Keaton have good on screen chemistry (which they would have perfected by their next film, "Annie Hall") and the jokes or near-jokes keep coming at a steady pace. Verbal wordplay comes very near the quality of prime Marx Brothers material, e.g. Drill Sergeant: "One, two, one, two, one, two." Boris: "Three is next, if you're having any trouble." --- Boris: "If a man said that to me, I'd break his neck." Anton: "*I* am a man." Boris: "Well, I mean a much shorter man.")