Love and Death

1975 "The Comedy Sensation of the Year!"
7.7| 1h25m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 10 June 1975 Released
Producted By: United Artists
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

In czarist Russia, a neurotic soldier and his distant cousin formulate a plot to assassinate Napoleon.

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Reviews

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
oOoBarracuda Woody Allen is proving himself to me as a versatile director expelling the notion that he can only write films featuring a neurotic Jewish man. That character exists in almost every Woody Allen film, yes, but I disagree with the idea that all of Allen's films are the same. To begrudge a director for putting too much of himself into his art has always been a difficult criticism for me to hear. Love and Death, the 1975 film is a period piece set in czarist Russia starring Allen as a man hopelessly in love with a woman who is determined to marry anyone but him. Boris (Woody Allen) is in love with Sonja (Diane Keaton), the both are pseudo-intellectuals so the match seems to be perfect. Sonja, however, is not "in love" with Boris. Love is all that occupies Boris' mind, but all that must change when he is forced to join the Russian army. Boris is a committed pacifist, therefore is now tasked with trying to avoid hurting anyone while also being tasked with battling Napoleon's forces which have just invaded Austria. The two take diverging paths but are reunited once again when they must plot to assassinate Napolean.There is a scene in Love and Death in which several coffins are upright in a field and each one opens and the bodies come out and begin to dance in the field; that scene is my favorite scene in Love and Death. I have a habit of deciding which scene in each Woody Allen film I see is my favorite scene because there is always at least one stand out scene in each of his films. The writing in Love and Death was exquisite, as always, and especially biting which was a joy. One of my favorite things, as I've noted before, is when a film can successfully break the 4th wall, and there is a perfect scene in which Woody Allen himself breaks that wall down and speaks directly to me. It's as close as I'll ever get to my favorites, so I'm happy to take a 4th wall break. Death is in the title, but I am still loving how Woody Allen deals with his nihilism/uncertainty about God/the meaning of life in each of his films. Which is good, because it looks like Allen's focus on death is never hidden in his films.
ShadeGrenade 'Love & Death' was Woody Allen's last film before his 'reinvention' as a more serious film-maker with 'Annie Hall' in 1977, and is an uproarious spoof of classic Russian literature such as 'War & Peace'. It opens with 'Boris' ( Allen ) in a cell awaiting execution. What circumstances brought him to this predicament? The film goes into flashback mode. Boris is in love with 'Sonja' ( Diane Keaton ), his beautiful cousin, but she prefers his brother 'Ivan', whom Boris claims cannot even write his own name in the ground with a stick. He is then caught up in the Napoleonic Wars ( "we kill Frenchmen, they kill Russians, before you know it, its Easter!" ), and against the odds, becomes a hero, seducing a beautiful countess ( Olga Georges-Picot ). He finally marries Sonja, but it is not a happy union, although she manages to make some wonderful dishes out of snow. Sonja then comes up with her grand master plan - the assassination of Napoleon Bonaparte...As with his other films of this period, most of the gags have a strong Marx Brothers flavour, along with anachronisms such as Boris and a gang of cheerleaders suddenly appearing on the battlefield, along with a hot-dog vendor. There is a duelling sequence which one can imagine might have worked for Harpo Marx. Keaton, as ever, is excellent. Her meaningless discussions with Boris over the futility of human existence are priceless. Boris is agnostic; "If only I could see a miracle...if only God would just cough!". My favourite moment is Boris quoting from the Bible: "Yay, I will walk through the valley in the shadow of death...come to think, I will RUN through through the valley in the shadow of death...you get out the valley quicker that way!". 'Love & Death' ends with the sight of Boris and the Grim Reaper dancing through trees. It is easy to see the scene now as symbolically bringing to a close this era of Woody Allen movies. He was smart to make the change when he did as the television show 'Saturday Night Live' was about to unleash a new wave of comedians - such as Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Dan Ackroyd - who went on to define 80's American film comedy.
namashi_1 MR.Cinema aka Woody Allen, is simply THE BEST. 'Love and Death', Written, Directed & Acted by Allen himself, is amongst his finest works to date. A Fantastic Comedy! 'Love and Death' Synopsis: In czarist Russia, a neurotic soldier and his distant cousin formulate a plot to assassinate Napoleon.Like always, Allen pitches in a lot of humor in 'Love and Death'. The premise is terrific & the overall storytelling, is a pure genius. Allen's Screenplay is terrific & his Direction, as always, is flawless.Allen's performance as a neurotic soldier, is mind-blowing. Diane Keaton as his distant cousin, is flattering. James Tolkan as Napoleon Bonaparte, deserves a special mention.On the whole, 'Love and Death' is a must see film by MR.Cinema!
mother-war An underrated masterpiece. An apotheosis to Ingmar Bergman. Funny and intellectual at the same time ( which is something completely normal to every Woody Allen movie, but this one is maybe one of my favorite, followed by Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris and Bullets over Broadway ).I myself am Bulgarian and have always found the Russian culture extraordinary and extremely sophisticated. The parody with all the greatest Russian authors came to me as a best surprise.Some eternal questions ( mostly about love and death. But there were some about love, too ) contribute to become this film an amazing piece of art.10/10.