Love and Death (1975)

Artwork for DVD Release

A tried and true testament to the films that introduced Woody Allen to the film world, and made him such an icon of the American New Wave to the American public and their contemporaries abroad.

The film is thinly veiled as a hilarious treatise on existentialism with hints of a philosophical contemplation on sex and murder, which seems to have preoccupied Woody's mindset in the 1960s and 70s, culminating in his opus Annie Hall (1977), before turning to more dramatic fare afterwards.

It stands, as Woody films often do, as the right amount of intellectual hubris and crude infantile sexual jokes.

Love and Death stands to make you wonder the meaning of life, love and death, all the while keeping you rolling around in the floor, with a script so replete with phenomenal one liners, that you will be reciting them years after watching the film, without remembering where the context came from.

"Don't consider death as an end...think of it as a very efficient way of cutting down on your expenses."

I have personally, never seen a funnier boot camp montage since Robin Hood Men in Tights (), and even then, here, the montage serves more as a way of maintaining the pace, whereas in Men in Tights, it serves as a vehicle of laughter alone.

Artwork for Italian Theatrical Release

Diane Keaton has a splendid comedic timing, even if she stumbles noticeably twice with Allen's script.

The opening titles are a perfect example of the point I made earlier regarding the simplicity and emblematic nature of Woody's masterful approach to film making (see Vicky Cristina Barcelona).

Although not a splendidly technically perfect film, it is a thoroughly enjoyable film and a perfect example of the nature of the American New Wave.  It is as utterly game changing as any other of its contemporaries, including Monterrey Pop (1968), Cabaret (1972), or The Last Waltz (1978).

Like those films, Love and Death proves that you can take an otherwise stereotypically frivolous genre and infuse it with meaning, depth, and relevant transcendence, and do it all while creating a new standard of filmmaking a la Cinema Verite, or Neorealism.

The cinematography here is bleak, but the script and fast pace of the acting, make the film feel bright and exuberant, which makes the relative short span of 85 minutes pass even faster.  While still leaving you very fulfilled at the end.

Buy this film on DVD and on BluRay if it ever gets released as such.  It is worth your time and energy, and it stands well to multiple viewings.  My wife and I have watched this film at least once a year for the last 8 years, and we have never grown weary of it.