Play It Again, Sam

Starring:Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Jerry Lacy, Susan Anspach, Jennifer Salt, Joy Bang, Viva, Susanne Zenor, Diana Davila, Mari Fletcher, Michael Greene, Ted Markland, Tom Bullock
Director: Herbert Ross
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

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Written for the stage and coherently opened up for the screen by veteran director Herbert Ross, Play It Again, Sam is closer to a conventional comedy than Woody Allen's more self-contained films, but his smart script and archetypal hero-nebbish achieve a special charm aimed squarely at movie buffs. Allen is Allan Felix, a film critic on the rebound after his wife's desertion trying to brave the choppy waters of born-again bachelorhood and struggling to reconcile his celluloid obsessions with the hazards of real-world dating. His apartment is a shrine to Humphrey Bogart, and it's none other than Bogey himself who materializes at strategic moments to counsel Allan on romantic strategy. He gets more corporeal aid from his married friends, Linda (Diane Keaton) and Dick (Tony Roberts), who try to orchestrate prospective matches and reassure him when those chemistry experiments explode. When Allan finds himself falling in love with Linda, the dissonance between fantasy and reality proves both funny and poignant--a precursor to the deeper emotionalism missing from the star's earlier directorial efforts that was soon to inform Allen's most affecting '70s comedies. It's also the start of his onscreen relationship with Keaton, further underscoring Allen's evolution toward a more satisfying contemplation of the friction between head and heart. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

Laugh Out Loud Funny.......2007-07-02

Play It Again, Sam, written by and starring Woody Allen is just plain hilarious. Full of sight gags and tremendous one-liners, this is Woody at his "slapstick" funniest. Diane Keaton is great as Woody's friend and advisor. They have an excellent chemistry. The movie takes place in San Francisco, and is full of excellent imagery. Fun and fast-paced, this is a 4 star Woody Allen film well-worth the minor time investment (85 minutes).

Top 5 Woody Allen.......2007-04-16

It has almost been forgotten that this film was not directed by Woody Allen - but this makes no difference it is still one of his greatest films.
We start the film with Allan Felix (Allen) watching Casablanca in the Cinema and feebly impersonating Bogart as he leaves the Cinema. The film proceeds with an imaginary Bogart advising Allan on how to deal with Women. Allan as you would expect is pretty hopeless!
This film is consistently funny with the blind date scene being one of the greatest comedy scenes ever filmed.
The script (based on Woody Allens own stage play) is full of great dialog, as you would expect.
Diane Keaton is wonderful in her role, and Tony Roberts is very funny in his supporting role as the business man who leaves a telephone number so he can be contacted everywhere he goes.
"I'll be at 362-9296 for a while; then I'll be at 648-0024 for about fifteen minutes; then I'll be at 752-0420; and then I'll be home, at 621-4598"
Remember this film was made more than a decade before mobile phones even existed in brick form.
The film finishes with a great recreation of the end of Casablanca.
If you don't like Woody Allen then you probably won't like this. However, if you have any appreciation of Woody and haven't seen this, you should buy this DVD now.

Play it again, Woody.......2007-04-06

Directed by Herbert Ross, "Play It Again, Sam" (1972) is Woody Allen's film from the beginning to the final credits. Allen wrote the screenplay based on his Broadway play and he starred as Allan, a neurotic movie buff who writes the film reviews (what else?). Allan not just loves movies; he lives in the movies' world and constantly takes advices on how to get the girls from the legendary hero of his all time favorite movie "Casablanca", Humphrey Bogart's Rick. I am not a fan of "Casablanca" at all but if my favorite Artist is so much in love with it, maybe I should give it another try.

When Allan's wife Nancy leaves him, his best friend Dick (Tony Roberts) and his lovely wife Linda (Diane Keaton) try to fix him up with several eligible pretty young ladies. Very typically for Woody's characters, he is a total failure with them. The only woman he feels comfortable with, he shares the same insecurities and neuroses, the one whose Birthday he remembers and who he desperately wants is Linda, his best friend's wife. "Play It Again, Sam" is a remarkable movie for several reasons and one of them - it was the beginning of a wonderful working (and not only) relationship between Allen and Keaton that would result in the movies "Bananas" (1971), "Sleeper" (1973), "Love and Death" (1975), "Annie Hall" (1977), "Interiors" (1978), "Manhattan" (1979), "Radio Days" (1987), and "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993) and will bring them both well deserved fame and Oscars. Made 34 years ago, "Play It Again, Sam" holds up very well and I would call it my favorite earlier Woody's film and the best Woody's film that he has not directed.

A Classic .......2007-03-25

A classic must have for any Woody Allen fan, especially fans of his early work. The movie cleverly incorporates Humphrey Bogart (indistinguishable from the real Bogart)as his character in 'Casablanca' (where this Woody Allen movie derives its title) tutoring an inept, timid Allen in the arts of wooing. The movie brilliantly incorporates Bogart and 'Casablanca' into the script, including key quotes and even ending with the same final scene. A Woody Allen masterpiece.SleeperAnnie Hall

witty and authentically Woody Allen..............2007-02-18

Allan Felix (Woody Allen), a movie critic and avid fan of Humphrey Bogart, must re-acquaint himself with the bachelor lifestyle after his wife leaves him. He looks to his best friend, Dick (Tony Roberts) and his wife, Linda (a very young Diane Keaton) for help. Allan is a clumsy nebbish and is visited by the spirit of Humphrey Bogart (Jerry Lacy) who gives him advice in wooing the ladies--specifically Linda, who he finds himself falling for, and finds an opportunity to declare his love for her when Dick is out of town. What will Allan do? This clumsy, awkward and very neurotic man cannot be himself around any woman, once he has a romantic interest in her. Linda is the one woman he feels he can really be himself with.

This film runs parallel to the plot of CASABLANCA. For those of you who have seen it, you know what happens. For those of you who haven't, I won't ruin the story......you'll just have to see it. This is goofy slapstick and classic Woody Allen. Check it out......

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