Zelig

Starring:Alice Beardsley, Ralph Bell, John Buckwalter, Marvin Chatinover, Howard Erskine, Mia Farrow, Gale Hansen, Patrick Horgan, Will Hussong, Robert Iglesia, Michael Jeter, Sol Lomita, Edward McPhillips, Peter McRobbie, Paul Nevens, Eli Resnick, Stanley Swerdlow, Richard Whiting, Mary Louise Wilson
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
The thinking person's Forrest Gump, Woody Allen's 1983 Zelig is a funny, atmospheric mock-documentary about the collision of one man's manifest neuroses colliding with key moments in 20th-century history. Allen plays the title character, a self-effacing, timorous fellow with such a porous personality that he physically becomes a reflection of whoever he is with. Complex and painstaking, the film's pre-Gump special effects manage to place Allen, buried under a series of makeup and prosthetic guises, in a number of scenes along with Adolf Hitler at a Nazi rally, a pope at the Vatican, and famous guests at a garden party hosted by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Similar in tone and satire to some of Allen's short, comic pieces published in The New Yorker magazine, Zelig is a one-note movie that takes its delicious time establishing the fullness of its central joke. It's well worth the wait. --Tom Keogh

Zelig
Average customer rating:

"Identity Crisis and Its Relationship to Personality Disorder "

The Human Chameleon

Brilliant; brilliant; brilliant.

Return to Form & Then Some

Zelig teaches us all the value of individuality

Zelig
Starring: Alice Beardsley , Ralph Bell , John Buckwalter , Marvin Chatinover , and Howard Erskine
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005O06N
Release Date: 2001-11-06

Amazon.com

The thinking person's Forrest Gump, Woody Allen's 1983 Zelig is a funny, atmospheric mock-documentary about the collision of one man's manifest neuroses colliding with key moments in 20th-century history. Allen plays the title character, a self-effacing, timorous fellow with such a porous personality that he physically becomes a reflection of whoever he is with. Complex and painstaking, the film's pre-Gump special effects manage to place Allen, buried under a series of makeup and prosthetic guises, in a number of scenes along with Adolf Hitler at a Nazi rally, a pope at the Vatican, and famous guests at a garden party hosted by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Similar in tone and satire to some of Allen's short, comic pieces published in The New Yorker magazine, Zelig is a one-note movie that takes its delicious time establishing the fullness of its central joke. It's well worth the wait. --Tom Keogh

Description

Mr. Personality? Or Mr. Personality disorder? Find out in Woody Allen's madcap mockumentary about an identity crisis of hilarious proportions! Thematically intricate, technically complex and filled with some of the most astonishing special effects ever, Zelig is "pure magic" (Newsweek)! Nominated* for two OscarsÂ(r), this "work of breathtaking virtuosity" (Playboy) isfurther proof that Allen "is the premier American filmmaker of his day" (The New York Times)! Leonard Zelig (Allen) is a social quick-change artist whose neurotic insecurity forces him to mimicmentally and physicallywhomever he's with. Treated by Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Farrow), Zelig is slowly cured, and in the process goes from side-show freak to national celebrity to Eudoras fiancÃ(c)! But when misdeeds from Zelig's multiple-personality past start to surface (larceny, bigamy and an unauthorized appendectomy), the human chameleon is on the run again, and Eudora must search the world over to find and save the only man who's every man she's ever wanted!

Customer Reviews:

"Identity Crisis and Its Relationship to Personality Disorder ".......2007-03-20

One of the most sophisticated, cleverest, funniest, exquisitely shot and edited, scored, and acted movies ever made, "Zelig" is a masterpiece and astounding work even for Woody Allen whose mediocre movies are way above the regular Hollywood fares.

With the modest running time less than 80 minutes, this mockumentary tells the story of a "human chameleon", Leonard Zelig, Leonard the Lizard who possessed an extraordinary ability to transform himself in anyone he met (or should I say, an extraordinary ability possessed him?).

Leonard is a shy, little, meek Jewish man whose rare personality disorder consists of not having his own personality at all and successfully and effortlessly adapting any personality he came close to and fitting perfectly to any surroundings. His skin turns black when he is with the Black people, with the Native Americans, he became one; attending the dinner with the intellectuals, he speaks brilliantly with F.S. Fitzgerald, when on the baseball field, he is Babe Ruth. The meeting with an intelligent and compassionate psychiatrist, Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow) will begin the slow and long process for Zelig of searching and finding his own personality and possibility for love and happiness. The movie provides laughs and smiles but it also makes the viewer think of more serious subjects. Are we all have a Zelig inside? Don't we all want to be liked and try to adapt to our surroundings to feel comfortable? The movie can also be viewed as the meditation on the nature of the acting ability. While watching "Zelig", I kept thinking of a book I read recently. One of the characters was a great actor who had the similar to Zelig's disorder - he had no personality at all until he was given a part to act on stage. That Actor made the best and most convincing and complex Shakespeare's heroes - he was a brilliant reflective Hamlet but his greatest success was tragic Othello. The actor's transformation to Othello was so real that he acted it at home with his wife whom he suspected in cheating - he played his role perfectly with the same as in the play results. He ended up in the asylum where he could not act but he was allowed to read...Dostoevsky's novel "The Possessed" from which he chose to adapt the personality of Nikolai Stavrogin with rather unpredictable results. When his doctor finally realized what happened, he took all books with the exception of "The Idiot". Finally, the actor became a gentle and kind Prinz Myshkin, and that was the end of book.

Both, the book and the movie "Zelig" made me think of the price the artists pay to achieve perfection in their art. Are they vampires sucking the life out of their victims only to use them as characters for their acting roles? Is that the ultimate price the artist is paying for being a great artist? Does he need lives and souls of others to be able to create? This is one of many subjects "Zelig" makes you think about.

Allen seamlessly weds Black and white newsreel footage with his humorous but deep and fascinating tale allowing Zelig to be exactly where and when History was made. Using special lenses to give the movie the old style, mixing his own footage with the real documentaries, including his favorite music, dances, feeling perfectly forever gone era, Woody recreates The Roaring 20Th with breathtaking authenticity.

According to my new grading system, MIWIHSIIT, a Masterpiece, I wish I had seen in the theater

The Human Chameleon.......2006-10-21

Great movie especially if you enjoy other WA films. A pleasure to watch and very cleverly done, the usual WA irreverence and comical genius.

Brilliant; brilliant; brilliant........2006-08-02

Where this ranks in the Woody Allen opus, according to those who know, I wouldn't care to say; but for me it's the tops, up with The Purple Rose of Cairo. This is an incredibly witty and delightful work, impeccably crafted in every direction. It is deeply subtle and philosophical: there is nothing shallow about its satire. It is also extremely funny. I laughed a lot, a very lot. Maybe that supremely flat, deadpan humour, sustained to the nth degree, particularly appeals to an English sensibility. The ingenuity and accuracy of the antique filming and acting styles, and the staging of the musical numbers is astounding. Incidentally, that wasn't really Hitler at the rally, with Zelig behind him, was it? I thought that was the Hollywood version of the Zelig life story: the versions merged --- the documentary became fiction, and vice versa. Eudora's mother stole the show.

Return to Form & Then Some.......2006-07-04

After a brief creative lull in the early 80's, Woody came back with a vengeance. Words like "daring" "brilliant" "audacious" and "astonishing" come to mind. Zelig is a human cameleon. Through no fault or desire of his own Zelig instantaneously physically and mentally assimilates to any situation, no matter how bizarre. Woody uses the mockumentary style that served him well in Take the Money and Run and does an even better job here. Also, he uses the nostalgic 20's and 30's to set the tone, as he does in other movies. Mia Farrow does well enough in the thankless task of being the "straight" character who has to observe Allen's humor and absurdity to give it context. A brilliant satirical commentary on everyone's claim to uniqueness in a world of sameness.

Zelig teaches us all the value of individuality.......2006-03-28

This movie is hilarious and brilliantly done. For a while you even think it is a true story, even if you recognize the actors. The bottom line of this movie, though, is the message. When Zelig acts as a chameleon, when he blends in, he gets into trouble. It is only when he is himself that he finds true happiness and love. None of us should be afraid to be ourselves. Sometimes society makes us feel inadequate, but who cares what society thinks?

Average customer rating:

Missable self-conscious romance
A Quirky Gem
A Surprisingly Good Film!

The Simian Line
Starring: Harry Connick Jr. , Cindy Crawford , Tyne Daly , William Hurt , and Monica Keena
Director: Linda Yellen
Manufacturer: Allumination
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000E0OBB0
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Description

In addition to declaring that Katharine's (Lynn Redgrave) head and heart line are hopelessly fused into one "simian line", eccentric palm reader/fortune-teller Arnita (Tyne Daly) makes a dire prediction: By the end of the year, one of the couples present at a Halloween party will have broken up. But will it be Katherine and her much-younger boyfriend Rick (Harry Connick Jr.); her upstairs tenants Marta and Billy or new yuppie neighbors Sandra (Cindy Crawford) and Paul? Fueled by Arnita's prediction, each of the couples begins to drift apart in a sea of doubt and distrust. Can the "divine" intervention of two well-meaning ghosts (William Hurt and Samantha Mathis) keep these earthly conflicts from erupting into multiple self-fulfilling prophecies?

Customer Reviews:

Missable self-conscious romance .......2006-10-22

A fine ensemble cast struggles in vain to save this unwieldy mixture of wistfully romantic storylines. A fortune-teller (Tyne Daly) at a Halloween party predicts that one of the couples in the room will break up by the end of the year, setting the stage for much angst over who will part. The most interesting storyline concerns an older woman (Lynn Redgrave) who fears that she cannot hold on to her much younger paramour (Harry Connick, Jr.). The pair of rockers (Monica Keena and Dylan Bruno) who unexpectedly become custodians of a young boy is pure sap, relying on abrupt shifts in character that the filmmaker has not prepared us for. The Yuppie couple (Jamey Sheridan and Cindy Crawford), both concerned with their career trajectories, held no interest for me at all, though I didn't mind seeing Crawford step naked from a bubble bath. The inclusion of a pair of ghosts (William Hurt and Samantha Mathis) completes this mismatch of character types that are so different from each other that I'm not sure how they ended up at the same Halloween party in the first place. Tyne Daly deserves recognition for her excellent performance.

A Quirky Gem.......2006-08-26

In spite of its title, "The Simian Line," has nothing to do with monkeys. Rather, it is a 2000 film just recently making the rounds in the video store, a quirky, off beat love story that starts out slowly, but builds to a satisfying and poignant ending.

Set in Weehawken, NJ, a short ferry ride from Manhattan, the story focuses on three neighboring couples. It is Halloween and the couples gather for a small getting-to-know the neighbors celebration. To enhance the festivities the hosts have invited local medium Tyne Daly to read palms and tarot cards and tell fortunes. Daly's uncertain equilibrium, however, is immediately jostled when she just as immediately discerns that they are not alone...that the house contains not one, but two spirits. Daly loses her composure and dignity quickly and, made fun of by the assembled self-satisfied crowd, casts a Maleficent-like pall over the festivities by predicting that before the year is out, one couple present will have parted company.

As the movie and the calendar move on, we get to know the three couples: Harry Connick, Jr. and Lynn Redgrave as an unlikely July-December pair, Cindy Crawford and Jamey Sheridan as the Yuppies, and Monica Keena and Dylan Bruno as foul-mouthed grunge rockers with bad attitudes. While each duo initially scoffs at the prediction, we soon learn that each has reason to suspect that they are the couple in question, and we find ample reason to share those suspicions. We also learn that the house's long resident ghostly tenant, William Hurt, a true southern gentleman who passed in 1910, is rather put out to discover that his peaceful domicile has been invaded by Samantha Mathis, a 20s flapper who met a bad end, but can't abide the noise in her former digs next door, now undergoing renovation. Daly, meanwhile, not only sees and converses with the ghosts, but wanders around talking to her dead husband who remains, to our eyes and ears, pointedly absent.

With this odd-ball mixture of characters and plot lines, this movie could have easily gone off course and landed with an audible thud. But the performances turned in by the cast, especially by Daly, Mathis, and, as usual, Hurt, ground and center the whole affair. At first glance, none of these couples is endearing or sympathetic. Redgrave's hope that she will not lose the much younger and decidedly raffish Connick seems foolishly misplaced, and the audience feels that she ought to know better. Crawford, for the most part just looking pretty and turning in a fairly wooden performance, seems as though she'd actually be much better off without her clawing-his-way-to-the-top husband who berates and hectors her for not always being ready to do business. Keena and Bruno are simply repulsive and, were this a Dead Teenager Movie, the audience would be rooting for them to be the first to go. But when Keena is in fact the first to realize that maybe, just maybe, Daly isn't entirely off her nut, things begin to change and we discover an unfolding humanity in all of the couples (the least in the Crawford-Sheridan pairing) that quietly makes us begin to care. While all this is going on, Hurt maintains a steady presence, Mathis dreams of horizons she never knew, and the score, several variations on the traditional classic, "The River is Wide," plays hauntingly and beautifully in the background.

The movie resolves on New Year's Eve, as all our couples brace to meet their respective futures. The poignant and touching ending proves that Daly's prediction was indeed accurate as the movie draws to a mostly satisfying conclusion, even if the viewer IS tempted to toss Crawford and Sheridan overboard.

Where this movie has been since 2000, I do not know. But if you like romantic comedies and are searching for a true gem amidst all the Zirconia cluttering the shelves of your local video store, grab a copy of The Simian Line. You won't be disappointed.

A Surprisingly Good Film!.......2006-07-12

Coming across a movie on the shelf that boasts a cast of fine actors but has a title that seems to have appeared out of nowhere takes a bit of faith to rent/buy it. Such is the case for THE SIMIAN LINE, a film by TV director Linda Yellen (who also co-wrote story with Michael Leeds and brought in Gisela Bernice to pen the screenplay) that is just enough off center to keep a movie edgy but very entertaining.

Katherine (Lynn Redgrave) is a real estate person in New Jersey and is part of a May/December affair with stained glass artist Rick (Harry Connick Jr.). She leases the house adjoining hers to a Manhattan couple Paul (Jamey Sheridan) and Sandra (Cindy Crawford) who are waiting for a financial break. Other tenants include Marta (Monica Keena) and Billy (hunky Dylan Bruno) both of whom are waiting for their break into Rock band status. At a welcoming party Rick invites Arnita (Tyne Daly), a frumpy but kind fortune teller/spiritual communicator who upon entering Katherine and Rick's home sees two ghosts Edward (William Hurt) and Mae (Samantha Mathis) who are 'hanging around invisible to all, but with ongoing comments about love lost and the past. Arnita predicts that by New Year's Eve one of the couples will be separated, and with a bad taste in everyone's mouth the party folks oust her, but not until Arnita leaves her business cards.

The remainder of the story deals with each couple's anxiety about being the one that will break up: Katherine fears the younger Rick is falling for Sandra, Paul fears Sandra is losing interest in his failing business problems, and Marta is called to claim her little boy Jimmy (Jeremy Zelig) whose father is a man she met during a previous breakup with Billy. And they all seek advice from Arnita. How these dilemmas resolve and which of the couples parts company is the puzzle of the story and it is resolved well - if a bit saccharine.

The cast is uniformly excellent (Eric Stoltz has a small but key part) and Linda Yellen knows how to gain the best from her talented cast. Yes, it is a bit of a feel good movie - but what is wrong with dessert now and then? Worth attention. Grady Harp, July 06

Average customer rating:

"Identity Crisis and Its Relationship to Personality Disorder "
The Human Chameleon
Brilliant; brilliant; brilliant.
Return to Form & Then Some
Zelig teaches us all the value of individuality

Zelig [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

Broadway Danny Rose
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Love and Death
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ASIN: B00006BT6B

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

"Identity Crisis and Its Relationship to Personality Disorder ".......2007-03-20

The Human Chameleon.......2006-10-21

Great movie especially if you enjoy other WA films. A pleasure to watch and very cleverly done, the usual WA irreverence and comical genius.

Brilliant; brilliant; brilliant........2006-08-02

Return to Form & Then Some.......2006-07-04

Zelig teaches us all the value of individuality.......2006-03-28

Average customer rating:

Not the same movie described in the Leonard Maltin review

Crime and Passion
Starring: Brad Bartrum , Nikki Fritz , Lauren Hays , and Wally Wingert
Director: Gary Orona
Manufacturer: Brentwood Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00004YS8M
Release Date: 2001-01-30

Customer Reviews:

Not the same movie described in the Leonard Maltin review.......2001-03-22

Viewers should disregard the Leonard Maltin editorial review above, which is of a different movie. This one concerns the daughter of a bounty hunter kidnapped and taken to Guatemala. The film tries to blend noir elements with "after dark" - style soft core, but with only partial success. The unrated version I saw does contain some hot footage, especially the love scenes with Lauren Hays and Nikki Fritz. Overall, worth renting but not purchasing.

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