Shadows and Fog

This is a classic and one of woody's best. This film threw people off at the time as well as today and i think i have figured it out. The main theme of the whole movie quite obviously mirrors not Fritz Lang the film noir legend (as i noticed another reviewer said)but literature's Franz Kafka. I agree there is a general homage to German cinema which can easily be confused with film noir. I feel the main tribute is definitely toward Kafka in that the main character is being asked to partake in an event with factions of people seemingly caught up in a conspiracy. If you do not understand the main theme of absurdity as used in Kafka'a The Trial then i can see how the movie would be less enjoyable and possibly confusing. In the Trial the main character is named K and he is continuously being caught up in a Plan just like Allens character. This movie set supposedly was one of the biggest indoor sets to the degree of record setting at the time which was a hard lesson learned in finance for Woody due to the film being a box office failure. This film is an experimental film and contains the only other really watchable Cuszac performance other than Bullets over Broadway. Malkovic's character is funny as well as Allens character with loads of special guests. Mitch Pileggi from the x files is even in it. I rank this in his top 10 always for being so different and original.

`A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy' and `Shadows and Fog' are two of Woody Allen's `second tier movies, less highly regarded than `Annie Hall', `Manhattan', and `Hannah and Her Sisters', but nonetheless a great pleasure to watch over and over again for anyone who has a taste for Allen's movies. The fact that Allen's movies, even these parodies of classic works and genres are primarily about characters and their personalities, passions, and foibles rather than about story, so you don't loose the primary reason for watching the movie as you do when you watch `The Maltese Falcon' or `Die Hard' or even `The Terminator' for the first time. I have seen both of these movies several times and I constantly find new pleasures in the dialogue. Aside from their both being genre parodies, both movies share several other aspects, not the least of which is Allen's usual well oiled crew plus great `visiting' Director of Photography. I am constantly amazed at the consistently high level of quality in the filming of Allen's movies, since he has a great reputation for bringing his works in within schedule and under budget. Part of his economy is probably due to the fact that while Allen as director is not in the same league as Martin Scorsese or even Clint Eastwood, lots of actors drop what they are doing to be able to appear in the next Woody Allen film. And, they probably appear for a lot less money than they would for Marty or Clint. I also sense in some scenes that Allen lets little flubs go to the final print which Scorsese, for example, would reshoot until it was perfect. The casts on these two films are fairly evenly balanced between Allen's ever evolving stock company with Mia Farrow appearing in both films along with Allen regulars Tony Roberts in `Midsummer's Night' and `David Ogden Stiers' and Wallace Shawn appearing in `Shadows and Fog'. Since the latter movie has a much larger cast, it is liberally peppered with currently famous or near famous actors giving cameo appearances such as Kathy Bates, John Cusack, Jodie Foster, Fred Gwynne, Julie Kavner, Madonna, Kate Nelligan, Donald Pleasance, Lily Tomlin, Kenneth Mars, William H. Macy, and John C. Reilly. John Malkovich contributes an excellent performance as the second most important male character in the movie. The 1982 `A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy' is certainly the lighter of the two as a parody on the theme of `A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Allan borrows Shakespeare's romantic mix-ups plot element on top of the idyllic forest venue to bring together two guest couples to the country home of Allen and Steenburgen. Jose Ferrer plays a polymath professor brother to Steenburgen's character. Ferrer is to marry Mia Farrow, many years his junior, on that Sunday at the country house. Tony Roberts plays a randy bachelor doctor brother to Allan's character. Hagerty is Roberts' office nurse of five weeks who comes along fully expecting a weekend of erotic experiences with her boss. It turns out that Allen knows Farrow and the romantic mix-ups take off from there. The 1992 `Shadows and Fog' is an intentionally heavy parody of a mix of German impressionistic movies and Franz Kafka story lines with what seems like a cast of hundreds. It all takes place in what seems like pre-World War I Vienna, Berlin, or Prague or some other central European Germanic city. At the outset, it seems like a remake of the German film `M' starring the young Peter Lorre as a murderer. Unlike the `...Sex Comedy', the plot is much more involved. The first line involves Allen as a Kafkaesque cipher awakened in the middle of the night by a crowd of vigilantes with a plan to find a killer roaming the fog laden nighttime streets. The driving force of the plot involving Allen and the mob is that the vigilantes never tell Allen what his role is to be in this plan. They assume he knows his part and are irritated to the point of violence when Allen questions what it is he is supposed to be doing. The second major plot involves a dispute between circus performers Farrow (sword swallower) and Malkovich (clown) which breaks open when Malkovich is caught in a rendezvous with trapeze artist Madonna, the wife of the sleeping strongman. Allen and Farrow meet about half way through the film that brings Allen back to the circus after Farrow does a stint in a whorehouse and Allen comes close to being accused of being the murderer. Both movies are primarily comedies, yet the humor in the first movie is based more firmly in the situation. The humor in the second movie seems to be more a relief from the perils faced by the two main characters. Although, the image of the positive side of having sex with a sword swallower is a very nice gag created by the characters' situations. On the other side of the coin, `Shadows and Fog' seems to have deeper observations about the human condition. Since I seem to be noticing some of these lines for the first time, after several viewings over the last 14 years, I feel even stronger about the durability of Allen's films. Allen has always been a master of making very good use of familiar music in his movies. All the `incidental' music in `Midsummer Night' is from the works of Mendelsohn, including the music he composed for Shakespeare'' play to be performed in German. The music in `Shadows and Fog' is almost all taken from instrumental performances of works by Kurt Weill, primarily from `The Threepenny Opera' and the song `Whiskey Bar'. Since I am a long time fan of Allen's movies, the only thing which disappoints me about these and all other of his DVDs is the fact that there is no director's commentary. This makes the difference between four and five stars for the DVD. Recommended to any fans of Allen or comedy in general.

How far Jimmy Bond had come by the time Woody decided to give us his take on our desperate struggle to make sense out of our place in all things human. Couple Allen's impeccable writing with a cast to literally die for....Madonna, Donald Pleasence, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Kathy Bates, Lily Tomlin, Kenneth Mars (Young Frankenstein), Julie Kavner (Voice Of Marge Simpson), Jodie Foster, Kate Nelligan and his special friend of late - Mia Farrow...not to mention all the other famous faces billowing out of the fog to contribute one or two lines of dialogue along the way with Woody's comic timing and every man and woman becomes everyman right before your eyes. The plot is manifest from the first moment but the slices of existence carved out of that foggy classic Eastern European city ( I kept waiting for Harry Lime to make himself disappear) in which all this musing and bustling takes place are first rate Woody at his Film Auteur best. And yet he orchestrates all the mayhem and confusion we all feel into an incoherent philosophy that aptly applies to all of us. So grab a mirror and slip the DVD into the machine and give yourself over to all your delusions and illusions about life and let Woody et al dazzle you with the ultimate knowledge that we know nothing! NOTHING!! (Sgt. Schultz would get an honorary Doctorate here) Incidentally one of the largest sets ever constructed for a motion picture is used to great effect in this film which many Allen fans despise...the movie...not the set. A large majority of them would like to buy up all the prints and do a William Randolph Hearst on them. In fact if you want to have great fun...go to a cocktail party and start the Woody Allen ball rolling and then after the child molestation conversation has run its course insert acerbically this film into the conversation and watch the avid eagerly involved faces dry up and suck the wet from your martini. Too bad really. They just don't get it!!! They know nothing! NOTHING!!!

ok

Solo para fans q adoren madonna por q sale muy poco rato. Esta bien pero nose si la volvere a ver.

This one is absolutely awesome. This movie is a must see for anybody who don't despise Woody Allen (either you love him or hate him, luckily I'm among those who love him) This film has such a great mood. The filming, the light, the scenography, in fact anything technical in this production is so perfect that you can sit back and be mesmerized by a very uneasy, yet hilarious plot. It is shot in black and white, which actually help the mood. Alot. This film would be nothing but any other comedy had it been shown in color. And the acting of people like John Malkowich, John Cusack, Woody Allen, Jodie Foster and Mia Farrow are so impressive that when the show is over, you can't help but feel alot better. Actually you can, about everything. When I watched this with my dad, we both were dead tired after a week of little sleep and hard work. But after this movie, we actually woke up, and stayed up for hours. Trying not to reveal to much of the plot, I will say that it involves a strangler on the loose, and the complications Kleinman (Woody Allen) get's into when he is included in a group of vigilantes who's looking for the murderer, and about a circus performer (an incredibly cute Mia Farrow) and her problems when she runs away from the circus, and try to find her way in the city. As I said unless you really has nothing but loathing for Woody Allen, you're actually doing yourself a real favor if you see this. It really is brilliant. And for those out there who hate Allen and his films. What the heck is wrong with you?

Very Wood Allen. Good storyline which is entertaining. Light hearted murder mysteryLots of stars and I liked that it was in black and white.

A Masterpiece of light...a very interesting point of view...fascinating....