Love and Death (1975)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

10 June 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | War

Tagline:

The Comedy Sensation of the Year!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Russia | Army | Slapstick | Philosophy | Stadium Vendor

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Woody Allen	...	Boris Grushenko
Diane Keaton	...	Sonja
Georges Adet	...	Old Nehamkin
Frank Adu	...	Drill sergeant
Edmond Ardisson	...	Priest (as Edward Ardisson)
Féodor Atkine	...	Mikhail Grushenko (as Feodor Atkine)
Albert Augier	...	Waiter
Yves Barsacq	...	Rimsky (as Yves Barsaco)
Lloyd Battista	...	Don Francisco
Jack Berard	...	Gen. Lecoq
Eva Betrand	...	Woman hygiene class
George Birt	...	Doctor
Yves Brainville	...	Andre
Gérard Buhr	...	Servant (as Gerard Buhr)
Brian Coburn	...	Dimitri

Also Known As:

Guerre et amour (France)
Die letzte Nacht des Boris Gruschenko (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
La última noche de Boris Grushenko (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
A Última Noite de Bóris Grushenko (Brazil) [pt]
Ahava Oo'Mavet (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Amor y muerte: La última noche de Boris Grushenko (Mexico) [es]
Amore e guerra (Italy) [it]
Död och pina (Sweden) [sv]
Kærlighed og død (Denmark) [da]
L'última nit de Boris Grushenko (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Milosc i smierc (Poland) [pl]
O eirinopoios (Greece) [el]
Sota ja rakkaus eli älkää ampuko Napoleonia (Finland) [fi]
Szerelem és halál (Hungary) [hu]

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Netherlands:6 | Brazil:12 | USA:PG (certificate #24301) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:16 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions

Trivia:

The wheat scene with towards the end of the film is a direct visual parody of Ingmar Bergman's classic Persona (1966). The juxtaposition of faces is an homage to Bergman's trademark shots.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The credits state that the music is all by Prokofiev. However, you can distinctly hear Boccherini at one point. Also, the sonata for violin and piano that Sonja plays with her extra-marital lover is Beethoven's Spring sonata, Op. 24. When Boris is at the opera, it is the Magic Flute, which was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Quotes:

Sergeant: Imagine your loved ones conquered by Napoleon and forced to live under French rule. Do you want them to eat that rich food and those heavy sauces?
Soldiers: No...!
Sergeant: Do you want them to have soufflé every meal and croissant?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Intimate Portrait: Diane Keaton" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Alexander Nevsky

Woody Allen's best, and I own them all

People go on and on about "Annie Hall," which I must say I love, but "Love and Death" remains, for me, the best movie Woody Allen movie ever made. Why?

First, I love Dostoyevsky, and his twisted take on Dostoyevsky is so hilarious, but also so informed, that it lands me on my ass. Second, his dialogue is so

existentialist and yet so ridiculous ("Yes, but objectivity is subjective." "Not in any rational scheme of perception.") that it makes Ingmar Bergman look like a fool, which he isn't, but it's so much fun to deconstruct the big guy. Third, I love the scene when the little kid questions death about the afterlife. ("Are there girls?") I love the one-liners, especially when, surveying the battlefield with all the bodies lying around, Woody's companion says "He was our village idiot." and Woody

replies "So what did you do? Place?" Mainly I love it because it is intellectual but also as silly as hell. In the movie pantheon, Woody is up there in the godhead, along with Bergman and Dreyer. Alongside them, the world needs Woody, to

make it laugh about things that they make people think seriously about.