SPOILERS
Woody Allen is a genius, few people will deny that. However, in recent years it's been well reported of his decline in success. Skipping back to 1973 and Allen created arguably his second greatest feature (After "Annie Hall") with "Sleeper".
In this film, Allen plays Miles Monroe, health food shop owner from the mid 70s. Awoken two hundred years later, Monroe is roped into helping an underground movement to overthrow a totalitarian government. Aided by the originally unwilling, talentless poet Luna (Diane Keaton), Allen is placed in all manner of scrapes as he attempts to acclimatise to his new surroundings.
"Sleeper" is brilliant. Never a film to be taken seriously, it has all the elements of a cult film, with the exception being that because it's a Woody Allen film, it's been pushed more into the mainstream. With a brilliant story which is actually relatively short on dialogue, Allen shows us an obscure future where freedoms are limited, but everyone is happy due to a combination of orgasm creating machines and a healthy diet of cigarettes and fudge cake.
The reasoning behind the limitations of dialogue is that they just aren't necessary. Forever the master of quick witted, social commentary, in "Sleeper" Allen has created a tribute to the silent slapstick of the Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin era. One early scene in particular with Allen in a wheelchair causing trouble is excellent as the audience find themselves laughing at something which really shouldn't be funny, but ultimately is.
Perhaps the one criticism of this film is the suddenness of it's ending. At the very end, "Sleeper" might conclude with a happy ending, but it concludes with a very sudden one. In comparison though with a world today where endings seem to never come ("Lord Of The Rings" taking a particularly long time to finish), it feels quite a nice change.
Therefore to summarise, Allen's "Sleepers" is a brilliant film. With some cracking slapstick humour and some equally good witty comments, Allen has created a gem. Whilst not as good as some of his other work, who cares. This film is a fun film designed to make people laugh and it succeeds with this in tons. Enjoy.
Woody Allen is a genius, few people will deny that. However, in recent years it's been well reported of his decline in success. Skipping back to 1973 and Allen created arguably his second greatest feature (After "Annie Hall") with "Sleeper".
In this film, Allen plays Miles Monroe, health food shop owner from the mid 70s. Awoken two hundred years later, Monroe is roped into helping an underground movement to overthrow a totalitarian government. Aided by the originally unwilling, talentless poet Luna (Diane Keaton), Allen is placed in all manner of scrapes as he attempts to acclimatise to his new surroundings.
"Sleeper" is brilliant. Never a film to be taken seriously, it has all the elements of a cult film, with the exception being that because it's a Woody Allen film, it's been pushed more into the mainstream. With a brilliant story which is actually relatively short on dialogue, Allen shows us an obscure future where freedoms are limited, but everyone is happy due to a combination of orgasm creating machines and a healthy diet of cigarettes and fudge cake.
The reasoning behind the limitations of dialogue is that they just aren't necessary. Forever the master of quick witted, social commentary, in "Sleeper" Allen has created a tribute to the silent slapstick of the Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin era. One early scene in particular with Allen in a wheelchair causing trouble is excellent as the audience find themselves laughing at something which really shouldn't be funny, but ultimately is.
Perhaps the one criticism of this film is the suddenness of it's ending. At the very end, "Sleeper" might conclude with a happy ending, but it concludes with a very sudden one. In comparison though with a world today where endings seem to never come ("Lord Of The Rings" taking a particularly long time to finish), it feels quite a nice change.
Therefore to summarise, Allen's "Sleepers" is a brilliant film. With some cracking slapstick humour and some equally good witty comments, Allen has created a gem. Whilst not as good as some of his other work, who cares. This film is a fun film designed to make people laugh and it succeeds with this in tons. Enjoy.