“THREEPENNY WOODY”

By Raymond Benson

For an artist as prolific as Woody Allen, someone who’s essentially made nearly a film once a year since 1969 (forty-four and counting), there’s bound to be some misses along with the hits. The thing is, with Allen the misses can be rewarding in their own right. Ever since the writer/director stopped making the “early, funny” zany comedies and jumped light years in maturity with Annie Hall in 1977, Woody Allen became a “European filmmaker.” In other words, his films began to resemble the art-house foreign works of say, Francois Truffaut—small, intimate, slice-of-life comedies (or dramas) about people and their lives. Yes, there were the Ingmar Bergman influences, and sometimes inspiration from Federico Fellini. Mostly, though, Allen developed his own voice, style, and thematic material that has been appreciated by an intellectual, sophisticated audience.

Each Woody Allen movie is a little “gem” that seems to reside in one of three tiers. Tier One is, of course, the masterpieces—the ones that prove that Allen is a brilliant writer and director (and sometimes actor)—of which there are maybe around twelve to fifteen. Then there’s Tier Two—pictures that are not complete successes, but they have a lot going for them and are enjoyed by his fans. These might include experimental works where Allen tried something different. The bulk of his work is here. Tier Three contains the complete misses, of which there are a few, to be sure, but even these might have moments that shine—these are strictly for Allen completists.

Shadows and Fog, from 1991, belongs near the bottom of Tier Two, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an interesting and worthwhile experience at the movies. It helps if you know your Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, German Expressionism, and Franz Kafka. Filmed in black and white with lots of contrasting light and shadows by Carlo di Palma, the style of the picture evokes the works of F. W. Murnau, G. W. Pabst, Fritz Lang, and other practitioners of German silent cinema of the 1920s. The references are boundless, and the more you know about this stuff, the more you will enjoy the film.

The story takes place in some sort of fantasyland of a German Expressionistic village in a period that resembles the ‘20s or ‘30s. A serial killer is on the loose, and bands of vigilantes are roaming the town looking for him. Kleinman (Allen) is a nervous clerk who is drafted into the gang, but he is quickly lost in the labyrinth of the winding cobblestone streets. On the outskirts of town is a traveling circus. There, the sword swallower (!) Irmy (played by Mia Farrow) is in a relationship with a clown (John Malkovich), but the clown is unfaithful to her—he has intentions with the tightrope artist (Madonna). When Irmy runs away from him and the circus, she meets a bevy of prostitutes at a brothel (played by Lily Tomlin, Jodie Foster, and Kathy Bates!), a rich student customer (John Cusack), and eventually Kleinman. As with any Woody Allen film, there is much existential discussion, meditations on the meaning of life, and a few funny lines, too. In the end, it takes a village (literally) to get rid of the serial killer.

Obviously, Shadows and Fog is one of Allen’s experiments. It doesn’t totally work, but the picture is still fascinating a) if you’re familiar with the Expressionistic references and b) for the game of “spot the player” with the amazing cast that Allen assembled. It’s an all star vehicle with familiar faces popping up throughout, mostly in cameos. Besides the aforementioned actors, you’ll see Donald Pleasence, Kenneth Mars, Philip Bosco, Fred Gwynne, Robert Joy, Julie Kavner, William H. Macy, Kate Nelligan, James Rebhorn, John C. Reilly, Wallace Shawn, Kurtwood Smith, Josef Summer, David Ogden Stiers, Charles Cragin, Fred Melamed, Eszter Balint, Richard Riehle, Peter McRobbie, Victor Argo, and Daniel von Bargen. Apprently even Peter Dinklage appears uncredited as a circus dwarf.

The music—always a treat in an Allen film—is mostly by Kurt Weill. You’ll hear selections from The Threepenny Opera, Seven Deadly Sins, “Alabama Song,” and more.

Twilight Time’s new Blu-ray release doesn’t really clean up the blemishes and artifacts in the image, but the black and white cinematography is sharp and good-looking. The grain is welcome for the style with which the film was made. There are no supplements other than the trailer, a collector's booklet with extensive liner notes and an isolated score track. As with all of Twilight Time’s releases, Shadows and Fog is a limited edition of 3000 units, so get it while they last!

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