The Movie: I can't believe I waited so long to see this film! It was absolutely brilliant! Annie Hall chronicles Woody Allen and his relationship to Annie Hall (played by Diane Keaton) through a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards... little nuggets of the various stages of relationships that we've all been through and the feelings we've had while going through them.

The characters in this movie would probably be described today as having lots of "issues", but then again, who doesn't have issues? This is a hilarious, cynical look at love and relationships, and what people want out of life and companions. Again, I say I can't believe I waited so long to see this film after hearing about it for so long. If you can't relate to this movie, well, then you've just got no emotions, I say.

There are a lot of clever devices used in this movie, breaking the 4th wall, subtitles showing what people are really thinking, stuff that really brings home just how these characters are feeling right at that moment -- particularly frustrations about people, and of course, love. Many of these devices were reminiscent of the kinds of things you might see on the TV show "Ally McBeal", except that Annie Hall predates that show by 20 years!

And there's tons of clever little references in this movie to pick out, like when Woody Allen was accosted by some rather stereotypically Italian fans, he made a little quip about how he's "standing around with the cast of The Godfather"... while standing next to Diane Keaton, who of course, was in The Godfather.

So yeah, in this movie, you'll find a clever, witty, quirky and cynical love story that covers topics and issues from love, sex and relationships, to politics, racial stereotypes, California, drugs, show business, therapy, and everything in between. You'll also get to see performances by Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Paul Simon, Carol Kane, Shelly Duvall, and Christopher Walken, and even some cameos by the then-unknown Jeff Goldblum and Susan Sarandon. Truman Capote even appears in a cameo as a "Truman Capote lookalike" haha. This is a fun film that anyone can relate to. Heck, enough people related to it to make it worthy of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture -- quite a feat for a romantic comedy!

The DVD: While I loved the movie, the DVD left a bit to be desired. The disc is dual sided, with a non-anamorphic widescreen transfer in the intended 1.85:1 aspect ratio on one side, and an un-matted full frame 4:3 version on the other (which means that you're actually seeing more than Woody Allen wanted you to see). The transfer is pretty clean, though it exhibits graininess and color properties that are consistent with other 70's films.

The audio is in the original mono, and is also unspectacular, but again, exhibiting really only the limitations you'd expect from a 1970's film. As far as special features go, you'll find a theatrical trailer on this disc, and that's about it. Strangely enough, the menus on both sides of the disc are in an anamorphic widescreen format.