Madonna Movie:

Editorial Review:
No other Woody Allen film has ever been hustled into oblivion faster than this black-and-white mélange of Mittel-European nightmare, absurdist farce, and homage to German expressionism--sort of Woody Allen meets Franz Kafka in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, set to Kurt Weill's score for The Threepenny Opera. Yet the daft experiment is not without charm and, as the title suggests, oodles of atmosphere.

In a murky, seriously deranged cityscape only a studio art department could create, a giant bald strangler (Michael Kirby) is going around killing people with piano wire. The authorities are powerless (though he stomps about freely, occasionally declaiming speeches), so vigilante posses start roving the streets. For some reason, they dragoon a noisy nebbish named Kleinman (Allen) to assist them. So Kleinman goes into the fog, kvetching, and meets Irmy (Mia Farrow), a circus sword swallower (no double-entendres, please) whose clown of a husband (John Malkovich) is two-timing her with the strongman's wife (Madonna). Add an "et cetera" here, because the big, mostly wasted cast also includes Kenneth Mars as the strongman, Donald Pleasence as a philosophical coroner, John Cusack as a student who mistakes Irmy for a prostitute, and Kathy Bates, Jodie Foster, and Lily Tomlin as the real prostitutes in whose company she happens to be at the time. None of this adds up, and the whole thing moves and feels less like a film than one of Allen's oddball New Yorker sketches. Still, as the fever dream of an art-house addict, it has its moments. --Richard T. Jameson

Shadows and Fog [Region 2] Reviews:
Not funny, not clever, not even interesting...unless you really enjoy watching fog
2009-11-27 - You'd think that with all the luminaries Woody Allen somehow convinced to appear in this movie, you'd see some good acting. But an actor is only as good as his script, and Woody Allen can't write one. Most of Shadows and Fog has the feel of an awkwardly improvised skit. The actors didn't seem to know what they were doing, and neither did the camera. (There was one long endless pan of prostitutes eating stew that seemed to last for centuries.) The dialogue was stiff and so hopelessly repetitive that the actors had nothing to work with. (How many times can you say, "It sure is foggy tonight"?) And the casting decisions must have been made by randomly shooting darts at a list of names. John Cusack as someone who goes to a brothel? Get serious. Lily Tomlin, Jodie Foster, Madonna playing bit parts? And what was up with John Malkovich??? The man is about as funny as a brick. (I have suspected for quite some time that John Malkovich is actually an alien. He delivers lines as if his native language was Martian.) The only bright spot in this dull, dreary film was the all too brief scene featuring Julie Kavnor, who could make a telephone directory sound hilarious. Frankly, a telephone directory would have been a welcome addition to the script...

Really wretched - Woody Allen is definitely not K...
2009-07-27 - Well, it took me 17 years to work up the courage to watch this & now I'm glad it's over & I'll never have to go through that again. What was W.A. thinking? Is this supposed to be an homage to Bergman or Lang? A pastiche? The acting, to start with, is perfunctory as a high school drama club rehearsal, as though all his big name guest stars, from Madonna to Malkovitch, Cusack to Tomlin, came by to do a reading with no prepping or coaching from Mr. Schtick. The only scene that carries a glimmer of the possibility of what might have been is an autopsy with Donald Pleasance. Pleasance & Allen are truly an example of the sublime & the ridiculous.

The writing is *adolescent reads Kafka & adds some Catskill humor*.

It's all just to embarrassingly bad to warrant further consideration.

One of the worst films I've ver had to endure.



Shadows and Fog DVD
2008-08-12 - Seller gave me superb and speedy service! This movie is deliberately both suspenseful and very depressing. Rating: aces to seller, a couple of stars to the film.

Developed appreciation of this sleeper classic
2007-07-16 - I original saw "Shadows and Fog" when it first came out on home video in like 1993 or 1994. When I saw this movie for the first time, it is safe to say "I didn't get it". I mean I liked it alright, but I really didn't get it. I think most people felt the same way, since this movie seems like the black sheep of the Woody Allen library.

I also really enjoy Woody Allen's work. I know that many people either love him or hate him. I think that probably works in his favor. I also find it interesting that society picks and chooses which celebrities' personal life will constitute if their body of work is good or not. Since a great deal of controversy has surrounded Woody Allen. Ultimately a person's personal life might have no real influence on the content of their body of work. In other words, Woody's lifestyle and/or relationship choices doesn't mean he isn't a good film maker. If this was the case than all rock stars who do/did drugs don't make really good music and/or sell many ablums, right?

Anyway, since I am a fan of Woody Allen and like many of his movies, I decided to take the risk and attain "Shadows and Fog" on DVD. My brother was kind enough and bought it for me as a gift. After my recent viewing of this film, I have to say that I am very pleased with what I watched. This movie really pays homage to German Expressionism and/or classic horror films of the 1940s/1950s. This is mainly due to the fact that this movie is shot in black and white and has a murky set design and wonderful cinematography. There is also an element of tension set through out the entire film.

Now this movie does have the Woody Allen staples: witty humor (even thought it is more buried than some of his other films), multiple stories, good characterization and philosophical undertones. This is all added to a plot of a serial killer lurking around one night that is shadowy and foggy. There is also a MacGuffin that is present through out the entire film, which really adds the magic of this film.

I suppose the reason I appreciate this movie more now than I did some 13 odd years ago, is because I am not the same person I was back then. My viewing of movies, education and life experiences brought a totally different viewer to the television when I watched this movie for the second time. It is quite interesting that a person can watch a movie at one point in time and have a certain perspective on it and watch it many years later having a totally dissimilar perception. This is exactly what happened during my viewing of "Shadows and Fog". I originally thought it was alright and now I think it is a wonderful movie.

I can also say I had the reverse effect when I watched "The Beastmaster" recently. When I was a kid this movie was awesome and kept me at the edge of my seat. When I saw it again as an adult, I couldn't stop laughing at how cheesy it was. Mind you I enjoyed it, but it was a totally different film. Droll.

Little Man's Night Out
2007-06-03 -
I like Woody Allen's "Shadows and Fog" and I think it is seriously underrated. Shot in a beautiful B/W this surreal Comedy / Mystery / Drama / Thriller takes place in a small town somewhere in the Eastern Europe between two World Wars where a mysterious maniac stranglers the people all over the town. Since the local police proved to be helpless, the citizens form vigilance committees and a small timid insignificant bookkeeper Kleinman (his name is translated as "Little Man") is recruited to search for a murderer in the dark night full of shadows and fog. Allen parodies German Expressionists (Fritz Lang), Franz Kafka, and Ingmar Bergman ("Magician") in this funny, scary, warm, dark, surreal, and dramatic film that he saw as a metaphor for humanity, as we all muddle through the murk and attempt to find meaning. The cast is all brilliant and includes Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, Madonna, David Ogden Stiers, Michael Kirby, John Cusack, John C. Reilly. Lily Tomlin, Jodie Foster, and Kathy Bates appeared in the cameos playing prostitutes in the local brothel. I was especially impressed by John Malkovich - never expected him be as tender as in the final scene.