{"id":5717,"date":"2008-06-30T13:47:25","date_gmt":"2008-06-30T20:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5717"},"modified":"2020-12-30T14:08:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T21:08:53","slug":"zelig-1983","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5717","title":{"rendered":"Zelig (1983)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;A Jew that could turn himself into a Negro or an Indian was a triple threat.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/Zelig-Poster-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/Zelig-Poster-1-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-60533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/Zelig-Poster-1-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/Zelig-Poster-1-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/Zelig-Poster-1-178x270.jpg 178w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/Zelig-Poster-1.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn 1920s America, a mentally disturbed man named Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen) gains notoriety for his chameleon-like ability to adapt both his appearance and his personality to whoever he&#8217;s with. When Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow) tries to help Zelig overcome his disorder, the two eventually fall in love &#8212; but Zelig&#8217;s past actions soon catch up with him, and their happiness is compromised.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Mia Farrow Films<\/li>\n<li>Mockumentaries<\/li>\n<li>Multiple Personalities<\/li>\n<li>Psychotherapy<\/li>\n<li>Woody Allen Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary labels this &#8220;bizarre one-joke satire&#8221; by Woody Allen &#8220;consistently funny&#8221; and &#8220;technically brilliant&#8221;, but is reticent in his praise, arguing that it &#8220;never rises to a higher level&#8221; &#8212; yet his assessment ultimately does an injustice to the brilliance of Allen&#8217;s comedic vision here. While the technical aspects of <em>Zelig<\/em> are justifiably lauded (the insertion of Zelig into real historical footage &#8212; done manually, not digitally &#8212; is seamless), the story itself remains enjoyable through repeated viewings, and has held up remarkably well. Allen neatly satirizes the titillating disorder of multiple personalities, with Zelig&#8217;s story containing notable parallels to 1976&#8217;s <em>Sybil<\/em>, given that Zelig&#8217;s female psychologist &#8212; just like Sybil&#8217;s &#8212; persists in her highly personalized efforts to cure her patient, despite scorn and disdain from the male establishment. Whether or not you&#8217;re a Woody Allen fan, this satisfying comedy (which, it should be noted, predates Christopher Guest et al.&#8217;s cult mockumentaries) should be seen and enjoyed by all film fanatics. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gordon Willis&#8217;s masterful cinematographic effects<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5725\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Allen&#8217;s witty screenplay, with plenty of his classic one-liners: &#8220;I teach a course on masturbation, and if I&#8217;m late, they start without me.&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-oneliners.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-oneliners.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5720\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Zelig&#8217;s remarkable physical transformations<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-makeup1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-makeup1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5721\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-makeup21.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-makeup21.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5723\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-makeup3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/zelig-makeup3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5724\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as one of Woody Allen&#8217;s enduring comedy classics. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0086637\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1983\/07\/15\/movies\/film-zelig-woody-allen-s-story-about-a-chameleon-man-034845.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moria.co.nz\/fantasy\/zelig.htm\">SF, Fantasy, and Horror Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/96648\/zelig#articles-reviews?articleId=89040\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/78521\/zelig.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;A Jew that could turn himself into a Negro or an Indian was a triple threat.&#8221; Synopsis: In 1920s America, a mentally disturbed man named Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen) gains notoriety for his chameleon-like ability to adapt both his appearance and his personality to whoever he&#8217;s with. When Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow) tries to help Zelig overcome his disorder, the two eventually fall in love &#8212; but Zelig&#8217;s past actions soon catch up with him, and their happiness is&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5717\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5717"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60534,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5717\/revisions\/60534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}