• Heavily influenced by Renoir and Bergman (in addition to Shakespeare and some of woody’s philosophical fixations)—particularly smiles of a summer night and the rules of the game—but clearly the largest influence is Renoir’s playful a day in the country
  • A chamber piece (but with 6 people instead of the more typical 4 in a bergman film)
  • Gloriously shot by the master of darkness Gordon Willis—the scene where farrow and allen first kiss is a stunning still-frame wall-art-worthy photo
  • The actors are strong- ferrer, Steenburgen, tony Roberts, Julie hagerty, farrow and allen himself
  • Amongst the best work of production designer Mel Bourne (manhattan and the natural)
  • Classic music, stunning photography and a beautiful landscape countryside- much of the film is shot in the magic hour and the sun, shot through a tree towards the end could easily be from a Malick film
  • First farrow/woody collaboration
  • A couple very nice shots of mirror usage and doorway framing (another riff on renoir’s window usage to create a frame within a frame
  • This all may sound amazing but the narrative isn’t strong- there are weak portions in the writing throughout which is a shame because it’s an absolute feast for the eyes
  • Not in the top 10 of 1982 or amongst woody’s best
  • Recommend