Bananas

TITLE:

Bananas (1971)

DIRECTOR:

Woody Allen/USA/1935

BUDGET:

$2 Million

GROSS:

Unknown

SYNOPSIS:

Fielding Mellish, looking for more in life than his career as a products tester, meets & falls for Nancy who is a political activist. Fielding, unable to win the heart of Nancy, ends up moving to San Marcos where he joins the rebel army & eventually becomes the president of the small country. More hilarity ensues when he comes back the US & is accused of plotting against the US government.

NARRATIVE & VISUAL KEYWORDS:

Comedy, Political, Rebellion, Product Tester, President

CHARACTERIZATION & DIALOGUE:

Woody Allen plays Fielding Mellish who tires of his life as a product tester. He meets & falls for a political protestor who thinks he’s missing something but unsure of what. Allen’s character travels to the small island of San Marcos where a political war has been raging between the dictator & a band of rebels. Allen ends up joining the rebels & eventually becomes president of San Marco.

CAMERA/LIGHTING/EDITING TECHNIQUE:

Woody Allen in this & some of his other films seems to use some camera/lighting techniques that give his films a bit of gritty feel. His edits are smooth & flow well from one shot to the next. He seems to favor full body shots & MCUs. He does dolly from time to time as well.

POLITICAL/SOCIAL COMMENTARY:

He seems to be pointing out that there is some good as well as bad with presidents, dictators, & rebels. He pokes at all 3. He also points out the why you shouldn’t do something just to win the heart of a woman but rather do it for yourself.

HISTORICAL RELEVANCE/RECOGNITION:

Nominated for Writer’s Guild Award (WGA) for “Best Comedy written directly for the Screen.”

NOTABLE COLLABORATION:

None.

RANDOM FACT:

In an interview, Woody Allen was asked why he named the movie "Bananas". His response: "Because there are no bananas in it."

1. I feel that what would have been the notice factor for Woody Allen would have been his making fun of political & the social norm plus him playing his own leading role (something that is rare even now) & his constant infatuation with death.

2. His biggest signatures would be him almost always being in the lead role in his films, his infatuation with death, & many of his movies to me seem to have a kind of gritty feel to them.

3. I don’t have a preference of Woody Allen’s earlier works or his later works. I think he has maintained an overall standard in his films. I do have a new appreciation for his work & will watch others now.


The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com>.
Box Office Mojo. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://boxofficemojo.com/>