Shadows And Fog on DVD (1992)

Average rating: 58%

from 429 members

6 Critics reviews
18 Members reviews

Starring:	Woody Allen, Kathy Bates, John Cusack, Mia Farrow, Jodie Foster, Fred Gwynne, Julie Kavner, Madonna, John Malkovich, Kenneth Mars, Kate Nelligan, Donald Pleasence, Lily Tomlin
Director:	Woody Allen
Studio:	MGM ENTERTAINMENT
Run time:	82 mins
Certificate:
Genres:	Drama
Languages:	English
Dubbed:	French, German, Spanish
Hearing-impaired:	English
Subtitles:	Danish, Dutch, English, French, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
Released:	15/04/2002

Brief synopsis of Shadows And Fog

A killer lurks in the dark corners of an odd little European town--a mysterious stranger who brutally strangles his victims. When the circus comes to visit, the madman steps up his pace, commencing a ghastly murder spree. Meanwhile, a nondescript local man named Kleinman finds himself accused of the crimes by an angry mob. And every effort Kleinman makes to clear himself ends up making him look more and more guilty. Woody Allen's black-and-white mood piece is dark and eerie and very funny, with new twists and turns lurking behind each shadow. Once again he has amassed a stellar, eclectic cast, including John Cusack, Kathy Bates, Jodie Foster, Donald Pleasence, John Malkovich, Fred Gwynne, Lily Tomlin, and Madonna, among others.

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Critics Reviews

Radio Times

Reworking his 1972 one-act play Death, Woody Allen originally intended this esoteric drama to be a homage to German Expressionism. However, he dropped the oblique-angled sets in favour of a look owing more to Universal's pre-war horror movies and, thus, deprived an already slight premise of some visual power. As the nobody who is co-opted into the search for a strangler in an eastern European town, Allen is typically twitchy amid a galaxy of guest stars, including John Malkovich, Madonna and Jodie Foster. Short on humour, perhaps, but this curio is laced with ideas that took on a new relevance when news broke of his split with co-star Mia Farrow.

Time Out

An inconclusive charade for celebrity guests, Allen's film - made before Husbands and Wives - will add to the general... Read more on www.timeout.com

New York Times

"...Rich, not easily categorized....A mixture of the sincere, the sardonic and the classically sappy..."

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Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Was this meant to be a Bergman tribute?

skeadugenga from Reading [Highly rated reviewer] , 08/11/2004

I like Woody Allen, and I like Ingmar Bergman, but Woody trying to spoof Ingmar??? Didn't work for me - felt sorry for John Malkovitch having to deliver lines as bad as that. Mia Farrow is a pill as usual and I have no idea what John Cusack was thinking of! 2 good things in it - the famous actresses as tarts and the well poisoning joke - otherwise (as its against my principles to bail out in the middle) I just couldn't help wishing it would end so I could go and do something more interesting.

8 out of 12 people found this review helpful

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The point of Woody's folly gets lost in the fog

Philip Concannon from London , 12/12/2004

It's hard to know what Woody Allen was trying to achieve with 'Shadows and Fog'. The script is so thin, the tone so unsure and a stellar cast so completely wasted, it seems this project was only of interest as a technical exercise for Allen.

Allen plays his usual neurotic self, here named Kleinman. He's awoken in the night by a group of vigilantes who are out to catch the killer who's stalking the streets. They insist he go out and play his part, but neglect to mention what part he's meant to play. He spends the night wandering the mist-laden streets, encountering some strange characters.

'Shadows and Fog' is an appopriate title, as that's exactly what you get. Allen and his regular cinematographer Carlo Di Palma create a gorgeous homage to the expressionist films of Murnau, Lang and Dreyer, while also spoofing the works of Kafka. But that's where any interest ends.

Allen has a number of different storylines running here, and he fails to develop any of them coherently or to any sort of point. The cast is large and varied but few of them get any discernable character to work with and Allen is through with most of them in two or three scenes.

Mia Farrow, John Cusack and John Malkovich our among those who get the better end of the deal, but the likes of Lily Tomlin, Donald Pleasance, Jodie Foster and Madonna are lumbered with blink-and-you'll-miss-it roles.

Allen films usually have something to recommend them, but in 'Shadows and Fog' there's really just the handsome cinematography and nothing else. It only runs for just over 80 minutes, but feels a lot longer. Allen has made a couple of bad films in his time, but seldom has he made one so tedious.

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful

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Brilliance!

danieljohnsonfilms [Highly rated reviewer] , 24/02/2005

Woody Allen does it again! A superb film. This was a very different film for Woody.

It was his first film which had a set entirely custom built.. of course, we are used to Woody pacing about the streets of Manhattan. The cinematography is brilliant, it really is all fog and shadows. Woody has never been giving credit for the artistry of his films, but this film is really noteworthy.

It has all the typical film noir/mystery trappings.. you'd be fooled for thinking this was made in the 1940's if it wasn't for Woody himself pacing around in his normal manic comedy persona. However, it works brilliantly- and the lines are as sharp and hilarious as ever.

Highly recommended. Mia Farrow is also excellent, but isn't she always?

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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