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Zelig (1983)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Woody Allen (written by)
Release Date:
15 July 1983 (USA)
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Plot:
"Documentary" about a man who can look and act like whoever he's around, and meets various famous people. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
Another 5 wins
&
9 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Hints About 2010 Oscars Emerge: No More Five-Person Presenting
(From Cinematical. 17 November 2009, 1:02 PM, PST)
Gordon Willis, Ron Howard, Dana Delany: Governors Awards 2009
(From Alternative Film Guide. 15 November 2009, 5:16 PM, PST)
(From Cinematical. 17 November 2009, 1:02 PM, PST)
Gordon Willis, Ron Howard, Dana Delany: Governors Awards 2009
(From Alternative Film Guide. 15 November 2009, 5:16 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Zealous about "Zelig"
more (68 total)
US TV Schedule:
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Woody Allen | ... | Leonard Zelig | |
| Mia Farrow | ... | Dr. Eudora Nesbitt Fletcher | |
| Patrick Horgan | ... | The Narrator (voice) | |
| John Buckwalter | ... | Dr. Sindell | |
| Marvin Chatinover | ... | Glandular Diagnosis Doctor | |
| Stanley Swerdlow | ... | Mexican Food Doctor | |
| Paul Nevens | ... | Dr. Birsky | |
| Howard Erskine | ... | Hypodermic Doctor | |
| George Hamlin | ... | Experimental Drugs Doctor | |
| Ralph Bell | ... | Other Doctor | |
| Richard Whiting | ... | Other Doctor | |
| Will Hussong | ... | Other Doctor | |
| Robert Iglesia | ... | Man in Barber Chair | |
| Eli Resnick | ... | Man in Park | |
| Edward McPhillips | ... | Scotsman |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Identity Crisis and Its Relationship to Personality Disorder (USA) (working title)
The Cat's Pyjamas (USA) (working title)
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The Cat's Pyjamas (USA) (working title)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
79 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Germany:12 |
Iceland:L |
Netherlands:AL |
Brazil:Livre |
USA:Approved (PCA #27066) |
Argentina:13 |
Finland:S |
France:U |
Norway:12 |
Singapore:PG |
Sweden:Btl |
UK:PG |
USA:PG
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In 2007, Italian psychologists discovered a rare form of brain damage which affects its victims much like Zelig's condition (without, of course, the accompanying physical transformations). Researcher Giovannina Conchiglia and associates have proposed the name "Zelig-like Syndrome" for the disorder, because of the parallels to the film.
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Quotes:
Zelig's Wife:
He married me up at the First Church of Harlem. He told me he was the brother of Duke Ellington.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Just Shoot Me!: My Dinner with Woody (#2.6)" (1997)
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Soundtrack:
Leonard the Lizard
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (68 total)
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Leapin' lizards! This film is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
"Zelig" was a revelation in 1983, an utterly ingenious faux-documentary, without any precedent, at least not on this scale. Hilarious then, it still is today. That quick glimpse you get of the all-Hasidic production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is priceless. It gives renewed meaning to "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
Allen's technique is extraordinary. "Zelig" has the best bogus documentary footage quite probably since "Citizen Kane".
As the film urges, everyone should "Do the Chameleon", by seeing "Zelig". Woody Allen creates a trenchant comment on people's desire for conformity: "Everybody, go chameleon." We all tend to do that to some degree, but it's not usually so amusing. Try to blend in with the crowd rushing out to find "Zelig" on video.
It is probably worth noting that a Jewish Nazi is not as ridiculous a stretch as Woody makes it seem. Reinhard Heydrich, the vicious organizer of the Final Solution, fell into that category. The top Nazis were all misfits in one way or another.