Sunday, the Dartmouth Film Society will feature two films by comedian/actor/director Woody Allen.
The first of the two, "Bananas," takes a comedic look at the chaos and instability of Third World governments.
In typical zany early Allen style, the film opens with the assassination of the president of the small Central American country of San Marcos, with Howard Cosell doing play-by-play.
The film moves to New York, where corporate suit Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen), meets a student activist, Nancy (Louise Lasser). To impress her, Fielding moves to San Marcos and becomes involved in the the rebellion and eventually becomes president of the small country.
Throughout the film, Allen comments on imperialism, both cultural and religious.
"The Vatican did so well in Rome, they opened in Denmark," says Mellish.
The second film, "Shadows and Fog," takes place in an unnamed European town terrorized by a serial murderer in the 1920s. Allen portrays Max Kleinman, a "little man," who gets recruited into vigilante gangs to help capture the killer.
Meanwhile at the circus camped on the outskirts of the town, Irmy, the sword-swallower (Mia Farrow), leaves her boyfriend, the clown (John Malkovich). She takes refuge in a brothel, where she sells herself.
The bordello is raided and Irmy is brought to the police station. She meets up with Max, who has benn brought in for questioning related to the murder of a doctor. After being released various events happen to the twosome that lead to vigilantes chasing Max and Irmy.
Because of Allen's stature, for "Shadows and Fog" he was able to pull together an all-star cast with Jodie Foster, John Cusack, Lily Tomlin and a cameo by Madonna.
Filmed in black and white, enshrouded in fog and dramatically lighted, "Shadows and Fog" is a tribute to the German Expressionism of the twenties.
"The clerk [Max] supplies what expressionism always lacked -- jokes," wrote Time magazine's Richard Schickel.
The contrast between "Shadows and Fog" and "Bananas" demonstrates the progress of Allen's career. From the zany humor of the early '70s ("Sleeper," "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Sex") to the more complex movies of the '90s ("Alice," "Husbands and Wives"), he has grown in both topics and treatments.