Play it Again, Sam, 1972.
Directed by Herbert Ross.
Starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Jerry Lacy, and Susan Anspach.
SYNOPSIS:
Play it Again, Sam, which was based on Woody Allen’s Broadway play but directed by Herbert Ross, arrives on Blu-ray with a new 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative. The only extra is a commentary track.
There was a time in my life when I could relate to the nebbish characters Woody Allen liked to play in his earlier films (Yes, I know this one wasn’t directed by him, but it was based on the Broadway play that he wrote.)
Like Allan Felix, the bumbling film critic he plays in Play it Again, Sam, I found solace in movies, and I tended to get dumped by women not long into relationships. I have also always lacked much in the way of physical coordination and an ability to navigate social settings.
But revisiting this movie today, at the age of 55 and with plenty of life experience, including lots of therapy, in my rear-view mirror, I cringed at the story’s simplistic take on relationships. Allan repeatedly refers to women as “girls” and makes it clear he values looks over everything else.
Sure, the Casablanca angle helps elevate the story a bit. The movie opens with Allan watching the end of that classic film in a theater, having been dumped by his wife Nancy (Susan Anspach), and soon the apparition of Humphrey Bogart (Jerry Lacy) appears, imploring him to adopt more of a rough-edged attitude.
Meanwhile, his friend Dick Christie (rest in peace, Tony Roberts) and Dick’s wife Linda (Diane Keaton) set him up on a series of blind dates punctuated by Allan bumbling around. (It’s pretty clear in one scene that Tony Roberts is struggling to keep himself from laughing.)
I don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I say that Allan and Linda realize they have feelings for each other, and Play it Again Sam’s final scene evokes the classic ending of Casablanca. It’s not clear, though, that Allan has really gone through any kind of character arc along the way; it’s not hard to imagine him continuing with the same behaviors and attitudes.
This new Blu-ray edition of the film from Kino Lorber features a fresh 4K scan of the original camera negative. Since director Herbert Ross is dead and Allen doesn’t like to revisit his old films, I’m not sure who approved it, but, honestly, I’m not sure that it matters a lot. The film looks fine, and it’s obviously not the kind of movie that will have viewers intently scrutinizing the picture quality.
I suppose I should also address Woody Allen himself and the controversy around his marriage to Soon-Yi Previn. All I’ll say is that, even if one accepts that the two of them entered into the relationship as legal adults, with Woody Allen never having assumed a parental role in Soon-Yi’s life beforehand, I’d still file it under “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.”
Okay, moving on: the only extra found here, aside from the theatrical trailer, is a commentary track featuring screenwriter and producer Alan Spencer and film historian Justin Humphreys. The commentary is a solid one, with the pair discussing not only the movie but also how it compares to the stage play and so forth. It’s an interesting conversation of the “film class on a disc” variety.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
