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Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Widescreen, Theatrical Version, Trailers
Woody Allen’s second film as a director, co-writer and star takes parody to the extreme with a brilliant send-up of everything from relationships to dictatorships. An early example of what Allen called his 'slapdash' approach to comedy, Bananas’ broad, fast humor and rapid-fire witticisms form a dazzling kaleidoscope of "inspired ingenuity and comic artistry" (Look Magazine). When bumbling product-tester, Fielding Mellish (Allen) is jilted by his girlfriend, Nancy (Louise Lasser), he heads to the tiny republic of San Marcos for a vacation…only to become kidnapped by rebels! Once the band of rebels seize power, their leader goes crazy, and they replace him with Mellish, thinking he can save the country. But when Mellish is nabbed by the FBI, he is put on trial for subversion and in a side-splitting courtroom showdown -- including the most hilarious self-cross examination ever - Woody Allen proves beyond a doubt that, he is not only our most gifted satirist... he’s a master comic auteur.
"Certified Allen hilarity! His verbal comedy is brilliantly wacky!" Time Magazine
"...full of the director's signature angst-ridden philosophical comedy." VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
"...inspired ingenuity and comic artistry." Look Magazine
"Hilarious..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
Editor's Note
Woody Allen leads a revolution in a small Latin American dictatorship in this hysterical comedy that parodies everything from the American media and political activism to the CIA and the judicial system. Allen plays Fielding Mellish, a nebbish unwilling to commit to anything--until he meets Nancy, played by Louise Lasser. Mellish soon finds himself fighting with guerrilla forces in the small third world country of San Marcos, and he becomes an international figure, even appearing on ABC's WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS with Howard Cosell (who plays himself). The film is loaded with sight gags that pay homage to Chaplin, Bergman, and the Marx Brothers. It also tackles politics, government, and religion, even breaking for a commercial for cigarettes endorsed by the church! One of the most memorable scenes of Allen's career occurs when Mellish defends himself in the funniest courtroom scene since the Three Stooges' DISORDER IN THE COURT. Allen's obsessions with food, sex, and death begin to take form here, on their way to becoming major themes in such films as LOVE AND DEATH, ANNIE HALL, and HANNAH AND HER SISTERS.
Plot Summary
Woody Allen plays New York nebbish Fielding Mellish, who becomes involved in political activism just to get Nancy (Louise Lasser) to go out with him. Mellish, disguised in a ridiculous red beard, soon finds himself the leader of a revolution in a small Latin American country. The film is a riotous send-up of everything from Marxism and courtroom drama to American sports and office exercise equipment, filled with hilarious sight gags reminiscent of the Marx Brothers and Chaplin at their best.
| Features | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Widescreen Format | | Standard Format | | Spanish Subtitles | | Collectible Booklet | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | English Dolby Digital Mono | | Spanish Dolby Digital Mono | | French Subtitles |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: MGM |
| Release Date: 9/7/2004 |
| Running Time: 82 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1971 | | Catalog ID: 1000672 | | UPC: 00027616850171 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
| Memorable Quotes| "This trial is a travesty. It's a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham."----Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen) |
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"Allen floors the accelerator in a manic take on revolution in Latin America." 07/01/2006 p.108 |
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