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Editor's Note
WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY?, Woody Allen's first directorial effort, started life as a low-grade Japanese James Bondian spy drama called KEY OF KEYS. Executive producer Henry G. Saperstein bought the film and hired Allen to dub in an entirely new soundtrack, featuring brand-new dialogue (cowritten by the new voices) that turns the story into a riotously ridiculous search for the perfect egg salad recipe; Saperstein also added scenes with the Lovin' Spoonful to give the film a hip 1960s feel wholly out of touch with what is occurring onscreen. Allen did shoot some new scenes for the film, in which he describes the genesis of the idea and its place in film history, claiming that the first film to do this was GONE WITH THE WIND. The new story features the Japanese cast playing such characters as Phil Moskowitz, Terry Yaki, and Suki Yaki, battling to find out just the right amount of mayonnaise to mix in with chopped eggs. Many of the jokes are about food and sex, two things that Allen would go on to explore more and more in his films.
Plot Summary
WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY? is a no-holds-barred spoof of James Bond films compiled by the master of intellectual comedy, Woody Allen. In this farce, Allen takes an actual Japanese spy film (KEY OF KEYS) and dubs in English dialogue that comically alters the original plot, now sending the main characters in search of the perfect egg salad recipe.
| Features | Region [unknown] | | NTSC | | Keep Case | | Widescreen - 2.35 | | Audio:
| Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono - English | | Additional Release Material:
| Additional Audio Material:
| 1. Includes Theatrical and Television Audio Tracks |
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| Technical Info
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Release Information
|  | Studio: Image Entertainment |
| Release Date: 6/16/2009 |
| Running Time: 80 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1966 | | Catalog ID: 4972 | | UPC: 00014381497229 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
| Memorable Quotes| "They wanted in Hollywood to make the definitive spy picture, and they came to me to supervise the project, ya know, because I think that, um, if you know me at all, you know that death is my bread and danger my butter...oh, no, danger's my bread and death is my butter...no, no, wait, danger's my bread, death, no, death, no, I'm sorry, death is----death and danger are my various breads and, and various butters."----Woody Allen near the beginning of the movie, explaining how the project came to be |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"...Poised for rediscovery -- and ripe to reclaim its cult status..." 07/18/2003 p.63Total Film
"...A genuine oddity....[With] some classic moments..." 03/01/2001 p.116 Premiere
"[Allen] took a generic Japanese spy thriller and inserted his own dialogue....[A] novelty." 08/01/2006 p.108 Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- "Woody Allen's first film as a director is one of the most surreal films ever made..." 02/01/2008 p.113 |
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