Despite fierce competition from sci-fi blockbuster “Star Wars” and fellow romantic comedy “The Goodbye Girl,” Woody Allen‘s masterpiece “Annie Hall” walked away with Best Picture at the 50th Academy Awards, which were held on this day thirty-four years ago. And that’s not all: Allen won Best Director and, alongside co-writer Marshall Brickman, Original Screenplay (although he lost Best Actor to Richard Dreyfuss), while Diane Keaton picked up Best Actress for the title role. One could argue that no out-and-out comedy has been so honored since (arguments could be made for “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Artist,” but they’re both as much drama as comedy).
With the anniversary in mind, we thought today was a good opportunity to shed light on a stone-cold classic. Below, you’ll find five relatively obscure facts about “Annie Hall,” and if that leaves you wanting more, you can read our complete Woody Allen film retrospective.
1. The Film Was Nearly Called ‘Anxiety’
Famously, of course, the film shot under the title “Anhedonia” (which means a fear of happiness), but the film took a long time to settle on its eventual title. Co-writer Marshall Brickman joked in editor Ralph Rosenblum‘s book “When The Shooting Stops” that possibilities included “It Had To Be Jew,” “A Rollercoaster Named Desire” and “Me And My Goy,” but in reality Allen flirted with “Anxiety” and “Alvy And Me” before settling on “Annie Hall.” That name, of course, was inspired by Diane Keaton — the actress’s real name is Diane Hall, and her nickname? Annie.
2. The Many Deleted Scenes Have Likely Been Destroyed, But Can Be Glimpsed In The Form Of Lobby Cards
Again, it’s well known that the film began as a sprawling monster, with early drafts of the script featuring a murder-mystery subplot that later resurfaced in Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery.” Even the initial cut of “Anhedonia” — described as closer to “8 1/2” than the finished version — ran at two-and-a-half-hours long. Sadly, it’s unlikely that the original cut will ever see the light of day, with Allen telling Premiere years ago that, “All that stuff is probably non-existent. I probably destroyed that twenty years ago…We keep stuff from the last current couple of films and as they become three and four down the line we throw the stuff away.” But curiously, some of this deleted material can be glimpsed in the film’s promotional lobby cards, several of which feature stills from scenes not in the final cut, as in the one on the left and a few below.
