26 August 2011

What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)

(Traveling through the Films Of Woody Allen)

Title: What's Up, Tiger Lily?
Release Date: 2 November 1966
Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Tatsuya Mihashi, Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama
IMDB: 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061177/
My Rating: (6/10) ★★★★★✩✩


I'm starting with Woody Allen films so I had to watch his very first directorial effort, which is a pre-existing Japanese spy film overdubbed with an Allen penned comedic script. He rearranges scenes to suit his new narrative and dubs in voices of his friends (our hero, Japanese spy Phil Moscowitz is on a mission to find the world's best egg-salad recipe). There is even a gratuitous strip tease at the end which hints at Woody Allen's slightly perverted side. I'm giving the film six stars because of social context--though it wasn't a film I especially enjoyed, I can see what's funny about it and how some might find it side splitting. The conceit is well done, and Allen usually avoids the obvious joke, which is noteworthy. 

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