Take the Money and Run (Full Screen Edition)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Woody Allen's funniest!
  • IN SEARCH OF WOODY ALLEN
  • Take the Money and Run
  • One of Woody Allen's Funniest!
  • Very good film
Take the Money and Run (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: James Anderson , Grace Bauer , Jackson Beck , Lonny Chapman , and Dan Frazer
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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  1. Bananas Bananas
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  3. Sleeper Sleeper
  4. Love and Death Love and Death
  5. Annie Hall Annie Hall

ASIN: B00020X88E
Release Date: 2004-07-06

Amazon.com essential video

Woody Allen's feature-film debut, Take the Money and Run, a mockumentary that combines sight gags, sketchlike scenes, and standup jokes at rat-a-tat speed, looks positively primitive compared to his mature work. Primitive, but awfully funny. Allen plays Virgil Starkwell, a music-loving nebbish who turns to a life of crime at an early age and, undaunted by his utter and complete failure to pull off a single successful robbery, continues his unbroken spree of bungled heists and prison breaks even after he marries and raises a family. Narrator Jackson Beck, whose stentorian voice of authority makes a perfect foil for Starkwell's absurd exploits, lobs one droll quip after another with deadpan seriousness. Though spotty, Allen tosses so many jokes into the mix that it hardly matters and when they hit they are often hilarious: the chain gang posing as cousins to their old-woman hostage ("We're very close," Virgil explains to a dim cop), arguing with a dotty movie director who is supposed to be their cover for a bank robbery, Virgil's escape attempt with a bar of soap. Allen spoofs decades of crime films, everything from I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang to Bonnie and Clyde, but you don't have to know the movies to enjoy this goofy, sometimes clumsy, but quite clever comedy. --Sean Axmaker

Description

"The gags come every 30 seconds" (Boxoffice) in this "delightful satire" (Hollywood Citizen-News) from film legend Woody Allen in his brilliant first outing as writer, star and director. Allen is "hilarious" (NY Daily News) and "never fails to steal the audience's heart" (LAHerald-Examiner) in this inspired comedy that's nothing less than "nuttiness triumphant" (Look Magazine)! Virgil Starkwell (Allen), having no talent for his beloved cello, turns to larceny as a career. Unfailingly optimistic, he is nevertheless a complete criminal failurealthough his prison breakouts are often successful. And with the support of his loving wife Louise (Janet Margolin), he may yet pull off a successful bank heist if he can just manage to write out a legible stickup note!

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Woody Allen's funniest!.......2007-09-02

Not bad for Woody Allen in his first movie as star,director and writer! It is outrageously funny from start to finish. Add Jackson Beck's narration and you have the makings for a fun,humorous narration on the life and times of Virgil Starkwell, the mastermind of crime! I thought this was a winner when I first saw it several years ago and it is still funny!

3 out of 5 stars IN SEARCH OF WOODY ALLEN.......2007-07-22

This is an early film (his first) of comedian /actor/director Woody Allen starring himself in the lead as Virgil Starkwell a bungling wannabe bank robber whose hijinks land him in prisons, in bed with a lovely girl and the halls of academia as an expert on crime. In this film we can see the outlines of Woody's seemingly endless love affair with early black and white crime and film noir classics. There is a little more use of sight gags here than in latter films but through it all Woody is still the funny bumbling New York Jewish kid that a long series of films will explore in greater detail. The use of an old time newsreel announcer to describe and set the framework of the film and detail the action is an interesting twist. Not the best Woody Allen film but a good look at the niche that he created for himself in American urban comedy/ social commentary cinema.

5 out of 5 stars Take the Money and Run.......2007-06-28

Presented as a mock documentary complete with narration by radio ham Jackson Beck, Allen's hilarious directorial debut is nuttier and loaded with more gags than his later, more sophisticated New York films. But that's exactly why it works: The laughs are goofy and often puerile, and for all the zippy one-liners that don't quite elicit a full-belly guffaw, Allen piles on with cutting satire (focused mostly on footage of presidents Nixon and Eisenhower). You'll have a lot of fun watching this manic genius at work in one of his earlier comedic efforts.

5 out of 5 stars One of Woody Allen's Funniest!.......2007-03-26

The first film Woody Allen did as the star, writer, & director is a small masterpiece from the man that is not only hilarious but also captures how much Allen has changed in style over the years.
Now, we're used to the Woody Allen movies where people walk around and talk, having intellectual conversations while making wisecracks. When Woody Allen first came out, his movies were goofy and built on sight gags and coincidences; "Take the Money and Run" is one of Allen's funniest movies. Allen plays Virgil Starkwell, a hardened criminal...Sort of. Virgil gets his start early, hanging out with the neighborhood kids and committing minor crimes (ones which he never gets away with). He also, in his spare time, plays cello in the local band (he's not very good at cello). After serving time in jail (and attempting to escape using soap and shoe polish to fashion a gun, only to find out it's raining outside), he meets Louise (Janet Margolin) and, eventually, marries her. Despite settling down, Virgil just can not stop committing crimes, which will lead him all the way back to prison and to a chain gang. The movie is told in a pseudo-documentary style that only few filmmakers could pull off. Allen does it perfectly. There's so much brilliance in this movie; there's nearly a gag a minute. From the beginning where Young Virgil attempts to steal a gumball machine and is chased by a cop, to near the end where Virgil (chained to 6 guys) try to pass off as a little old lady's cousins to a cop. There's a lot of people in the world who don't like Woody Allen and I don't see how you can't. His films can suit all tastes, be it comedy like this, comedy like "Annie Hall," or drama like "Match Point," his films are all so varied and (for the most part) original. And, having said that, "Take the Money and Run" is a film that will appeal to a much broader audience than the average Allen-film. It can appeal to a regular Woody Allen fan, a person who kind of likes Allen, a person who just likes a well-executed comedy or a kid who doesn't care about who the writer/director is and just wants to see a funny movie. In the comedic department, "Take the Money and Run" is a masterpiece.

GRADE: A-

4 out of 5 stars Very good film.......2007-01-09

Take the Money and Run, is a film hilarius and funny. Woody Allen in the great moment.
Take the Money and Run - Uncut (Widescreen Edition)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Classy debut
Take the Money and Run - Uncut (Widescreen Edition)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000C15OF8

Product Description

EDITORIAL REVIEW - Amazon Essential Video - Woody Allen's feature-film debut, Take the Money and Run, a mockumentary that combines sight gags, sketchlike scenes, and standup jokes at rat-a-tat speed, looks positively primitive compared to his mature work. Primitive, but awfully funny. Allen plays Virgil Starkwell, a music-loving nebbish who turns to a life of crime at an early age and, undaunted by his utter and complete failure to pull off a single successful robbery, continues his unbroken spree of bungled heists and prison breaks even after he marries and raises a family. Narrator Jackson Beck, whose stentorian voice of authority makes a perfect foil for Starkwell's absurd exploits, lobs one droll quip after another with deadpan seriousness. Though spotty, Allen tosses so many jokes into the mix that it hardly matters and when they hit they are often hilarious: the chain gang posing as cousins to their old-woman hostage ("We're very close," Virgil explains to a dim cop), arguing with a dotty movie director who is supposed to be their cover for a bank robbery, Virgil's escape attempt with a bar of soap. Allen spoofs decades of crime films, everything from I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang to Bonnie and Clyde, but you don't have to know the movies to enjoy this goofy, sometimes clumsy, but quite clever comedy. --Sean Axmaker [refers to VHS release]. ++++ DVD FEATURES: This officially licensed release from South Korea is All-Region NTSC Code 0 (playable worldwide). The FULL 91 minute film is presented in Widescreen display format, Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound in ENGLISH with optional (removable) English and Korean subtitles. Includes: Chapters, Story Line, Production Note and About Cast & Director.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Classy debut.......2007-09-16

Woody Allen stars and directs for the first time, and what a success it turns out to be. There are many great sight gags as well as the usual number of quality one-liners. The film is done in a documentary style, telling the story of Virgil Starkwell, an incompentent petty criminal, played by Woody of course.

To pick a favourite moment out is difficult. However, if forced to pick one I'd go for the scene where Virgil tries to rob a bank, and fails because he hands over a note where the word gun can easily be mistaken for gub. Consequently the entire bank staff and customers are all arguing whether the word is gun or gub. Woody insists its gun; everybody else thinks its gub...

This is definitely one of Woody's early funny ones!
Take the Money and Run
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Woody Allen's funniest!
  • IN SEARCH OF WOODY ALLEN
  • Take the Money and Run
  • One of Woody Allen's Funniest!
  • Very good film
Take the Money and Run
Starring: James Anderson , Grace Bauer , Jackson Beck , Lonny Chapman , and Dan Frazer
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Comic CriminalsComic Criminals | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Classic ComediesClassic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Parody & Spoof | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Chapman, LonnyChapman, Lonny | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Hillaire, MarcelHillaire, Marcel | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Hyde, JacquelynHyde, Jacquelyn | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Lasser, LouiseLasser, Louise | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Margolin, JanetMargolin, Janet | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $7.49DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
All DealsAll Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
Parody & SpoofParody & Spoof | Comedy | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( T )( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Bananas Bananas
  2. Play It Again, Sam Play It Again, Sam
  3. Sleeper Sleeper
  4. Love and Death Love and Death
  5. Annie Hall Annie Hall

ASIN: 6305474826
Release Date: 1999-06-15

Amazon.com essential video

Woody Allen's feature-film debut, Take the Money and Run, a mockumentary that combines sight gags, sketchlike scenes, and standup jokes at rat-a-tat speed, looks positively primitive compared to his mature work. Primitive, but awfully funny. Allen plays Virgil Starkwell, a music-loving nebbish who turns to a life of crime at an early age and, undaunted by his utter and complete failure to pull off a single successful robbery, continues his unbroken spree of bungled heists and prison breaks even after he marries and raises a family. Narrator Jackson Beck, whose stentorian voice of authority makes a perfect foil for Starkwell's absurd exploits, lobs one droll quip after another with deadpan seriousness. Though spotty, Allen tosses so many jokes into the mix that it hardly matters and when they hit they are often hilarious: the chain gang posing as cousins to their old-woman hostage ("We're very close," Virgil explains to a dim cop), arguing with a dotty movie director who is supposed to be their cover for a bank robbery, Virgil's escape attempt with a bar of soap. Allen spoofs decades of crime films, everything from I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang to Bonnie and Clyde, but you don't have to know the movies to enjoy this goofy, sometimes clumsy, but quite clever comedy. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Woody Allen's funniest!.......2007-09-02

Not bad for Woody Allen in his first movie as star,director and writer! It is outrageously funny from start to finish. Add Jackson Beck's narration and you have the makings for a fun,humorous narration on the life and times of Virgil Starkwell, the mastermind of crime! I thought this was a winner when I first saw it several years ago and it is still funny!

3 out of 5 stars IN SEARCH OF WOODY ALLEN.......2007-07-22

This is an early film (his first) of comedian /actor/director Woody Allen starring himself in the lead as Virgil Starkwell a bungling wannabe bank robber whose hijinks land him in prisons, in bed with a lovely girl and the halls of academia as an expert on crime. In this film we can see the outlines of Woody's seemingly endless love affair with early black and white crime and film noir classics. There is a little more use of sight gags here than in latter films but through it all Woody is still the funny bumbling New York Jewish kid that a long series of films will explore in greater detail. The use of an old time newsreel announcer to describe and set the framework of the film and detail the action is an interesting twist. Not the best Woody Allen film but a good look at the niche that he created for himself in American urban comedy/ social commentary cinema.

5 out of 5 stars Take the Money and Run.......2007-06-28

Presented as a mock documentary complete with narration by radio ham Jackson Beck, Allen's hilarious directorial debut is nuttier and loaded with more gags than his later, more sophisticated New York films. But that's exactly why it works: The laughs are goofy and often puerile, and for all the zippy one-liners that don't quite elicit a full-belly guffaw, Allen piles on with cutting satire (focused mostly on footage of presidents Nixon and Eisenhower). You'll have a lot of fun watching this manic genius at work in one of his earlier comedic efforts.

5 out of 5 stars One of Woody Allen's Funniest!.......2007-03-26

The first film Woody Allen did as the star, writer, & director is a small masterpiece from the man that is not only hilarious but also captures how much Allen has changed in style over the years.
Now, we're used to the Woody Allen movies where people walk around and talk, having intellectual conversations while making wisecracks. When Woody Allen first came out, his movies were goofy and built on sight gags and coincidences; "Take the Money and Run" is one of Allen's funniest movies. Allen plays Virgil Starkwell, a hardened criminal...Sort of. Virgil gets his start early, hanging out with the neighborhood kids and committing minor crimes (ones which he never gets away with). He also, in his spare time, plays cello in the local band (he's not very good at cello). After serving time in jail (and attempting to escape using soap and shoe polish to fashion a gun, only to find out it's raining outside), he meets Louise (Janet Margolin) and, eventually, marries her. Despite settling down, Virgil just can not stop committing crimes, which will lead him all the way back to prison and to a chain gang. The movie is told in a pseudo-documentary style that only few filmmakers could pull off. Allen does it perfectly. There's so much brilliance in this movie; there's nearly a gag a minute. From the beginning where Young Virgil attempts to steal a gumball machine and is chased by a cop, to near the end where Virgil (chained to 6 guys) try to pass off as a little old lady's cousins to a cop. There's a lot of people in the world who don't like Woody Allen and I don't see how you can't. His films can suit all tastes, be it comedy like this, comedy like "Annie Hall," or drama like "Match Point," his films are all so varied and (for the most part) original. And, having said that, "Take the Money and Run" is a film that will appeal to a much broader audience than the average Allen-film. It can appeal to a regular Woody Allen fan, a person who kind of likes Allen, a person who just likes a well-executed comedy or a kid who doesn't care about who the writer/director is and just wants to see a funny movie. In the comedic department, "Take the Money and Run" is a masterpiece.

GRADE: A-

4 out of 5 stars Very good film.......2007-01-09

Take the Money and Run, is a film hilarius and funny. Woody Allen in the great moment.
Take the Money and Run [Region 2]
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Woody Allen's funniest!
  • IN SEARCH OF WOODY ALLEN
  • Take the Money and Run
  • One of Woody Allen's Funniest!
  • Very good film
Take the Money and Run [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
( T )( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Bananas Bananas
  2. Play It Again, Sam Play It Again, Sam
  3. Sleeper Sleeper
  4. Love and Death Love and Death
  5. Annie Hall Annie Hall

ASIN: B000059RJL

Amazon.com essential video

Woody Allen's feature-film debut, Take the Money and Run, a mockumentary that combines sight gags, sketchlike scenes, and standup jokes at rat-a-tat speed, looks positively primitive compared to his mature work. Primitive, but awfully funny. Allen plays Virgil Starkwell, a music-loving nebbish who turns to a life of crime at an early age and, undaunted by his utter and complete failure to pull off a single successful robbery, continues his unbroken spree of bungled heists and prison breaks even after he marries and raises a family. Narrator Jackson Beck, whose stentorian voice of authority makes a perfect foil for Starkwell's absurd exploits, lobs one droll quip after another with deadpan seriousness. Though spotty, Allen tosses so many jokes into the mix that it hardly matters and when they hit they are often hilarious: the chain gang posing as cousins to their old-woman hostage ("We're very close," Virgil explains to a dim cop), arguing with a dotty movie director who is supposed to be their cover for a bank robbery, Virgil's escape attempt with a bar of soap. Allen spoofs decades of crime films, everything from I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang to Bonnie and Clyde, but you don't have to know the movies to enjoy this goofy, sometimes clumsy, but quite clever comedy. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Woody Allen's funniest!.......2007-09-02

Not bad for Woody Allen in his first movie as star,director and writer! It is outrageously funny from start to finish. Add Jackson Beck's narration and you have the makings for a fun,humorous narration on the life and times of Virgil Starkwell, the mastermind of crime! I thought this was a winner when I first saw it several years ago and it is still funny!

3 out of 5 stars IN SEARCH OF WOODY ALLEN.......2007-07-22

This is an early film (his first) of comedian /actor/director Woody Allen starring himself in the lead as Virgil Starkwell a bungling wannabe bank robber whose hijinks land him in prisons, in bed with a lovely girl and the halls of academia as an expert on crime. In this film we can see the outlines of Woody's seemingly endless love affair with early black and white crime and film noir classics. There is a little more use of sight gags here than in latter films but through it all Woody is still the funny bumbling New York Jewish kid that a long series of films will explore in greater detail. The use of an old time newsreel announcer to describe and set the framework of the film and detail the action is an interesting twist. Not the best Woody Allen film but a good look at the niche that he created for himself in American urban comedy/ social commentary cinema.

5 out of 5 stars Take the Money and Run.......2007-06-28

Presented as a mock documentary complete with narration by radio ham Jackson Beck, Allen's hilarious directorial debut is nuttier and loaded with more gags than his later, more sophisticated New York films. But that's exactly why it works: The laughs are goofy and often puerile, and for all the zippy one-liners that don't quite elicit a full-belly guffaw, Allen piles on with cutting satire (focused mostly on footage of presidents Nixon and Eisenhower). You'll have a lot of fun watching this manic genius at work in one of his earlier comedic efforts.

5 out of 5 stars One of Woody Allen's Funniest!.......2007-03-26

The first film Woody Allen did as the star, writer, & director is a small masterpiece from the man that is not only hilarious but also captures how much Allen has changed in style over the years.
Now, we're used to the Woody Allen movies where people walk around and talk, having intellectual conversations while making wisecracks. When Woody Allen first came out, his movies were goofy and built on sight gags and coincidences; "Take the Money and Run" is one of Allen's funniest movies. Allen plays Virgil Starkwell, a hardened criminal...Sort of. Virgil gets his start early, hanging out with the neighborhood kids and committing minor crimes (ones which he never gets away with). He also, in his spare time, plays cello in the local band (he's not very good at cello). After serving time in jail (and attempting to escape using soap and shoe polish to fashion a gun, only to find out it's raining outside), he meets Louise (Janet Margolin) and, eventually, marries her. Despite settling down, Virgil just can not stop committing crimes, which will lead him all the way back to prison and to a chain gang. The movie is told in a pseudo-documentary style that only few filmmakers could pull off. Allen does it perfectly. There's so much brilliance in this movie; there's nearly a gag a minute. From the beginning where Young Virgil attempts to steal a gumball machine and is chased by a cop, to near the end where Virgil (chained to 6 guys) try to pass off as a little old lady's cousins to a cop. There's a lot of people in the world who don't like Woody Allen and I don't see how you can't. His films can suit all tastes, be it comedy like this, comedy like "Annie Hall," or drama like "Match Point," his films are all so varied and (for the most part) original. And, having said that, "Take the Money and Run" is a film that will appeal to a much broader audience than the average Allen-film. It can appeal to a regular Woody Allen fan, a person who kind of likes Allen, a person who just likes a well-executed comedy or a kid who doesn't care about who the writer/director is and just wants to see a funny movie. In the comedic department, "Take the Money and Run" is a masterpiece.

GRADE: A-

4 out of 5 stars Very good film.......2007-01-09

Take the Money and Run, is a film hilarius and funny. Woody Allen in the great moment.

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