Ian Yes, it's old and I'm coming late to the party having just seen it but it's one of the few Woody Allen movies I hadn't yet seen.I'm normally very, very wary of writers/directors but there are a few exceptions and Woody Allen is one. I tend to think he's a love or hate type of writer/director but I come out on the side of love. He usually plays bumbling, nervous, self-depreciating characters which are very endearing and I love the Jewish humour.A couple of choice lines: "I've never paid for sex in my life" "Oh, honey, you just think you haven't!And so it goes...The cast is a list of A-list actors. Many queue to work in a Woody Allen movie. Ok, just to say I'm keeping his private life out of this. That may affect your perception of the man but it should not effect of your enjoyment of his movies. Some people don't want to make a distinction and many people are happy to assume an automatic presumption of 'guilty before proven innocent' which seems to be where we're heading with this but that's another argument altogether.The movie, like many of Allen's movies, is more an intellectual treat than belly laugh guffaws but his characters' responses and one-liners are classics, and hilarious, even if the laugh's in your brain rather than your gut!Like some of his movies, it's a delicious satire, particularly on society and religion. This, and the barbed pieces of irony which most Americans probably won't get, make it, to non-US viewers, all the more delicious. Sort of. Sorry American friends. Oy vey...Anyway, this is a superbly intellectually funny movie with more than enough digs at sociale mores to warrant any open-minded viewer to roll around the floor laughing, even mentally.Woody Allen fans and open-minded liberals will love it.

smatysia Woody Allen is annoying as usual, playing a Kafka-inspired role set in Germany or Central Europe in the early twentieth century. (Electric light is commonplace, but no automobile is ever seen) Allen's shtick was original and amusing in the early Seventies, but it palled many decades ago. The plot is fairly boring, and never really ties together very well. There is a sort of "all-star cast" that is largely wasted. And the film (and plot) had no real ending, it just kind of quit. However, there were some good things. The mood was set very well with the fog, the black-and-white photography, the music. Nice performances from some of the cast, especially Mia Farrow, John Cusack, John Malkovich, and even the much-maligned Madonna. Some of Allen's direction was effective, such as the 360 shot around the table at the brothel. But overall, the film was boring, and I cannot recommend it.

TheLittleSongbird On first viewing I wasn't crazy about Shadows and Fog, while the film looked fantastic and was well-directed the characters left me cold, the film didn't seem to know what tone it wanted and the story seemed meandering and dull. On re-watch however Shadows and Fog fared much better(as was with almost all the Allen films that didn't impress at first apart from Anything Else), it is nowhere near among Woody Allen's best and is around the lower middle of his filmography but I found it a good film and not among Allen's worst that it's often said to be. Visually, Shadows and Fog looks fantastic with brilliant black and white cinematography and Expressionistic images that are as striking as they are haunting. Allen's films are always well-made, but Shadows and Fog visually like Zelig is quite unique from a visual standpoint. The music is very eerie and fits the atmosphere perfectly, in fact if anything it adds to it. While it was confusing of what tone the film was trying to go with on first viewing, on re-watch it was much clearer and that criticism seems unfair now. The dialogue is both subtle and hilarious(love the brothel scenes) with sharp homages and insight in characteristic Woody Allen vein, but even more impressive was the murder-mystery element while a really chilling atmosphere is created, helped by the visuals and music. Allen's directing is as always adept and his performance, the most memorable, is a lot of fun. John Cusack does nervous and angsty very nicely and Jodie Foster and Kathy Bates are remarkably good in against-type roles. Shadows and Fog has imperfections, Mia Farrow for me overdoes it and comes across as shrill, John Malkovich deserved much more to do and is a little wasted and Madonna is rather out of place. The story does have its drawn out and aimless patches with an ending that felt convoluted and hurried, and the characters are not very interesting, a lot of them barely in the film. To conclude however, a good film but considering how well the best assets come off it could have been more than good. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Chrysanthepop 'Shadows and Fog' has a very German/French cinema feel to it. Shot in black and white, set in one night, the story follows Kleinman (Woody Allen) and Irmy (Mia Farrow). Clueless Kleinmen is assigned to guard the streets and watch out for a serial killer. In a moment of rage, Irmy, after catching her boyfriend Clown (John Malkovich) red handed with seductress Marie (Madonna) decides to leave the circus. While she wanders the streets, she bumps into Prostitute (Lily Tomlin) who shelters her in her brothel. Soon after Irmy leaves the brothel, she meets Kleinman. Together they wander the streets experiencing odd encounters. Unfortunately 'Shadows and Fog' hasn't received as much recognition as Allen's other works. It has the usual Allen style with a series of conversations, quirky characters and a whimsical feel to it. The execution is very good especially the lighting, cinematography, editing and score. Allen has gathered an enviable ensemble that further includes Kathy Bates, William Macy, Jodie Foster, John Cusack and many more. Everyone performs superbly but if I had to pick the best it would be Mia Farrow. Her spontaneity makes her performance come across as very natural. For me, 'Shadows and Fog' is just as good as any other great Allen movie. It may be a little more awkward than his other movies but enjoyable nonetheless.