Overview
A comedic journey through love, war, and the absurdity of life in 19th century Russia.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- irreverent
- anarchic
- lazy sunday
- classic comedy night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an exceptionally funny and inventive literary parody, praising its verbal wit, slapstick construction, and Allen-Keaton chemistry.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film places Woody Allen's comic persona inside a loose Tolstoy-inspired Napoleonic setting and repeatedly undercuts historical grandeur with absurd dialogue and slapstick.
Boris presents himself as a pseudo-intellectual yet is explicitly pacifistic and cowardly when forced into military service.
Boris loves Sonja, Sonja pursues Ivan or another suitable husband, and both seek ideal spouses and lovers along divergent paths.
Boris is drawn into the Napoleonic Wars despite being unsuited for combat, while military danger and an assassination scheme become sources of anarchic humor.
Films like Love and Death, and why
The Great Dictator
shares anarchic period comedy, intellectual parody, romantic misalignment, and a cowardly protagonist caught in historical conflict
The Importance of Being Earnest
shares witty literary adaptation, romantic farce, theatrical dialogue, and playful treatment of nineteenth-century social conventions
A New Leaf
shares screwball romantic entanglements, rapid-fire verbal humor, and comic protagonists navigating absurd social pressures
Movie Details
- Director
- Woody Allen
- Release Date
- 1975-06-10
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (993)
Cast
- Woody Allen
- Diane Keaton
- Harold Gould
- Olga Georges-Picot
- Zvee Scooler
- Despo Diamantidou
- Sol Frieder
- Jessica Harper
- Lloyd Battista
- Alfred Lutter
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Love and Death about?
- A cowardly pseudo-intellectual blunders through Napoleonic warfare while pursuing an elusive cousin in Woody Allen’s exuberant literary farce.
- What is Love and Death like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Love and Death as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Love and Death violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Love and Death as mild.
- What did critics think of Love and Death?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an exceptionally funny and inventive literary parody, praising its verbal wit, slapstick construction, and Allen-Keaton chemistry.
- Which films are like Love and Death?
- Films with a similar feel include The Great Dictator, The Importance of Being Earnest, and A New Leaf.
- How long is Love and Death?
- Love and Death runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch Love and Death?
- In United States, Love and Death is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
