It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Woody Allen is proving himself to me as a versatile director expelling the notion that he can only write films featuring a neurotic Jewish man. That character exists in almost every Woody Allen film, yes, but I disagree with the idea that all of Allen's films are the same. To begrudge a director for putting too much of himself into his art has always been a difficult criticism for me to hear. Love and Death, the 1975 film is a period piece set in czarist Russia starring Allen as a man hopelessly in love with a woman who is determined to marry anyone but him. Boris (Woody Allen) is in love with Sonja (Diane Keaton), the both are pseudo-intellectuals so the match seems to be perfect. Sonja, however, is not "in love" with Boris. Love is all that occupies Boris' mind, but all that must change when he is forced to join the Russian army. Boris is a committed pacifist, therefore is now tasked with trying to avoid hurting anyone while also being tasked with battling Napoleon's forces which have just invaded Austria. The two take diverging paths but are reunited once again when they must plot to assassinate Napolean.There is a scene in Love and Death in which several coffins are upright in a field and each one opens and the bodies come out and begin to dance in the field; that scene is my favorite scene in Love and Death. I have a habit of deciding which scene in each Woody Allen film I see is my favorite scene because there is always at least one stand out scene in each of his films. The writing in Love and Death was exquisite, as always, and especially biting which was a joy. One of my favorite things, as I've noted before, is when a film can successfully break the 4th wall, and there is a perfect scene in which Woody Allen himself breaks that wall down and speaks directly to me. It's as close as I'll ever get to my favorites, so I'm happy to take a 4th wall break. Death is in the title, but I am still loving how Woody Allen deals with his nihilism/uncertainty about God/the meaning of life in each of his films. Which is good, because it looks like Allen's focus on death is never hidden in his films.

Woody Allen wrote and directed this, one of his two most amusing comedies. Not funny/serious, like "Annie Hall," which may be his best film ever, but at times hilarious.Allen and Diane Keaton, who plays his distant cousin, are Russians during the Napoleonic era. The climax is their attempt to assassinate Napoleon after he captures Moscow.The plot is ridiculous and encompasses the war, the tangled love affairs, duels, the tendency in Russian novels towards philosophizing and brooding about God, the distinction between aristocrats and serfs. It borrows heavily from Dostoyevsky and especially Tolstoy's "War and Peace." Its cinematic touchstones are Sergei Eisenstein and Ingmar Bergman -- some shots parody exactly the images from both.There are too many jokes to list, and it would be a bad idea to even think about it. I'll direct the viewer's attention to two.(1) Allen and Keaton attempt to knock out the Ambassador from Spain by hitting him over the head with a wine bottle. The Ambassador is alerted at the last moment. What follows is a speeded-up silent comedy shtick in which Allen and Keaton try to convince the Ambassador that it was just a game. The illustrate the game by hitting each other over the head with the bottle and laughing as they do so. No music, just a CLUNK each time the bottle lands on somebody's head.(2) Allen is about to be executed but receives a message from God that the Emperor will spare him at the last moment. This sends him into an epiphany in which he looks heavenward and recites a soliloquy about the meaning of life and the prophecies from the Bible. He's carrying on with banalities about how the wicked man will be delivered into the hands of his enemies. The spotlight on him is extinguished but he adds quickly, "Wait, not yet! I'm not done with the wicked man." It skewers a number of sacred cows, God and the belief in an afterlife among them.Some of the wisecracks fall a little flat but there are scenes and set pieces that lift it far above most comedies of the decade. He flirts with the paramour of a marksman and is challenged to a duel. The challenge should be to the viewer: Try not to laugh.

MR.Cinema aka Woody Allen, is simply THE BEST. 'Love and Death', Written, Directed & Acted by Allen himself, is amongst his finest works to date. A Fantastic Comedy! 'Love and Death' Synopsis: In czarist Russia, a neurotic soldier and his distant cousin formulate a plot to assassinate Napoleon.Like always, Allen pitches in a lot of humor in 'Love and Death'. The premise is terrific & the overall storytelling, is a pure genius. Allen's Screenplay is terrific & his Direction, as always, is flawless.Allen's performance as a neurotic soldier, is mind-blowing. Diane Keaton as his distant cousin, is flattering. James Tolkan as Napoleon Bonaparte, deserves a special mention.On the whole, 'Love and Death' is a must see film by MR.Cinema!

An underrated masterpiece. An apotheosis to Ingmar Bergman. Funny and intellectual at the same time ( which is something completely normal to every Woody Allen movie, but this one is maybe one of my favorite, followed by Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris and Bullets over Broadway ).I myself am Bulgarian and have always found the Russian culture extraordinary and extremely sophisticated. The parody with all the greatest Russian authors came to me as a best surprise.Some eternal questions ( mostly about love and death. But there were some about love, too ) contribute to become this film an amazing piece of art.10/10.