Zelig

  • Comedy
7/15/1983
79
PG

You wanted more when it was all over!

Fictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig, a man who becomes a celebrity in the 1920s due to his ability to look and act like whoever is around him. Clever editing places Zelig in real newsreel footage of Woodrow Wilson, Babe Ruth, and others.

Director:
Revenue:
$11,798,616
Budget:
$13,500,000

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Cast

Reviews

  • ltcomdata

    A charming mockumentary about a fictional 1920s personality filmed as if cobbled together from old black-and-white footage.

    February 26, 2014
  • tmdb28039023

    Leonard Zelig is a "human chameleon," but Zelig the film doesn't stop at mimicry. Indeed, this fictional documentary written, directed, and starring Woody Allen differentiates between imitation and parody the same way Hitchcock differentiated between action and suspense.

    For example, the protagonist's parents used to punish him by locking him in a dark closet. If that were it, the film would simply be copying an aspect of Ingmar Bergman's childhood; Allen's genius lies in adding that when Zelig's parents are really mad, they "get into the closet with him."

    Zelig's targets go beyond the filmmaker's family, and include the press (in those days, you'd do anything to sell papers. To get a story, you'd jazz it up, exaggerate, even maybe pl...

    September 3, 2022
  • Geronimo1967

    I suppose nowadays we would call this a mockumentary about a chap who can be all things to all men except, perhaps, himself. Its told using interviews, news reports and other actuality to regale us with the life and times of this man who somehow managed to infiltrate just about every scenario, strata of society and political grouping whilst altering his appearance to attain a consistent prominence even though his reasons for being where he was/is/would be were never quite clear to observers. Finally identified, he attracts the attention of psychiatrist Dr. Fletcher (Mia Farrow) who attempts to discover a little more about what drove this man. Is he an attention seeker or exactly the opposite? Does he need to stand out or simply want to conf...

    June 21, 2025
  • Geronimo1967

    I suppose nowadays we would call this a mockumentary about a chap who can be all things to all men except, perhaps, himself. Its told using interviews, news reports and other actuality to regale us with the life and times of this man who somehow managed to infiltrate just about every scenario, strata of society and political grouping whilst altering his appearance to attain a consistent prominence even though his reasons for being where he was/is/would be were never quite clear to observers. Finally identified, he attracts the attention of psychiatrist Dr. Fletcher (Mia Farrow) who attempts to discover a little more about what drove this man. Is he an attention seeker or exactly the opposite? Does he need to stand out or simply want to conf...

    June 21, 2025

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