Bananas (1971)
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88% of critics liked it
(24 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(17,693 ratings)
One of Woody Allen's earlier, more slapstick-oriented efforts, Bananas tells the story of Fielding Mellish (Allen), a neurotic New Yorker who follows the object of his affections, Nancy (Louise Lasser), to the fictional Central American country of San Marcos, where she is involved in a… More One of Woody Allen's earlier, more slapstick-oriented efforts, Bananas tells the story of Fielding Mellish (Allen), a neurotic New Yorker who follows the object of his affections, Nancy (Louise Lasser), to the fictional Central American country of San Marcos, where she is involved in a revolution. Nancy wants nothing to do with Fielding, but he soon becomes a guest of the country's dictator (Carlos Montalban), before accidentally becoming the leader of San Marcos himself. Fielding is eventually shipped back to the US and tried as a subversive, but being that this is a comedy, and an especially light one at that, everything works out in the end. A far cry from Allen's later, more somber films, Bananas still works as an often hilarious amalgam of sight gags, one-liners, and bizarre asides. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Directed By
- Woody Allen
- Written By
- Woody Allen, Mickey Rose
- Genres
- Classics, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Apr 28, 1971 Wide
- On DVD
- Jul 5, 2000
- Studio
- MGM Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
It is a funny picture - not too consistently, and certainly not too coherently, but when it hits, it hits.
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Variety Staff, Variety
Bananas is chockfull of sight gags, one-liners and swiftly executed unnecessary excursions into vulgarity whose humor for the most part can't make up for content.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Wonderfully incoherent.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
Allen's view of the world is fraught with everything except pathos, and it's a view I happen to find very funny.
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David Parkinson, Empire Magazine
Rapid-fire gags and some inspired one-liners qualify this as an early classic from Allen.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Woody Allen
as Fielding Mellish
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Louise Lasser
as Nancy
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Carlos Montalban
as General Emilio M. Vargas
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Natividad Abascal
as Yolanda
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Jacobo Morales
as Esposito
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Miguel Ángel Suárez
as Luis
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Stanley Ackerman
as Dr. Mellish
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Axel Anderson
as Tortured Man
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Hy Anzell
as Patient In Operating Room
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Jack Axelrod
as Arroyo
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Conrad Bain
as Semple
- Eddie Barth
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Beeson Carroll
as FBI Security
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Ted Chapman
as Policeman
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Howard Cosell
as Himself
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Dagne Crane
as Sharon
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Ed Crowley
as FBI Security
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Don Dunphy
as Himself
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René Enríquez
as Diaz
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Princess Fatosh
as Snakebite Lady
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Dorothi Fox
as J. Edgar Hoover
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Dan Frazer
as Priest
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Allen Garfield
as Man on Cross
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Martha Greenhouse
as Dr. Feigen
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Roger Grimsby
as Himself
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Arthur Hughes
as Judge
- Bob O'Connell
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David Oniz
as Sanchez
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Charlotte Rae
as Mrs. Mellish
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Sylvester Stallone
as Subway Hood
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John Braden
as Prosecutor
- Dick Callinan
- Norman Evans
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Baron DeBeer
as Ambassador
- Marilyn Hengst
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David Ortiz
as Sanchez
- Eulogio Peraza
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Tigre Perez
as Perez
- Nicholas Saunders
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Robert Dudley
as FBI Man#2
- Nati Abascal
