Product Details

• Actors: Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, Howard Cosell, Carlos Montalbán
• Directors: Woody Allen
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: July 5, 2000
• Run Time: 82 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792846060
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,237 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Bananas" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Woody Allen's second film as a director was a wild, unpredictable, and unlikely comedy about a product-tester named Fielding Mellish (Allen), who can't quite connect with the woman of his dreams (Louise Lasser, Allen's ex-wife). He accidentally winds up in South America as a freedom fighter for a guerrilla leader who looks like Castro. Once he assumes power, the new dictator quickly goes insane--which leaves Fielding in charge to negotiate with the U.S. The film is chockfull of wonderfully bizarre gags, such as the dreams Fielding recounts to his shrink about dueling crucified messiahs, vying for a parking place near Wall Street. Look for an unknown Sylvester Stallone in a tiny role--but watch this film for Allen's surprisingly physical (and always verbally dexterous) humor. --Marshall Fine

Product Description

Woody Allen's second film as a director, co-writer and star takes parody to the extreme with a brilliant send-up of everything from relationships to dictatorships. An early example of what Allen called his "slapdash" approach to comedy, Bananas' broad, fast humor and rapid-fire witticisms form a dazzling kaleidoscope of "inspired ingenuity and comic artistry" (Look). When bumbling product-tester, Fielding Mellish (Allen) is jilted by his girlfriend, Nancy (Louise Lasser),he heads to the tiny republic of San Marcos for a vacation only to become kidnapped by rebels! Oncethe band of rebels seizes power, their leader goes crazy, and they replace him with Mellish, thinking he can save the country. But when Mellish is nabbed by the FBI, he is put on trial for subversionand in a side-splitting courtroom showdownincluding the most hilarious self-cross examination everWoody Allen proves beyond a doubt that he is not only our most gifted satirist he's a master comic artist.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SCREWBALL ANTIWAR SATIRE.. February 28, 2004

By Shashank Tripathi VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

From the outrageous name "Fielding Mellish" to the screwball humor in this MAD-magazine type antiwar satire, this is one for the Best of Woody pile. The film grabs you from the first gag, and never lets go. It is laugh-out-loud hillarious with whacky situational scenes as a simple NYC boy gets embroiled in a rebellion in a small South American country (the rebels did not have a good tailor though, but couldn't wait). I was surprised to see a very young pre-fame Sylvester Stallone in a minor side role as a subway crook. The denouement of the movie is somewhat of a let-down (it may be me) but that's no reason to miss out on this superb comedy.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful political/social satire---classic early Woody Allen...... September 11, 2007

By D. Pawl VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I first saw BANANAS on the local Public Broadcasting channel in Seattle. It's honestly surprising to me that people don't talk more about this film. I happen to think that it's funny, enlightening and very intelligent. What's more, it has chilling parallels with the state of politically revolutionary and anti-American Latin American governments of today (and no, I am not "naming names"---that would only get me into hot water here, and that isn't the purpose of the review). Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen) is a gawky product tester who falls in love with a politically active young woman, Nancy (Louise Lasser--Allen's first wife before the age of Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow or Soon-Yi Previn). Though very drawn to her, Mellish is not able to truly capture the young woman's heart. Why? Because he isn't as politically involved as she would like him to be. Well, all that changes when the awkward (not so young) man takes a life-altering trip to San Marcos, a small island nation falling under the thumb of pronounced political upheaval. Their leader, with strong leanings toward dictatorship and supression, has been assasinated and everything is in flux. It is during Mellish's trip that a very unlikely and (perhaps) profoundly unbelievable political shift occurs. I won't ruin it for you. You will have to see it for yourself. I will tell you that as many years as it has been since BANANAS' 1971 release, it still remains a very bold and wonderful showcase for Allen's irrerepresible physical comedy, as well as the quirky/neurotic brand of incidental insight that he is known best for today.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still relevant after all these years (1970) November 16, 2006

By L. A. Corr

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Good old-fashioned slapstick comedy, Bananas illustrates the dictatorship to revolution to new dictatorship cycle of third world - and worldwide - bureaucracies. The most hoot-aloud hilarious of Woody Allen's films.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hysterical.com. October 22, 2005

By Bernard Chapin VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

This is not Woody Allen's best movie, but it is, by far, his greatest comedy. It even surpasses Sleeper with its wit and bite. Actually, in my humble opinion, it is the finest comedy of all time. As a spoof, it cannot be surpassed, from the Mary Tyler Moore M on his wall to Lasser saying that "women's rights don't automatically mean castration." It's the most giggle packed 80 minutes in cinemagraphic history.

Speaking of Louise Lasser, Allen is able to construct his own reality, as in real life, she becomes his wife. His satiric portrayal of television is original and fantastic. There is no better vehicle for the display of his humor than this film. It's practically a stand up routine. The one-liners are fantastic. I have never seen a film in which each frame brought more guffaws than this one. Howard Cosell has never been more enjoyable and endearing than when he covers the assassination of the San Marcos dictator or the finale with Allen. My favorite scene is the one with the interpreter translating English into English with a Spanish accent. I think I laughed about that for several days. The Lenny Bruce-esque trial of Mellish is the best sent up of a courtroom ever. Miss America testifies against him as the jury passes around a joint. She condemns him saying, "Differences of opinion should be tolerated but not when they're that different." Hey, this one even features a young Sly Stallone with National Review depicted as a pornographic magazine. It cannot possibly get any better.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wacky, surrealist but hard to beat black comedy! September 7, 2005

By Hiram Gomez Pardo HALL OF FAME

Format:DVD

One of the most remarkable and irreverent creations of Woody. In this time we find him as a hapless hero in the middle of a revolution in some corner of South America.

Thinking it over it would seem a hidden and sincere homage to Marx Brothers Duck Soup.

One of the supreme achievements of he first period of Allen, when his humor was fundamentally outward.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars No Wasted Motion July 9, 2005

By theboombody VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

This is a great movie. Unlike most comedies I see today, EVERYTHING in this movie is meant for a laugh. No part is meant for anything else. There's no padding at all, and no touching message is trying to be sent. This movie is only made for laughs.

And the jokes keep coming, one right after another. It's astounding. By far, I think the funniest part of the film is where Melish gets a cheap beard as a disguise when he comes to America as the President of San Marcos. And even better, in this cheap disguise, he gives a botched speech asking for foreign aid, starting out with a REALLY inappropriate joke. It's hilarious. The Wild World of Sports coverage of non-sporting events such as honeymoon nights is pretty darn funny too.

Woody Allen is a master at making films. In this movie he even has a silent comedy bit when he's on a subway, showing how great he is both at comedy and artistic expression.

Bananas is a must-see. I probably only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I've seen it so many times that I practically have it memorized, and under those conditions, you just don't laugh at the film like you did when you first watched it. No movie has that much replay value.