Customer Reviews

What's Up, Tiger Lily? (Region 2)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Thus utters "Wing Fat", Japanese gangster and Wayne Newton lookalike, in Woody Allen's "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" in reference to a much-coveted secret egg salad recipe.
"What's Up, Tiger Lily?" has, in my opinion, always been looked upon as Mr. Allen's filmic poor relation. To the yuppified, nouvelle cuisine-eating self-appointed Allen "aficionados", "Tiger Lily" is a cinematic Nathan's hot dog. What a shame, because it is a very funny, unpretentious, inspired piece of nonsense. Mr. Allen took a 1960s Japanese James Bond [pretend] film, wiped out the dialogue track and, with the help of some very talented performers (including his then-wife Louise "Mary Hartman" Lasser), dubbed in some of the funniest dialogue ever heard on screen. I can't even guess what the plot of the original film was (it's actually pretty [darn] funny without the dialogue), but after Mr. Allen finished with it, the drama centers around the coveted egg salad recipe. The recipe has been stolen from Raspur, a "nonexistent yet real-sounding country", and rival bad guys Shepperd Wong and Wing Fat both want it for their own sinister purposes. Hero Phil Moscowitz (played by Matt Helm [pretend] Tatsuo Mihashi) plays double agent in this mishigas (in between his womanizing shenanigans, unsuccesfully trying to seduce Japanese dolls Miss Teri Yaki and her sister Suki). One must wonder which filmmaker copied who, because actresses Mie Hama and Akiko Wakabayashi, who played the Yaki sisters, both went on to star opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond opus "You Only Live Twice" a few years later! I won't go any further into the plot line of this film, thin as it is, nor will I spoil the fun by quoting the dialogue, but I will simply say that the film is very, very funny and not for the slow-witted. The dialogue is a rapid-fire combination of Borscht Belt humor, and also prefigures the hilarious, brainy quips uttered by the 2 robots on "Mystery Science Theater". There's the obligatory cartoon violence (kick, punch, chop, shoot) and a somewhat superfluous musical score by John Sebastian and The Lovin' Spoonful, and footage of the 1960s rock group is interspersed throughout the film. Undoubtedly this was added to the film to attract the "young, hip" audience. At least the clothes, hairdos and dance steps of the "young folk" are worth a few laughs! And, of course, there are brief filmed interviews with Woody Allen himself, deadpanning and double-talking his way through all of this, making it even funnier, and a striptease by voluptuous China Lee, a former Playboy Playmate, providing even more Asian eye candy for the horndog viewers. "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" is a very enjoyable 89 minutes, but be warned-an hour later, you'll be hungry for more laughs again!

Beware : this is an edited version of What's Up Tiger Lily. Some of the dialogue has been changed or erased, resulting in a far less funny movie than it originally was. I have no idea who is responsible for the butchering of this film - whether Woody authorized it or not - but it is not the movie I have seen 10+ times.

A hilarious movie. Woody takes a horrible old film, sort of an Asian ripoff of James Bond, cuts out all the sound, and dubs over his soundtrack, his noises, and (most importantly), his voices.

If you're like me, you'd be happy to watch the original, un-Woodyfied film just because it's so bad; when Allen goes to work on it, the result is always entertaining and usually very, very funny. There are some great lines in this film that you just don't forget (shuddup or my mustache will eat your beard -- I guess you really have to see the movie for this to be funny, but trust me, it really is).

It's Austin Powers-like parody (kinda) and Mystery Science Theater 3000-eque satire (only better, 'cause they get to change the film itself) all rolled up into one. One of the best comedies I've ever seen.

In 1966, Woody Allen was given his chance to direct his first film (which he wrote and starred in as well). His job was to make a spy thriller and sure enough, he came up with something different. The film studio purchased the rights to the Japanese films "International Secret Police: A Barrel of Gunpowder" and "International Secret Police: Key of Keys" (Kagi no Kag) and Allen pretty much had the scenes from both films rearranged and edited to create one film, strip all the sound and redub it to make a comedy. The result is "What's Up, Tiger Lily?".

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"what's up, tiger lily?" is presented in the original aspect ratio of 2:35:1 and is enhanced for 16:9 TV's. Picture quality for this 1966 film is actually pretty good on DVD. I have read that many people prior to the DVD release, they watched really bad versions of the film and thus, Image Entertainment's release of the film was amazing. The film contains a little grain and I didn't notice any major dust, scratches or film warping.

As for the audio, audio is presented in Dolby Digital mono and is center channel driven. But for those with a modern home theater receiver, may feel it best to have audio set at audio on all channels (esp. for those with 5.1 or 7.2 or higher setups).

There are no subtitles included in this DVD release.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

It is generally known that Woody Allen is not a big fan of special features for his films on DVD and wants the focus to be on the film. But for "what's up, tiger lily?", you do get an audio selection for the dialogue used for the original theatrical version and an alternate version (which is literally a toned down dialogue).

For example, during a scene when Phil's date is kicked out of the car by Suki Yaki, in the original, his date screams "Hey! You got my vibrator!". In the alternate version she screams, "Hey! That's a rented car!" So, you can select the original or alternate version for audio and you can listen to audio comparisons for certain scenes from the film selecting the original version or alternate version.

Also, included is a Woody Allen Filmography shown onscreen as text.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"what's up, tiger lily?" is an interesting but yet a fun film. To tell you the truth, the story of the film is unimportant because the way the story is written and how pacing for the film is set, but what does matter is how crazy the jokes are for the English dub and how hilarious and out of left field the jokes can get and add a little perverted humor to the mix and see how it relates to the characters in the film. So, the whole entire film is not meant to be taken seriously but is supposed to be one long joke and Woody Allen succeeds.

In fact, the way the film is edited, the pacing of the scenes seem out of place and in one instance, the film is paused and you see hand silhouette trying to rid a hair onscreen during the film while it is paused and is supposedly the film operator and his girlfriend having fun (I wonder if any moviegoers actually believed this and went to complain to the theater). In fact, in one sequence, an interviewer who is confused by the story asks Woody Allen if he can summarize to the audience what has happened in the film thus far, Woody Allen answers "no".

I suppose if you are a Woody Allen fan, "what's up, tiger lily?" is a film that you want in your collection or for those curious of his first directorial debut. It's a funny film that has a plot through its dub but what you see onscreen feels disjointed because the scenes have come from two different film sources. But it was definitely an ambitious and experimental film for Woody Allen and I'm sure during that time, the film managed to succeed in making people laugh and to showcase sexy and beautiful Japanese women.

In fact, many of the talent in the film went on to bigger things. Woody Allen and his wife at the time, Louise Sasser (who did the female dub voices) would go on to work on more films together. As for the two main Japanese female characters, both Akiko Wakabayashi (who plays Suki Yaki) and Mie Hama (who plays Teri Yaki) became the two Japanese Bond girls in the 1967 film "You Only Live Twice". Meanwhile, the stripping girl at the end of the credits, China Lee (who was Playboy Playmate of 1964) also appeared in several films.

While redubbing of Japanese films has become commonplace these days for some Japanese animation releases in the US (to make things much more appealing to American audiences) through the use of jokes and perverted humor (ie. "Crayon Shin Chan" from FUNimation Entertainment), "what's up, tiger lilly?" is definitely a funny film from 1966. The humor still holds up nearly 45 years later and I was definitely entertained by it.

It's important to note that this DVD was released back in 2003 and was re-released in 2009. There are no differences between the two.

Overall, "what's up, tiger lily?" Is not a groundbreaking film by any means, but if you are a Woody Allen fan and want to start out with his first film or have been curious about watching this film, then this film and the DVD is definitely worth checking out!

Ever watch a Japanese movie with really bad, dubbed English? Well, in What's Up, Tiger Lily, Woody Allen went out and bought a Japanese spy movie, completely removed the audio track, and substituted his own, along with some minor editing of some scenes. The result is a pretty funny movie about world-class espionage and egg salad.

The 'Allenized' (my own word, don't bother looking it up, as it's not in the dictionary) plot involves the theft of the world's greatest egg salad recipe, and the lengths some will go to recover it. There are guns, beautiful woman, car chases, fights, more guns, action, and a marriage between a snake and a rooster. I will admit some of the dubbed dialogue doesn't work so well, but there are a great number of truly funny scenes and hilarious lines. During one of the fight scenes, Phil Moscowitz, the main character, yells out, 'Saracen pig! Spartan dog! Take this! And this! Roman cow! Russian snake! Spanish fly!' which had me rolling on the floor. The laughs are not always forthcoming, but when they do come, they hit hard, in my opinion. The scenes with the Cobra man were worth it alone for me to watch.

Woody is not really in the movie, except for inter cut scenes at the beginning, middle and very end. I kind of wish he had done one of the voices in the dubbing, but you can sense his comedic style of writing throughout the movie. Also included is a wonderful music score by The Lovin' Spoonful and they even make an appearance or two, with the help of some crafty editing.

As far as extras on the disc, you can choose to watch the movie with either the original, dubbed track or one created for television. There is even a comprehensive section where you can go in and compared the two sometimes subtlety different tracks. Also included is a fairly complete filmography of Woody Allen. My only little, minor complaint was the text in the extra features sections was small and difficult to read. As a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Woody Allen, I did enjoy this movie. Although I think many people would just feel this was a silly, stupid movie with little value, I thought it was an interesting experiment, with quite a few laughs for those viewers with a skewed sense of humor and a little patience. And don't forget to click up to highlight Woody's glasses on the main menu for an interesting little hidden feature.

One of Woody Allen's funniest films is this re-edited version of a Japanese James Bond-wannabe. By re-editing the film and then replacing the original Japanese dialog with hilarious gags of his own devising, he's created a sort of Austin Powers type film years earlier. Like Austin Powers, many of the gags are just ultra silly fun while others involve humorous sexual innuendo. The original film is full of spies, gadgets and GORGEOUS girls, just like the James Bond pictures they were trying so hard to imitate.

The only new footage in this film that was not originally from the Japanese spy picture are interviews with Woody Allen wherein he portrays the film's director and some footage of the TERRIFIC Lovin' Spoonful playing their wonderful music. The former is highly amusing and the latter is a real musical treat!

This film is extremely joke dense and hilarious on repeated viewings. If you like Austin Powers, Start The Revolution Without Me, Young Frankenstein, Mystery Science Theater 3000, What's New Pussycat or you like farces in general, you will really enjoy What's Up Tiger, Lily?

A woman steps into the room wearing a towel. She and her lover gaze longingly at each other. "Name three presidents!" she says. In the wake of his early success, Allen purchased the rights to an extra-cheesy Japanese spy thriller, threw out the entire soundtrack, then wrote and dubbed in a new script. Mix in a "what has this got to do with anything?" soundtrack by the folk-rock 60s group The Lovin' Spoonful and a few new scenes, and the result is Allen's infamous WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY? And it is one of the most bizarre movies you're likely to see this lifetime, a film which has attained cult-movie status of the highest order.

The movie is uneven--but that is actually part of its charm. Where else can you see big-haired 60s mamas get down like psycho killers to the innocuous music of The Lovin' Spoonful? Or tacky special effects, inept hop-and-chop fighting, and ridiculously bad cinematography reworked into the story of a bunch of spies on the track of a recipe for the world's best egg salad? And some of the lines are a hoot and a half. My own favorite: "Bring plenty of dynamite. It's a big mother!" Hardcore Allen fans, who often approach him as if he were God, will probably be embarrassed by this movie. Allen himself is pretty embarrassed: he's been trying to live it down for years. But if you have a taste for the bizarre--not to mention some good, I mean REALLY good egg salad--TIGER LILY is the movie for you. Recommended to egg salad junkies, bad hop-and-chop movie watchers, and cult-film enthusiasts everywhere.

`What's Up Tiger Lily' is a puzzle in Woody Allen's body of work. On the one hand, it is such a creampuff I expect it's primary value is as material for the question on daytime `Who Wants to be a Millionaire':

Which 1960's folk-rock band was featured as performers on Woody Allen's `What's Up Tiger Lily'?:

A. The Byrds
B. Buffalo Springfield
C. The Lovin Spoonful
D. The Mamas and the Papas

The answer, Meredith, is C. Final Answer.

An even more difficult question is who, exactly directed the movie, who wrote it, and who filmed it. Woody Allen's name is above the title on the front, yet he gets no credit as writer, although it is pretty obvious that he was the primary writer of the English dialogue you see on the screen. He also makes brief appearances in mock interviews where he is credited with the idea of the movie and with the dialogue.

There is virtually nothing in common in this film, released in 1966, with Allen's first full time actor / writer / director work, `Take the Money and Run', released in 1969 and produced by the usual Rollins and Joffre team. American International, the B-movie studio of Saul Arkoff whose stock in trade was cheap second-rate movies and imports, released this movie, of all things.

I must say that I rarely agree with blurbs on the front of DVD jackets, but I really think there is something to the statement `The film that began America's laugh affair with Woody Allen. Funny then, funnier now!'. Remarkably, aside from the very `60's act by the Lovin Spoonful, there is virtually nothing in the movie that dates it. Some of the parodies apply as effectively to the latest `Lethal Weapon' opus and, even more amazingly, to `Kill Bill' as it does to the cheap spy / martial arts Japanese movies of the 1960's.

The stated premise of the movie is that the American producers (Allen is credited as an Associate Producer) took the film of a cheap Japanese flick and put their own dialogue into the Japanese characters' mouths. The transplant works so well, I almost find it hard to believe this is what they really did. While I recognize some of the names of the dubbing actors (Louise Lasser, for example), I recognize nothing on the screen, and, no credit is given for the Japanese actors, writer, director, cinematographer, or gaffer. I guess this was all part of the deal with the Japanese producer that they got the raw film with no credits given.

I also happen to agree with the blurb from Leonard Maltin who says this is `...One long, very funny joke'. In a sense, for all the parodies done by both Allen and Mel Brooks, this is probably the one from Allen that is most similar to Mel Brooks' style, where the whole premise becomes part of the joke.

I must warn those to whom this is important that all the bad things you see about the filming of movies in the 1950's and 1960's is true of this flick. There is none of the great Gordon Willis cinematography, let alone any of Allen's high talent guest lensmen such as Sven Nykvist or Carlo De Palma.

Allen fans should not pass this up as they may with `Casino Royale' and `What's New Pussycat', where Allen is simply paying the rent by acting in these high cast comedies.

Seriously, this is one of Woody Allen's funniest movies. If you have not yet seen this movie, see it. Do not be fooled by imitators (Kung Pow: enter the fist) this movie is pure gold.
other suggestions if you like Woody Allen
1. Bananas
2. Small Time Crooks
3. Play it Again Sam
4. Radio Days

Only Woody Allen could take on B-movie Japanese spy films, mix them with off-the-wall, completely random dialogue and "one liners" from his American dubbists, and make it work. How? I honest-to-god don't know. I am surprised that I could watch this film completely sober and find it so damn funny. Yet, I did. You would think I would have had to be at least drunk! No, I actually understood most of Woody Allen's (early) vision of taking INTERNATIONAL SECRET POLICE: KEY OF KEYS (originally released in 1965), shuffling the sequence of events in the plot, and using the voices of (among other actors) Louise Lasser (Allen's first wife and star in his later work, BANANAS, as well as TV's MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN), Frank Buxton and Len Maxwell. The sight gags come fast and furious. There is a running joke about egg salad that I still don't understand (and this has been a few years since I first watched the film!), cobras and chickens falling in love, and other incredibly odd shenanigans, and yet it's still so odd it's brilliant (somehow). I can't honestly say it's something I would watch over and over again. Once is probably enough. Yet, I really think it's interesting to see the evolution of Woody Allen as a filmmaker, and what better way to do that, than by watching his earliest work (where he didn't even appear directly--except to introduce the piece before it even begins). Check this out just so you can tell your friends that you saw it!!