Synopsis: Drawing on the great tradition of silent comedy, Sleeper is Woody Allen’s first film to tame his verbal wit and showcase his emerging skill with visual and physical comedy. Starring Diane Keaton (directed by Allen for the first time), Sleeper is “a bizarre mixture of New York neuroses, splendidly lunatic sight gags, Alice-in-Wonderland illogic, and too-funny-to-be-painful satire” (Los Angeles Herald-Examiner)!

When cryogenically preserved Miles Monroe (Allen) is awakened 200 years after a hospital mishap, he discovers the future’s not so bright: all women are frigid, all men are impotent, and the world is ruled by an evil dictator…a disembodies nose! Pursued by the secret police and recruited by anti-government rebels with a plan to kidnap the dictator’s snout before it can be cloned, Miles falls for the beautiful — but untalented — poet Luna (Diane Keaton). But when Miles is captured and reprogrammed by the government — to believe he’s Miss America! — it’s up to Luna to save Miles, lead the rebels, and cut off the nose…just to spite its face.
***********************************************************************

Sleeper 6.0

I may be a HUGE Woody Allen fan, but I find his earliest efforts uneven at best: his attempts at slapstick really fall flat with me and the humour is frequently too unsubtle – it feels like he’s trying too hard.

It’s only with Love And Death that I think he started getting his groove on. Started, being the operative word. And then, all too obviously, he hit full stride with Annie Hall.

…it’s (almost) all uphill from here on in