Search - Take the Money and Run on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language, Adult Humor Movie Release: 1969 DVD Release: 06/15/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 25 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 15 Genres: Comedy, Parody/Spoof, Crime Comedy, Absurd Comedy, Mockumentary See Also: Take the Money and Run

When Woody Allen's fans refer to his "earlier, funnier" pictures, they often cite his directorial debut as a shining example. Co-written by Allen and Mickey Rose, this side-splitting takeoff of crime documentaries stars Allen as Virgil Starkwell, a sweetly inept career criminal. The film's most celebrated sequence involves Virgil's inability to write coherent holdup notes ("I have a gub"), but others include Virgil's losing battle with a recalcitrant coke machine and his misguided effort to emulate John Dillinger by carving a gun out of a bar of soap (his weapon disintegrates in a heavy rain). As was often the case in Allen's early films, not all the gags work, but for the most part, Take the Money and Run is a delight, enhanced by the on-target supporting performances of Janet Margolin, Marcel Hillaire, and (uncredited) Louise Lasser, as well as the energetic musical score of Marvin Hamlisch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Woody Allen - Virgil Starkwell
Janet Margolin - Louise
Marcel Hillaire - Fritz
Jacquelyn Hyde - Miss Blair, blackmailer
Lonny Chapman - Jake

In 1969, every scene and shot in Take the Money and Run seemed brilliant. Three decades later, 90 percent of it still comes off as savagely funny. Done in a pseudo-documentary style (complete with a weighty narration by Jackson Beck), the movie finds room to quote from and parody just about every well-known crime film ever made, along with some of the more famous true-life criminal incidents. The film is one long series of cinematic jokes, and as much "about" earlier movies as Star Wars was seven years later, which makes it possible to enjoy on several levels at once -- the bank robbery scene recalls the television series Car 54, Where are You?, where other sections satirize I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang and elements from the career of John Dillinger, among other noted criminals. From subsequent accounts, one can conclude that Ralph Rosenblum, who subsequently worked on most of Allen's films, was as responsible for its success as Allen was as director, writer, and star. Janet Margolin's supporting performance also had a lot to do with the movie's appeal, and Marvin Hamlisch, who had only scored two movies prior to this, also helped Take the Money and Run become more than a cult film. A huge amount of the movie consists of visuals supported only by his music, and his soundtrack -- often mixed and scored in a manner parodying the music to such romantic '60s hits as "A Man and a Woman" -- incorporates romantic Hollywood conventions and Dixieland jazz. And sharp-eyed viewers will notice that the second-unit material was directed by none other than future producer/director Walter Hill, showing that Allen had an obvious eye for talent. The DVD is the first truly decent presentation of the film in decades. As part of a small distribution package, it slipped between the cracks of the laserdisc market, apart from an early-'80s release on Magnetic Video through Pioneer. The film-to-video transfer here is beautiful, capturing the original theatrical release's color and detail perfectly, not that any of that is essential in enjoying this movie, but it's nice to know they did it right. The double-sided disc offers the full-frame version of the movie on one side and the letterboxed edition (1.66-to-one) one the other, both divided into 20 chapters, which is just right for an 85-minute movie. The letterboxed version is preferable for its tighter framing of the sight gags. There is no trailer or other extras of any kind, and the menu must be accessed manually. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide