VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Jon Corelis Shadows and Fog, one of Woody Allen's best films, is a successful experiment in combining Kafka-like surrealism (Orson Welles' The Trial seems like a clear influence,) typical Allen neurotic comedy, and film noir. The film overcomes its influences to make a profound statement about the human predicament in a way that is not at all pretentious. Allen stars as Max Kleinman (Max = big, Kleinman = small person,) a skittish coward who is drafted by local vigilantes in a plan to catch a murderer (Lang's M is also a clear influence,) but ends up wandering around in a literal and existential fog complaining, "I can't find out my role in the plan." The excellent black and white photography is just right for the mood. The movie gains extra interest from a number of star cameos, including Madonna, Lily Tomlin, John Malkovich, and Jody Foster. I saw it on the adequate MGM Home Entertainment DVD; if there is a better Blu-Ray available, it would be worth looking for.

SnoopyStyle Bookkeeper Kleinman (Woody Allen) is awakened by a vigilante mob with a plan to catch a serial strangler who always strikes during foggy nights. He goes to the morgue to ask the doctor (Donald Pleasence) about the plan. After he leaves, the doctor is killed by the strangler and he fears a glass will point to him.In a traveling circus, sword swallower Irmy (Mia Farrow) discusses leaving with her clown boyfriend Paul (John Malkovich). She catches him cheating on her with tightrope artist Marie (Madonna). Irmy runs away and is taken in by prostitutes (Lily Tomlin, Jodie Foster, Kathy Bates). Jack (John Cusack) pay her $700, an outrageous sum, to sleep with her. The police raids the whorehouse and they are brought to the station where Kleinman steals the glass.This is a meandering tale. Its black-and-white style points to the old German silent movies. It's stock full of big actors in small roles. It has bits of funny moments, mostly Woody with Mia. Woody is playing around with the style. There is no murder mystery since the killer's face is shown. It doesn't make for a compelling story but it's an interesting exercise nevertheless.

loserfilmnerd Shadows and Fog is funny and, at times, atmospheric homage to German expressionism. This was probably the best tribute made to the era made by somebody other then Tim Burton.Woody Allen does a good job recreating the chilling atmosphere of early horror movies. Like the title suggests, he makes good use of shadows and fog, with atmospheric black and white cinematography. He combines this with his trademark witty dialogue, making for an unique movie experience. Although the movie had a creepy atmosphere, it wasn't as suspenseful as Woody Allen wanted it to be. You know who the killer is very early in the movie so that takes away any possible mystery surrounding the murders. And it even though it was funny, it wasn't quite as funny as it could've been.If you're a Woody Allen fan, or enjoy old horror film noir, you might enjoy this film.

RisingStar12 A warning before I begin: So far, in my quest to see all Woody Allen films, I have only seen the following: Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Manhattan, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Whatever Works, and Hannah and Her Sisters. I felt that I should have stated that before I went any further. While I enjoyed this film, it was not my favorite that I have seen of his. There were some great moments, but it did not feel like an instant Allen classic. The plot is very simple, yet very complex at the same time. Woody's character has been woken up in the middle of the night and is told that he is a part of a plan which he knows nothing about. The viewers do not know anything more than he does, and so we constantly learn with him. From what we do know: there is a killer on the loose, the killer only attacks when there is fog on the island, and there is currently fog on the island. Woody is then thrown into the adventure, completely unsure of what will happen next. It is very much a circus film, in which anything can happen. Not all films are able to maintain that spontaneity, yet—in this film—it works. The supporting cast is wonderful. There are a ridiculous amount of cameos. Because of the spontaneity described above, however, I did not feel that WA was trying to "star up" his film in the hopes that more people would go see it. Madonna as a curly-haired adulterer? Kathy Bates, Jodie Foster, and Lily Tomlin as hookers? Mia Farrow as the wife of a sword swallower? Whatever. It works. There were, however, some elements which did not fit as easily together. The tone changed several times throughout the film. Because of the fact that the film was about a killer on the loose, it would have made more sense for the paranoia and fear aspect to travel throughout the entire course. Instead, it seemed that there were interruptions of philosophical moments. While this great in films like Crimes and Misdemeanors, they felt like Woody Allen was reading philosophy books during the writing of the script and became temporarily distracted. I was hoping for the moments in which characters question reality to fit more with the plot. They did not, and the film suffered because of it. Mind you, the rest of the film was created in a fashion where these small slips were forgivable. This film was not a mess in any way and is still better than much of the material that is being released today. In the film, we are introduced (or have we already been introduced) to what WA has said is his personal belief: that we are destroyed by the absence of illusions in life. To those who have not read that much on WA, this may be a very great concept. For those who have heard it before, however, it feels a little...ordinary. Though what do I know?