Radio Days [Blu-ray]

Director: Woody Allen Woody Allen

Overview

Woody Allen's gentle and nostalgic tribute to the glory days of radio and coming-of-age during World War II plays like Fellini's Amarcord filtered through Neil Simon. The nominal star is Seth Green as Joe, a teenage Jewish boy, growing up with a house full of relatives in Brooklyn. Allen cuts between Joe's working class neighborhood of Rockaway Beach, Queens, and the glittery and glamorous world of radio in Manhattan.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/18/2022
UPC:	0850035985731
Original Release:	1987
Rating:	PG
Source:	Sandpiper Pictures
Language:	English
Time:	1:28:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mia Farrow	Sally
Seth Green	Joe
Michael Tucker	Father
Julie Kavner	Mother
Leah Carrey	Grandma
Josh Mostel	Abe
William Magerman	Grandpa
Renee Lippin	Ceil
Dianne Wiest	Bea
Jeff Daniels	Baxter
Wallace Shawn	Masked Avenger
Diane Keaton	Songstress
Woody Allen	The Narrator,Narrator
Joy Newman	Ruthie
Julie Kurnitz	Irene
David Warrilow	Roger
Andrew B. Clark	Sidney Manulis
Kenneth Mars	Rabbi Baumel
Danny Aiello	Rocco
Gina DeAngelis	Rocco's Mother
Tony Roberts	`Silver Dollar' MC,Radio Voice
Guy LeBow	Bill Kern
Marc Colner	Whiz Kid
Richard Portnow	Sy
Roger Hammer	Richard
Mike Starr	Burglar
Paul Herman	Burglar
Don Pardo	`Guess That Tune' Host
Martin Rosenblatt	Mr. Needleman
Helen Miller	Mrs. Needleman
Danielle Ferland	Child Star
Michael Murray	Avenger Crook
William Flanagan	Avenger Announcer
Hy Anzell	Mr. Waldbaum
Judith Malina	Mrs. Waldbaum
Fletcher Farrow Previn	Andrew
Oliver Block	Nick
Maurice Toueg	Dave
Sal Tuminello	Burt
Rebecca Nickels	Evelyn Goorwitz
Mindy Morgenstern	`Show and Tell' Teacher,Ross
David Mosberg	Arnold
Andrew Clark	Sidney Manulis
Lee Erwin	Roller Rink Organist
Terry Lee Swarts	Nightclub Customer
Margaret Thomson	Nightclub Customer
Tito Puente	Latin Band Leader
Denise Dummont	Latin Singer
Dimitri Vassilopoulos	Porfirio
Larry David	Communist Neighbor
Rebecca Schaeffer	Communist's Daughter
Belle Berger	Mrs. Silberman
Brian Mannain	Kirby Kyle
Stanley Burns	Ventriloquist
Todd Field	Crooner,Abercrombie Couple
Peter Lombard	Abercrombie Host
Martin Sherman	Mr. Abercrombie
Maurice Shrog	Abercrombie Couple
Roberta Bennett	Teacher with Carrot
Joel Eidelsberg	Mr. Zipsky
Peter Castellotti	Mr. Davis
Shelley Delaney	Chekhov Actress
Dwight Weist	Pearl Harbor Announcer
Ken Levinsky	USO Musician
Ray Marchica	USO Musician
J.R. Horne	Biff Announcer
Kuno Sponholtz	German
Henry Yuk	Japanese
Sydney Blake	Miss Gordon
Kitty Carlisle Hart	Radio Singer
Robert Joy	Fred
Henry Cowen	Principal
Philip Shultz	Whistler
Greg Gerard	Songwriter
David Cale	Director
Ira Wheeler	Sponsor
Hannah Rabinowitz	Sponsor's Wife
Edward Kotkin	Diction Teacher
Ruby Payne	Diction Student
Jackie Safra	Diction Student
Jaqui Safra	Diction Student
Paul Berman	`Gay White Way' Announcer
Ivan Kronenfeld	On-the-spot Newsman
Frank O'Brien	Fireman
Yolanda Childress	Polly's Mother
Artie Butler	New Year's Bandleader
Mercedes Ruehl	Ad Man
Bruce Jarchow	Ad Man
Barbara Gallo	Dance Palace Musician
Jane Jarvis	Dance Palace Musician
Gregg Almquist	Radio Voices
Liz Vochecowizc	Dance Palace Musician
Jackson Beck	Radio Voice
Norman Rose	Radio Voice
Kenneth Welsh	Radio Voices
Wendell Craig	Radio Voice
William Macy	Radio Voice

Technical Credits

Woody Allen

Woody Allen	Director,Screenwriter
Robert Greenhut	Producer
Charles H. Joffe	Executive Producer
Jack Rollins	Executive Producer
James Sabat	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Nostalgia often allows otherwise disciplined filmmakers to lower their guards and indulge in misty-eyed wistfulness for its own sake, a trap Woody Allen neatly avoids by making Radio Days a film every bit as sharp as it is sentimental. A touching coming-of-age story almost by accident, the film revives radio-dominated WWII era New York through a series of comic vignettes portraying the adventures of an Allen-esque boy (an already impressive Seth Green) and the behind-the-scenes lives of the radio performers he idolizes, mining each for humor and pathos. Almost by definition, some portions of episodic films work better than others, but Allen integrates them all excellently into a consistent whole, a feat made all the more remarkable by the film's brief running time. There's a lot of narrative packed into Radio Days' 85 minutes, and Allen's steady tone makes sure that none of it feels out of place. Aware of how much memory is tied into pop culture, Allen uses minute period details and a packed soundtrack to evoke the time, a choice that lends impact to its era-ending finale. Even those born well after the time the film portrays may find themselves nostalgic for its passing, and newly aware that their time too will pass. Though it owes a debt to Fellini's Amarcord, this is one of Allen's most distinctively personal films.

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