The Front 4K 1976 Ultra HD 2160p

This wonderful comedy tackles a very serious subject. The story is set in the 1950s. Allen plays a Jewish man whom screenwriters—whose names had been blacklisted during the witch hunt—paid to put his name on their scripts. As a result, of course, a variety of problems and comical situations arise. Woody Allen played his role very well, and Mostel is simply amazing as a comedian with a tarnished reputation, desperately fighting for survival. Screenwriter Walter Bernstein, Ritt, Mostel, Bernardi, and Shelley experienced firsthand what it meant to be blacklisted. Directed by Michael Chapman.

User Review

A unique take on *Cyrano de Bergerac* set against the grim backdrop of the McCarthy era.

USA, 1950s. A television screenwriter has been blacklisted for sympathizing with communists, and no one will buy his scripts anymore. But he has to make a living, feed his family, and he wants to keep writing. So he hires his old friend Henry Prince for ten percent of the fee to play a sort of “front man” who will pose as a writer and sell his scripts. The classmate is a good-natured guy, but a gambler, and he rarely even has to read, let alone write (a rare role for Woody Allen as a NON-intellectual). The TV executives are thrilled with the material from the new writer. Then, in the same vein, Prince starts helping two more screenwriters... Things get even more complicated when he falls in love with a communist actress. As befits “Roxane,” she is primarily smitten by the poetry—that is, the scripts—of “Cyrano”… This plotline is set off by the story of an actor who was also once associated with the communists and is now trying to extricate himself.

An interesting thing—a film with Woody Allen that isn’t by Woody Allen. The result is simpler, with fewer jokes about Dostoevsky and none about Jews at all, but Woody’s immense charm hasn’t gone anywhere. Neither has the jazz.

The end credits reveal a very touching detail—all the film’s main creators were once on the “Blacklist.” Except for the lead actor. He’s on the “Blacklist” now, in the 21st century...

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (75.1 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: FLAC 2.0
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary with film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman and actress Andrea Marcovicci)

Info Subtitles