What filmmaking techniques does Bananas use?

CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Bananas (1971): Black Comedy as Political Weapon, Documentary Realism as Satire, Fish-Out-of-Water Comedy, Deadpan Absurdism and Callback Editing.

Who directed Bananas?

Woody Allen directed Bananas, released in 1971. CineCode also covers Take the Money and Run (1969), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979).

What films are similar to Bananas?

Films that share techniques with Bananas include The Big Lebowski (1998), Take the Money and Run (1969), Back to the Future (1985), Dr. Strangelove (1964).

Comedy

Bananas

Woody Allen, 1971

Fielding Mellish, a nervous New Yorker, goes to the Latin American country of San Marcos to impress his activist girlfriend and gets swept into a revolution. The film is a pile of gags, from a sports-style assassination report to a courtroom farce. Watch how Woody Allen aims joke after joke at politics and the media.

3 Narrative 1 Cinematography 1 Editing

At a glance

Bananas is a 1971 comedy film directed by Woody Allen. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (3 narrative, 1 cinematography and 1 editing), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, The Big Lebowski uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Black Comedy as Political Weapon

Using absurd humor, farce and caricature to attack a political target. The jokes make the target look ridiculous and get past defenses that a serious argument would hit.

How this film uses it

General Vargas has his men pose as rebels to try to kill Mellish, so the rebels look bad and the US will send aid. After the revolution wins, its leader Esposito goes mad and the rebels make Mellish president. Coups and revolutions turn into farce, and the joke is how easily power is faked.

Where to see it

Vargas's plot: Vargas's men, disguised as rebels, try to kill Mellish to make the rebels look bad.

Cinematography

Documentary Realism as Satire

Filming absurd material in documentary style, with handheld camera, natural light and newsreel-like staging. The serious look makes the content funnier and exposes how staged political events are.

How this film uses it

Howard Cosell narrates the assassination of the president of San Marcos like a live sports broadcast. The serious reporting style turns political violence into a game, which is the joke. Cosell filmed his part in Puerto Rico and improvised his commentary.

Where to see it

The opening assassination: Howard Cosell narrates the killing of the president of San Marcos and the coup that follows.

Narrative

Fish-Out-of-Water Comedy

Dropping a character into a world whose social rules they don't understand. The comedy, and some insight too, comes from the constant mismatch between them and everyone around them.

How this film uses it

Mellish is a neurotic, blue-collar New Yorker dropped into a revolution he does not understand. He learns to fight clumsily, and the comedy comes from how little he fits in. His reason for being there is to impress a girlfriend, which makes the mismatch funnier.

Where to see it

Life with the rebels: Mellish is captured by the real rebels, Vargas declares him dead, and he has to fight with them for 2 months.

Narrative

Deadpan Absurdism

Showing extreme, violent or surreal events while the characters react as if nothing unusual is happening. That mismatch is funny and unsettling at the same time.

How this film uses it

The trial fills the court with absurd witnesses, and the room treats each one as a normal part of the case. The straight face makes the nonsense funnier.

Where to see it

The trial: Witnesses include a reigning Miss America and a woman who claims to be J. Edgar Hoover in disguise.

Editing

Callback Editing

Bringing back an earlier image, line, location or piece of staging later in the film, often with the situation reversed. You enjoy recognizing it, and the comparison adds meaning.

How this film uses it

Cosell returns at the end to narrate Fielding and Nancy's wedding night in the same sports tone he used for the assassination. The repeat turns both events into the same kind of game, and the wedding night is over faster than Nancy expected.

Where to see it

The wedding night: Cosell gives sports-style commentary, and Mellish looks forward to a rematch in early spring.

Questions

Bananas: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does Bananas use?: CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Bananas (1971): Black Comedy as Political Weapon, Documentary Realism as Satire, Fish-Out-of-Water Comedy, Deadpan Absurdism and Callback Editing.
Who directed Bananas?: Woody Allen directed Bananas, released in 1971. CineCode also covers Take the Money and Run (1969), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979).
What films are similar to Bananas?: Films that share techniques with Bananas include The Big Lebowski (1998), Take the Money and Run (1969), Back to the Future (1985), Dr. Strangelove (1964).

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