An Analysis of Postmodern Narrative Film Technique in Annie Hall

Abstract

The narrative techniques of postmodern cinema are characterized by playfulness and fragmentation. Woody Allen lends a special quality to Annie Hall through the subtle settings of the film's narrative techniques. Building on the explanation of montage in Pudovkin's Film Directors and Film Materials and the concept of the "fourth wall"[1] proposed by Denis Diderot, this essay analyses postmodern film narrative techniques in Annie Hall from two perspectives: the multi-temporal narrative and the intermittent narrative of breaking the fourth wall. Drawing on rich post-modern narrative techniques, the film reflects the perception on life, love and age, presenting a complex and fractured understandings of city life in contemporary society.