Allen's early movies are supposed to be the "funny ones", but to me they're mostly a series of sketches loosely held together by a flimsy plot.
In this case, the plot is more solid than other early comedies, being the parody of Russian literature and most of the times it works. The first half of the movie is quite funny, with lots of memorable lines.
Boris, the Allen character, is a coward forced to fight against Napoleon's invasion of Russia, while he would prefer to spend his time with the beloved Sonja (Keaton) who's in love with his brother Ivan.
Once Boris manages to marry Sonja, the two have a turbulent marriage and then decide to kill Napoleon. This part of the plot goes downhill with lots of Allen's monologues and plenty of sexual innuendoes (with death, the stuff of most of Allen's jokes, but still...)
The ending is mildly funny, and luckily the movie is quite short. For me not a classic, but still watchable once.
In this case, the plot is more solid than other early comedies, being the parody of Russian literature and most of the times it works. The first half of the movie is quite funny, with lots of memorable lines.
Boris, the Allen character, is a coward forced to fight against Napoleon's invasion of Russia, while he would prefer to spend his time with the beloved Sonja (Keaton) who's in love with his brother Ivan.
Once Boris manages to marry Sonja, the two have a turbulent marriage and then decide to kill Napoleon. This part of the plot goes downhill with lots of Allen's monologues and plenty of sexual innuendoes (with death, the stuff of most of Allen's jokes, but still...)
The ending is mildly funny, and luckily the movie is quite short. For me not a classic, but still watchable once.