Radio Days Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Radio Days
Year: 1987
Director: Woody Allen
Country: US
Language: English 

In 1973 Italian master film-maker Federico Fellini made his most personal film, Amarcord. It was a nostalgic period piece about growing up in fascist Italy. In 1987 Woody Allen did something similar; making a film about his own childhood called Radio Days. It was also a nostalgic tribute to the "Golden Age of Radio", this refers to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio.

Radio Days is Woody Allen's sentimental reminiscence about the golden age of radio. A series of vignettes involving radio personalities is intertwined with the life of a working class family in Rockaway Beach, NY circa 1942.

The film is a joy to watch, despite the fact that it takes place during the hardest decades of the Twentieth Century, Allen presents a time when America was dealing with the Great Depression, its after effects and the horrible event that was World War II. Just like our memories would be shaped by significant movie events, Allen's life is shaped by significant radio events. He transports the audience to his past consciously, mixing present reflections with the unadulterated spirit of his memories. Re-telling them not only reveals how one thinks life once was, but also oneself and the knowledge that these times are no longer physically accessible.

Is it an incredibly accurate picture? Likely not. The characters have to be exaggerated in order to fully be dramatic people onscreen. Memories also fade and are distorted by time. Almost everybody remembers the past fondly, regardless if it was actually "good". Also a child experiences things much different than an adult does. Regardless, Allen's flick is full of sad, sweet and funny vignettes. In one scene Allen's uncle goes to the neighbor's house to tell them to turn down the radio, only to come back hours later with communist ideals "it's not race vs race, it's the worker vs the owner!" 

In conclusion, with Radio Days Allen exemplifies the importance of Radio and gives a strong argument for why talk radio changed the world more than any other medium. The acting is tremendous and Allen's voice over contributes positively to the picture. At only 84 minutes, this is either a brisk walk down memory lane or a chance encounter with a world that once was. Praise it! 4/5