Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn’t be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That’s why we’ve rated them 1-5 on the patented “crunchy goodness” scale. Written by Sherilyn Connelly.
Title: Sleeper
Date: 1973
Vitals: A Woody Allen-esque guy (played by Woody Allen) is frozen during an operation and awakened two hundred years in the future. Wackiness ensues.
Famous names: Woody Allen’s fifth feature film as director.
Crunchy goodness: 3
Sights you’ll never unsee: It’s the comic centerpiece of the movie and featured on the posters and boxes, but there’s something about Woody as the robotic butler that’s troubling and unpleasant.
Design breakthrough: Woody’s first film to be scored with jazz and blues music; though subsequent films would use pre-existing recordings largely culled from his own library, for Sleeper he composed the bouncy ragtime score himself, and played the clarinet.
Most painfully dated moment: A tie: the Howard Cosell references (he’s unknown in the 21st century, let alone the 22nd), and Diane Keaton’s hairstyle, which is somehow more of its time than her entire wardrobe in Annie Hall.
