Sightlines · reception
How Sleeper was received
1973 · Woody Allen · Sleeper on Sightlines
The arc
A critical and commercial hit in 1973, it's since become the poster child of Woody Allen's 'early, funny ones' — the exact films the aliens beg for in Stardust Memories — though like everything Allen, it's now watched under the long shadow of its maker.
What’s debated
Beyond the unavoidable art-vs-artist problem, fans still split over whether the pure-slapstick early Allen beats the 'mature' Annie Hall–and-after period.
Its footprint
It gave the language the 'Orgasmatron,' and its gag about future scientists discovering that steak, cream pies and hot fudge were healthy all along gets quoted every time nutrition science flip-flops.
Where it stands
The consensus favorite of Allen's slapstick era — a fixture on best-sci-fi-comedy lists and the standard 'start here' for the early, funny ones.
Did you know? Allen scored the film himself, playing clarinet on the soundtrack with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the New Orleans Funeral & Ragtime Orchestra.