Woody Allen,
Zero Mostel,
Herschel Bernardi,
Michael Murphy,
Andrea Marcovicci
... see more 
The McCarthy-era "witch hunts" in the entertainment industry set the stage for this comedy drama set in the 1950s. Howard Prince (Woody Allen) is a cashier at a corner bar who works as a small-time bo... read more
DVD Release Date: February 17, 2004
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Stats: 180 reviews
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Flixster Reviews (180)
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December 5, 2011The Front is a worthwhile but flat film that combines a Woody Allen comic persona with an earnest desire to educate modern audiences (this was 76, it really feels like distant history now) with the Mcarthy Era witchhunts as they affected the enterainment world.Martin Ritt, himsel... read more
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January 24, 2012An effective dramedy that works as an indictment of McCarthyism and the use of blacklisting during the Red Scare. I wish the film had opted to focus more on the nuances of blacklisting, such as exploring the political motives of the committees, but instead it decided to focus mor... read more
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December 29, 2010Couldn't pay so much attention, and I'm a really big Woody Allen fan overall. I think the subject matter has just lots its amusement value to some degree at this point.
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December 26, 2010This film works because of its immediacy -- the fact that it was largely made by former blacklistees. Zero Mostel will break your heart in this. There's blood on your hands, HUAC.
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August 30, 2009Incredibly well directed and written, the acting is fantastic. Woody Allen is great and Zero Mostel is superb in his best role. The story about blacklisting is so interesting and the film makes you think and wonder.
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January 1, 2008good movie, just not funny. very unlike woody allen. atleast at this point in is career, which is right before annie hall. but without knowing its a allen film, it is fabulous just by its self. best movie fighting the Unamerican commitee's ever.
Critic Reviews
May 9, 2005
Vincent Canby, New York Times
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The tragedy implied by this character tells us what we need to know about the blacklist's effect on people's lives; the rest of the movie adds almost nothing else. Full Review
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Ritt's direction is all sweaty close-ups and mismatched shots. Full Review
January 10, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
As directed by Martin Ritt and played by Woody Allen, this is a well intentioned but oversimplified tale, which is mostly useful as an historical reminder of a shameful chapter in Hollywood's blacklis... Full Review
September 23, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Although made by those who were punished by being blacklisted during that period, the film disappoints by being so politically mild. Full Review
April 5, 2006
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
Any reminder of the tribulations undergone by the blacklistees serves a useful and eye-opening purpose, but good intentions and a sense of martyrdom don't by themselves fill the glass. Full Review
May 10, 2004
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
The Front may not be all you need to know about the 1950's blacklist tragedy, but it's certainly one of the finest films ever made on the subject. Full Review
February 12, 2004
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Bernstein smartly suggests how capitalism actually benefited from the oppression of suspected communists. Full Review
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The Front
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