Love and Death

Let's face it: you haven't lived until you've seen a good Russian literature parody. Woody Allen sends up the likes of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in this 1975 comedy, with a heaping helping of Marx Brothers-inspired farce. Allen plays Boris, a cowardly philosopher anxious to stay out of harm's way during the Napoleonic Wars; naturally, his luxury-loving wife (Diane Keaton) decides they should assassinate the emperor instead. Plenty of laughs here even if you've never cracked open War and Peace.