A 1973 cryogenics comedy that predicted a future ruled by a dictator's nose

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Woody Allen’s 1973 science fiction satire follows a health food store owner who wakes up two centuries later in a totalitarian police state. Tasked with infiltrating a mysterious government plot, he navigates a bizarre future landscape while paying homage to the slapstick legends of the silent film era.

Miles Monroe, a jazz-playing shopkeeper, enters a medical facility in 1973 for a standard ulcer procedure that fails, resulting in his accidental cryopreservation. He is revived 200 years later by underground rebels who need his help to dismantle a dystopian regime. Because he lacks a biometric identity in this surveillance-heavy society, he is the perfect candidate to infiltrate the government's secret Aries Project.

The film, which features architectural landmarks like the Mesa Laboratory in Colorado, serves as a high-speed homage to classic comedians like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Critics have noted its influence from science fiction staples such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange. Beyond the slapstick, the narrative satirizes political systems and scientific dogmatism, culminating in a bizarre mission to destroy a clone of the nation's long-dead leader, which the government is attempting to recreate from his only surviving body part: his nose.

Upon its release in December 1973, the film earned critical acclaim for its relentless pace and inventive humor. It won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation that same year. While the plot shares thematic DNA with H. G. Wells’s 1910 novel The Sleeper Awakes, Allen explicitly framed the project as a tribute to Bob Hope. Decades later, it remains a staple of comedy history, appearing on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years...100 Laughs list and maintaining a perfect approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The production utilized a lively Dixieland-style jazz soundtrack, with Allen himself participating as a clarinetist alongside the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The film’s visual aesthetic was heavily shaped by its unique filming locations, including the Sculptured House near Genesee Park and a futuristic McDonald’s set in a church. By blending physical comedy with existential musings on sex and death, the movie remains a singular entry in the science fiction genre.

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