Hannah and Her Sisters

Trailer—Hannah and Her Sisters

Hannah and Her Sisters

Well-done comedy-drama following a neurotic family over the course of three years. Well-acted, well-written, but Allen covers no new ground here (except him trying on other religions). He's examined these characters and situations before. What makes the movie watchable is excellent acting, Farrow excepted (she's shallow and her acting is REAL bad!). Hershey is brilliant as a woman who gains strength and courage over the course of the movie and Weiss is very good as a woman who starts out not knowing what to do with her life, and ends up getting everything in order. Everything is nicely resolved, no depressing endings (OK--that IS original for Allen), but nothing we haven't seen from him before. Worth seeing, but not up to "Annie Hall" or "Manhattan".

Woody Allen's genius is unparalleled when it comes to mixing a set of characters, each with his or her foibles and angst and integrating them. Here we have three sisters, each with her own set of problems and joys. They are brought together by holidays and this leads to their playing off each other and looking back at what brought them here. With an amazing cast, we have the stable, the fragile, the damaged, all still loving one another. There are affairs and secrets and dalliance. There is also hypochondriac Mickey (Allen) who is doomed to unhappiness because he thinks too much. He believes he has a close encounter with death, and when he is given a clean bill of health, he can't think what to do with his new life. I would urge anyone who has not seen this to put it on the list.

An interesting and very well acted slice of different people's lives, the film poses a number of intriguing questions in terms of life, death, love and relationships. It is a fascinating film: carefully directed and aided by some meticulously perfect use of non-original music. The film is split in chapters, and such a style makes the film flow very well. Despite being a drama, it is still manages to meld in some of Woody Allen's delightful wit, creating a film with laughs, pains, joys and sorrows. And then there is the quality of the acting, which is stunning to say the least. Mia Farrow is sensational in the best performance of her career, just brilliant as the providing, sustaining sister of the family, and Caine, Allen, Hershey, Kavner and even Max Von Sydow are all at their careers' best. For a film that has nowhere much too go, it is certainly quite something.

Woody Allen's film about a family and their romances and interactions features himself (as the perpetual neurotic), with Mia Farrow playing his ex-wife, Michael Caine – one of his best performances - playing her cheating husband, Barbara Herschey playing Farrow's sister and Caine's mistress, Max von Sydow playing Herschey's partner, and Dianne Wiese playing Farrow and Herschey's wild sister. The strongest scene in this film features the lovely poem by e e cummings entitled ‘somewhere i have never traveled', which Caine sends to Herschey as a token of his regard for her. Other goodies include the touching ending when two misfits learn to love and accept each other. This is my favourite Allen movie as it brings together all the strands of movie-making at which he excels, and perhaps, along with Crimes and Misdemeanors, his strongest cast.

Very funny comedy has one of Woody's all time best casts. Dianne Wiest is the best; glowing, neurotic, irritating and vulnerable, within minutes. Michael Caine is the most touching, Mia Farrow, as always, close to heartbreaking. I think it's her voice that does it. Nice scenes with her and her real-life mother, Maureen O'Sullivan. Like Manhattan, this picture looks beautiful; NY in all its many breath- taking colors. The relationships of everyone on the screen are perfectly woven, and Woody has the best sight gag of the film when he takes a bible and a crucifix out of a paper bag (to find religion), and follows them up with some Wonder Bread and mayonaisse. Hilarious! Deserving of its writing and supporting actor Oscars, it's too bad everyone in the movie couldn't have won. They're all believable and enjoyable to watch. My favorite: Max Von Sydow as the very cynical, older Frederick. He should have had more moments. Imagine him at one of the Thanksgiving dinners...