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CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS
Though most Woody-philes consider Annie Hall to be his masterpiece, I have to go with Crimes and Misdemeanors, the caustic and brilliant 1989 comedy drama about the ambiguity of the moral choices we, as humans, must make and the consequences of said choices.
This beautifully mounted film tells two different stories that initially seem to have nothing to do with each other, but Woody's genius as a writer does eventually bring the two stories together.
One story stars Martin Landau as a wealthy opthamologist who finds his comfortable life threatened when his mistress of two years (Anjelica Huston) begins making loud noises about going to his wife (the lovely Claire Bloom) about their affair and some financial misdeeds she also has knowledge of. Feeling he has no other choice, Landau turns to his mob-connected brother (the late Jerry Orbach) for assistance in handling the problem.
The other story finds Woody as a financially strapped documentary filmmaker who agrees to shoot a sort of "cinema verite'" about his brother-in-law, an obnoxious, egomaniacal television star/producer(Alan Alda, in one of his best performances) while, in the process, falls for one of Alda's producers (Mia Farrow). The story fascinates as we watch the effect the choices these characters make and how the consequences of said choices slap them in the face.
The only physical linking between the two stories is the character of a rabbi with failing eyesight, played by Sam Waterston, who is Woody's other brother-in-law and Landau's best friend and moral barometer.
Allen won Oscars for his screenplays for Annie Hall and Hannah and her SIsters, but I think his work here trumps both of those scripts...an incisive and funny story with smart and haunting dialogue. The performances are superb right down the line with standout work from Landau, who received a richly deserved Oscar nomination for his tortured Judah, the man haunted by his choices and Alda, playing one of the most unlikable characters I've seen in films in quite awhile. Anjelica Huston seems a little too mature and intelligent a presence for her role, but she somehow makes the character vulnerable and believable.
Mention should also be made of Joanna Gleason and Caroline Aaron who appear as Woody's wife and sister, respectively. In a word, a masterpiece that is a must for budding Woody-philes and for anyone studying the art of screen writing.
Though most Woody-philes consider Annie Hall to be his masterpiece, I have to go with Crimes and Misdemeanors, the caustic and brilliant 1989 comedy drama about the ambiguity of the moral choices we, as humans, must make and the consequences of said choices.
This beautifully mounted film tells two different stories that initially seem to have nothing to do with each other, but Woody's genius as a writer does eventually bring the two stories together.
One story stars Martin Landau as a wealthy opthamologist who finds his comfortable life threatened when his mistress of two years (Anjelica Huston) begins making loud noises about going to his wife (the lovely Claire Bloom) about their affair and some financial misdeeds she also has knowledge of. Feeling he has no other choice, Landau turns to his mob-connected brother (the late Jerry Orbach) for assistance in handling the problem.
The other story finds Woody as a financially strapped documentary filmmaker who agrees to shoot a sort of "cinema verite'" about his brother-in-law, an obnoxious, egomaniacal television star/producer(Alan Alda, in one of his best performances) while, in the process, falls for one of Alda's producers (Mia Farrow). The story fascinates as we watch the effect the choices these characters make and how the consequences of said choices slap them in the face.
The only physical linking between the two stories is the character of a rabbi with failing eyesight, played by Sam Waterston, who is Woody's other brother-in-law and Landau's best friend and moral barometer.
Allen won Oscars for his screenplays for Annie Hall and Hannah and her SIsters, but I think his work here trumps both of those scripts...an incisive and funny story with smart and haunting dialogue. The performances are superb right down the line with standout work from Landau, who received a richly deserved Oscar nomination for his tortured Judah, the man haunted by his choices and Alda, playing one of the most unlikable characters I've seen in films in quite awhile. Anjelica Huston seems a little too mature and intelligent a presence for her role, but she somehow makes the character vulnerable and believable.
Mention should also be made of Joanna Gleason and Caroline Aaron who appear as Woody's wife and sister, respectively. In a word, a masterpiece that is a must for budding Woody-philes and for anyone studying the art of screen writing.