Search - The Woody Allen Collection, Set 2 (Shadows and Fog / September / Crimes and Misdemeanors / Another Woman / Alice) on DVD

Two Fantastic Movies And A Lot of Solid Fun

Mel C. Thompson | san francisco | 09/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shadows and Fog and Alice are good clean fun, lots of laughs and a little magic. But I'm really here to write about three amazing movies.

1. Crimes and Misdemeanors. If you are a philosophy student, or a theology student, this is simply the best movie you will ever see. Period. I am not an Atheist, and Woody Allen is, but don't let this put you off. In this movie he shows in a very fair and balanced way that all of us, no matter what our belief system is, have hard challenged. Of course he makes statements that lean his way, but he really gives a whole lot of great treatment to all sides of the debate. The movie, above all things, is a masterpiece of humanity.

Also, Martin Landau simply gives the best performance of his life. Period. In this film he shows a range of talent that is just stunning, almost frightening. It's a darn shame that more directors didn't see the full scope of his talent. He tended to get pigeonholed in much of his acting career. But this performance shows us the genius that we all might have known more of, had other directors and casting managers had the skill that way employed in the case of this movie. Also, Jerry Orbach's performance as a gangster is shockingly convincing, more convincing than his excellent performances as a policeman. Any fan of Orbach just has to see this film to get a more information on this actor's great range.

2. September: When I saw this film, I realized that I had forgotten huge swaths of my own emotional life. The conversations between Waterston and Wiest are almost too emotional to handle. Also, Mia Farrow, who I have mixed feelings about, plays her very best role in this film as a psychiatric out-patient. I was stunned by her ability to master this part. This work has the heaviness of a Checkov or a Gogal. This powerful work made me look at my own boundaries and feelings in ways that were very surprising.

3. Another Woman: Mia Farrow does great work in this one too, as a secondary character. For reasons the plot shall reveal, we mostly hear her, but don't see her too much. The things we hear are very powerful. But the movie centers around an aging female Philosophy professor who slowly comes to terms with the lack of honest passion in her life. Gene Hackman plays a short but awesome role. His brutal honesty knocks us off our chairs and makes us really ask questions. The movie moves a bit slow at first, but don't let that fool you. It's all a perfect setup for some juicy cinema. Very interestingly, there's very little overt romance in the movie, and yet the movie is movingly romantic. Here Woody proves, perhaps against his own inclinations and perhaps against his own occasional anti-intellectual moods, that sexuality is far more a mental phenomena than a physical one, and that the resolution of a romantic problem can arise without ever having to carry out much in the way of "real world" romance.

If you've not seen these three films, and if you think you know Woody Allen, and if you think you know his range and limits, you're wrong. See these and have a new world open up before your eyes.

Mel C. Thompson."