Search - Crimes and Misdemeanors on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1989 DVD Release: 11/05/1997 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 44 mins Studio: Image Entertainment Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Comedy Drama, Psychological Drama, Ensemble Film See Also: Crimes and Misdemeanors

Woody Allen spent most of the 1980s and '90s veering between comedy and drama, and he rarely combined the two with greater success than in Crimes and Misdemeanors, in which he weaved together two stories, one deadly serious, one often funny, both ending in sadness. Martin Landau plays Dr. Judah Rosenthal, a prominent ophthalmologist with a successful practice, a loving family, and a reputation for generous charity work. But Rosenthal also has a secret: his mistress, Dolores (Anjelica Huston). What began as a casual fling has become uncomfortably intimate, and as he tries to break off the relationship, Dolores threatens to expose his infidelity to his wife and some unorthodox financial arrangements to his colleagues. Fearful that Dolores will make good on her threats, Judah confesses his secret to his brother Jack (Jerry Orbach), who has ties to organized crime and offers to "make the problem go away." Meanwhile, Cliff Stern (Woody Allen) is a filmmaker working on his pet project, a documentary about philosopher Prof. Louis Levy (Martin Bergmann). However, films about philosophers don't pay the rent, so Cliff's wife Wendy (Joanna Gleason) arranges for him to make a documentary for public television about her brother Lester (Alan Alda), a famous TV comedian whose vapidity is exceeded only by his arrogance. While Cliff tries to bite the bullet and finish the film, he finds himself falling in love with PBS producer Halley Reed (Mia Farrow). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Martin Landau - Judah Rosenthal
Woody Allen - Cliff Stern
Mia Farrow - Halley Reed
Alan Alda - Lester
Anjelica Huston - Dolores Paley
Jerry Orbach - Jack Rosenthal
Sam Waterston - Ben

If it's possible for a DVD to have absolutely no extras added at all, this is the disc. Crimes and Misdemeanors is one of Woody Allen's best films of the '80s but the disc offers only the film -- no production notes, trailers, bios, language options, or subtitle options; there's not even an interactive menu screen. While Woody Allen isn't known for his extras, usually on most of his films there are a few minimal extras, such as trailers and standard full-screen versions of the film. At least the widescreen transfer is very good, one of the better transfers for a Woody Allen DVD, but the audio isn't Dolby. In fact, listening to the film I couldn't decipher if it was Mono or Stereo. If this film were part of a larger collection, like The Woody Allen Collection eight-pack of his 1970s films, it would be worth owning; however as a single disc, only those who love the film will have a reason to own it . ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide