Search - Hannah and Her Sisters on DVD

Debby W. from DELRAY BEACH, FL
Reviewed on 3/17/2011...

Woodie Allen's best movie.

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Daniel A. (Daniel) from EUGENE, OR
Reviewed on 2/8/2010...

This is different from the usual Allen comedy style, with an appealing cast of characters and great performances. He seems to care more about these sisters than most other movie characters.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

A Sumptuous Feast for the Eyes and Ears

D. Davis | Southern CA | 08/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Without a doubt, this is my most favorite of Allen's works. This film is an American classic, and it needs to be on the list of the 100 greatest American films. I, too, lament that it is no longer available--but thanks to the glorious Amazon.com, I was able, last month, to purchase this in an online auction. I now own this marvelous film whose themes range from love (what else? it's Woody Allen), to general despair and the search for God in an ostensibly godless and hostile universe, to infidelity (why not?), and infertility giving way to miraculous pregnancies (the last line of the film is, after all, uttered by Weis's character: "I'm pregnant" she tells a confused and then moved Allen); and, of course, there is that famous question students of Allen's must ask: "Do we have the right to think we deserve more or that we deserve to be happy?" I'll let the film answer that for you. A brilliantly comedic performance is given by Diane Weist who plays Holly, the most boisterous and fame-driven of Hannah's sisters, and who fights so comically with Carrie Fisher's April over architect David played keenly by Allen fixture Sam Waterston (see Waterston and Weis in Allen's "September"; they're breathtaking together). Mia Farrow is adequate as Hannah--mother, stage actress, and Thanksgiving hostess--and Barbara Hershey leaves us cold as the much sought-after Lee. Bergman icon and Allen hero Max von Sydow gives an obvious performance as the angst-ridden artist in the 20th century (this was the 80s...) Allen also gives a brilliant but by now familiar comedic performance as hypochondriac and god-searcher Mickey Sacks. And Michael Cain is superb as Hannah's wandering husband, Eliot.The film revolves liturgically around the seasons and around the most Protestant of holidays, Thanksgiving--the scenes were filmed in Farrow's real-life New York apartment (she talks about it in "What Falls Away," available from Amazon.com). Sophisticated jazz tunes fill the house from Hannah's father, played by Lloyd Nolan, and Farrow's real mother, Maureen O'Sullivan (remember her swim with Tarzan?) plays the reminiscent and libidinous mother--"just a boozy old flirt with a filthy mouth." These Thanksgiving scenes are designed splendidly--around the other seasons of the year--to show us each character's progression (or lack thereof). The soundtrack (which I also own on tape, not CD, unfortunately) is what makes this film so splendid. Melodies swell up from the true American composers and musicians--Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Count Basie. The film is haunted by two melodies serving as themes: "Isn't It Romantic?" and "Bewitched." These songs are woven seemlessly into scene after scene in moody and melancholy ways. This soundtrack is perfect for a rainy day.If you ever find a copy of this film, snatch it up and treasure it forever!"

The finest film of Allen's notable career

Paul M West | Seattle, WA USA | 09/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters" is the finest of the neurotic writer-director-actor's pictures. His prowess in weaving together complete characters and compelling storylines is as intricate as Altman, as artful as Renoir. Yes, those are "big movie terms," but are warranted in describing this bitersweet marvel.Allen's command of the medium results in some terrific photographic shots, including the classic "camera-revolving-around-the-table" sequence featuring Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her sisters (Barbara Hershey and dynamite Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest), whose lives all seem to be going through very adult mid-life crises with their husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends, and families. Michael Caine's work in this film also shines, and Allen himself is in his prime. The ensemble cast in this film creates an atmosphere that has you really believing you're watching friends and family, and not simply actors acting, reciting lines, a problem even the better "ensemble films" often face.All of the elements in this picture --- cinematography, classic jazz tunes, nearly-musical dialogue --- are on ample display in a film rich with human warmth and big laughs. Although Allen's films are not for all tastes, this is a film that should very easily be enjoyed by nonfans and especially film students who can get a chance to see a virtuoso talent at the top of his form, not conforming by traditional storytelling and filmic norms."

Nearly perfect in many ways

R. J. Marsella | California | 12/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is a scene near the end of this film where Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her sisters Holly (Dianne Wiest) n"Lee(Barbara Hershey) meet over lunch and the camera slowly circles them as they engage in a heated emotionally charged conversation that is one of the most poignant moments I have ever seen on a screen. All 3 of these actresses are just outstanding in this movie. Mia Farrow has some scenes where her emotions are so vivdly expressed in her words and her facial expression that it is in my opinion one of the finest performances ever.
The secondary story line features Woody Allen as Hannah's ex-husband who is completely neurotic and obsessed with iiness and death. However Allen is able to twist this to great comic effect. The story weaves back and forth between the emotional upheaval in the lives of Hannah, her husband(Michael Caine) and her sisters to Allen and his character's search for spiritual fullfillment. All of the characters are fully realized people , none perfect, and yet basically well meaning. (with the possible exception of Caine's character).
I believe this is one of Woody Allen's finest films and have viewed it repeatedly over the years. The only weakness is the ending which is a bit contrived but that is easily forgivable in a film that is entertaining, thought provoking and funny at the same time."