Hannah und ihre Schwestern

"Hannah and Her Sisters" is a comedy/drama (though mostly drama) about a dozen characters and their stories, all connecting back to three sisters: Hannah (Mia Farrow), Lee (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest). Hannah is the favorite, talented and kind, Lee is almost equally favored, but Holly is the outcast, with a past of drugs and always asking for money. Other characters include Hannah's hypochondriac ex-husband Mickey (Woody Allen), her current husband Elliot (Michael Caine), Lee's boyfriend Frederic (Max von Sydow) and Holly's friend April (Carrie Fisher).

Like I said before, this is not so much a comedy as it is a drama. The comedy that's in it fits, and is good, but the drama is better. Elliot's secret love for Lee is handled in a romantic way, but their infidelity is still seen as wrong, and you feel their guilt and inner turmoil. Mickey thinks he has a brain tumor, he finds out he doesn't and then he feels worse, and starts desperately searching for a purpose to live. All the other stories are equally dramatic, with comedy fittingly sprinkled in places too.

The acting is quite good, everyone playing their part perfectly, whether it's big or small. The film's best performances come from Allen (in what's no doubt his best performance) and Dianne Wiest as the extremely under-confident youngest sister. Allen and Wiest don't necessarily carry the film, as there's no need to, but their segments were certainly the best, for me at least. The rest of the cast put forward too, especially Max von Sydow and Michael Caine in his first (and so far his only deserving) Oscar win.

Woody Allen's direction is at the top of its form here too, much like "Annie Hall" and his other greats. The camera work and use of voice overs are excellent. For instance, there is an intensely dramatic scene where the three sisters have lunch together and for the entire scene the camera rotates around the table, the speaker not always in the frame. His script is great too, it knows when to be dramatic and when to be funny and when to be both.

One of Allen's very best, 8/10.

Arguably Woody Allen's best production with the exception of "Annie Hall". The film follows three sisters (Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey and Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest) through their careers and their relationships. Farrow is the backbone that keeps everything together. However, husband Michael Caine (Oscar-winning) has his eye of Hershey and something might come of his crush. Max Von Sydow is seeing Hershey, but he may not be enough to curve her lust. Wiest seems to be the odd one out as she struggles with everything, thinking of herself as second-rate to sister Farrow. You know she might fit in well with Farrow's ex-husband (the priceless Allen). A wild film of vivid characters that entertains to the paramount. Allen received an Oscar for his screenplay and was nominated yet again for his dead-on direction. Not a perfect film, but Allen's amazing story-telling and his superb creation of memorable characters and sequences make "Hannah and Her Sisters" one of the better films of the 1980s. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

"Hannah and Her Sisters" is a very good movie that, unfortunately, falls short of greatness. Alternately entertaining (as a comedy) and penetrating (as a drama), this film has many wonderful moments, and is filled with superb dialogue. All the actors deliver first-rate performances; Michael Cain in genuinely touching when he is trying to decide his next moves in his life, Hershey is warm and radiant and Allen himself is delightful in his role. The script is perceptive throughout (look for the scenes when Caine shares his thoughts and plans with us) and the main characters do have depth.

The only flaw here (and, I think, a crucial one) is the too-tidy ending. I wouldn't have preferred a thoroughly depressing conclusion, but the way everything gets "settled" in the end was just too neat. Still, I read somewhere that the "upbeat" tone of the ending was "required" partly by the studio who made the film, so I guess this flaw is forgivable. Nevertheless, it doesn't allow this movie to become a masterpiece.

This is what I would call a perfect film. This was my first Woody Allen experience and I have been shamelessly hooked ever since! I have probably seen it about 20x's and I always love it!! It has it all; it's hysterically funny at times (the hypochodriac), it's incredibly painful(afternoons) at others and the blending of the characters paths(lucky I ran into you) is just beautiful. I watch this movie every couple of months when I need a little cheering up and it always works. Highly recommended.

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Probably when all is said and done, my favorite Allen movie. This is definitely one of those examples where the sum is greater than the parts. Great shots of New York (specifically the city's architecture), great situations, great parties and great music

Among the Manhattan-dwelling characters is Michael Caine, who is married to Hannah (Mia Farrow) but lusts after her sister (Barbara Hershey) who lives with a tormented artist (Max Von Sydow.) Hannah's ex-husband (Woody Allen) starts dating her other sister (Diane Weist) who wants to date Sam Waterston, even though he'd rather date her friend (Carrie Fisher).

In addition to the cameo by Julia Louise Dreyfuss, the film features two supporting performances by old school actors, Lloyd Nolan and Mia Farrow's real life mom, the original Jane in the Tarzan movies, Maureen O'Sullivan.

If that's not enough, Allen throws in plenty of his trademark hypochondria hysteria, questioning the meaning of the universe and whether God exists.