Hannah and Her Sisters

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.

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.

Woody Allen makes movies that will sometimes be partial duds with great lines and characters, and then he'll make an all around great movie like Manhattan, Sleeper or Deconstructing Harry. In the 80's, he had a period where most of his films were generally great (Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy might be the exception). But this is one of the gems in that period, a comedy with great acting matched with a finely tuned screenplay.

Though not without an ending that leaves everything a little too neat (however upon pressure from the studio, not Allen's original intentions of course), this is another relationship-centric picture, with the side-bar of Woody's character being chronically afraid of death and what comes after it. Deservedly his last big award winner, it's a possibility for my favorite Woody 80s movie (even if the experience in the theater sucked- the downside to seeing an Allen movie is the large amount of old people, and the occasional old man who sits very close with a constantly shifting candy wrapper, smacking lips, and a penchant for a horrible sinus conditon...just think who the fans of Woody movies will be then they croak).

Very funny comedy has one of Woody's all time best casts. Dianne Wiest is the best; glowing, neurotic, irritating and vulnerable, within minutes. Michael Caine is the most touching, Mia Farrow, as always, close to heartbreaking. I think it's her voice that does it. Nice scenes with her and her real-life mother, Maureen O'Sullivan.

Like Manhattan, this picture looks beautiful; NY in all its many breath- taking colors. The relationships of everyone on the screen are perfectly woven, and Woody has the best sight gag of the film when he takes a bible and a crucifix out of a paper bag (to find religion), and follows them up with some Wonder Bread and mayonaisse. Hilarious!

Deserving of its writing and supporting actor Oscars, it's too bad everyone in the movie couldn't have won. They're all believable and enjoyable to watch. My favorite: Max Von Sydow as the very cynical, older Frederick. He should have had more moments. Imagine him at one of the Thanksgiving dinners...

The lives, loves and frustrations of the New York professional classes is not something that I would automatically associate with great cinema, but if anyone can pull it off it is Woody Allen. Mostly because, as a comedian, he knows how to sugar the drama pill with laughs and situation comedy.

Here, however, he has not quite got it right. All the ingredients of the cake have been lovingly applied - but it just doesn't rise and bake. At times it plays out as little more than an upmarket soap opera, with sexual frankness thrown in for good measure.

While light and watchable, there is too much me-me-me to care whether the characters fall in love or under a bus. Michael Caine even won an Oscar for his performance as a overheated adulterer - I am not sure how comedic this is supposed to be, but some people obviously saw it as funny!

Let's not knock cinema for being about nothing or having characters you are glad are not in your life - because you could say that about so many good films: But do we really want to spend time with people such as Dianne Wiest (another undeserved Oscar!) who cannot decide what to do with her life - and even if she did is too much of a scatty disaster to make a success of it.

Allen comes on to play his neurotic character (sorry - I have lost count of how many times this is!), almost as a comic side-show that the film could live without. Naturally he gives himself some the best one-liners - even though most of the jokes are on him.

The reason why Allen can make film such as this, and even gain awards for them, is because he has no competition. If you took a script like this to a major studio they would laugh you out of the building. Even if you won the lottery and financed it yourself - most acting talent wouldn't go near you: Too many small unflattering parts.

I wasn't moved by this movie (as I have been in the past with WA films), but it is not hard to see why Oscar voters saw more in it than I did. They probably spend a lot of time sitting around talking about themselves in restaurants too.