If someone asked me name to Woody Allen's single best film I would seriously struggle. There are so many to choose from; Sleeper, Bananas, Radio Days, Matchpoint, Annie Hall, or even Manhattan, part of a city the majority of Allen's stories take place and in the case of Hannah and Her Sisters that's not a bad thing at all.
Hannah and Her Sisters was released in 1986 and tells the story of three sisters, who when the film begins we join them at Thanksgiving, it is here at the Thanksgiving Dinner that we find out that the family that the sisters belong to have a few problems that need to be addressed.
---Story---
The title of the film refers to three leading characters, Hannah, Lee and Holly. Lee is married to Frederick who is a Painter but feels tormented with what he has to offer. Holly has aspirations of becoming something and although unsure what, she is not in the slightly but bothered what she becomes. Out of the three Hannah has achieved the most, she has worked to become a famous actress who has loving children and a wonderful husband, and leads a what can only be described as a perfect life with total fulfilment. As Hannah is the oldest she is also the foundation that helps keep the family together and is the one person that both Lee and Holly turn to in times of need.
When Hannah's perfect life is shattered this leads her to conclude that she does not know what as a family member her role is anymore as everything has literally turned upside down. To retrieve back what she has lost means to take a journey of self discovery and make some decisions that could have repercussions in the family for years to come.
---Cast---
Mia Farrow........................................... Hannah Barbara Hershey................................ Lee Dianne Weist ..................................... Holly Michael Caine .................................... Elliott Carrie Fisher .......................................April Max Von Sydow .................................. Frederick Woody Allen ........................................ Mickey Sachs
---Overall---
With Thanksgiving as a central focus of the story, this is where all the characters meet. This story follows the three sisters through there twists and turns of life, it also shows what each sister is up against and how issues are dealt with, either in the right or in some cases in the story the wrong way.
To be honest the story begins at a snails pace but as the story unfolds which does get complicated at times based upon the various twist and turns that take place in the story it does gather pace. For example affairs taking place with another sister's husband, with a good mix of comedy included. One thing that I will admit to laughing to was when Mickey played by Woody Allen is searching for religious inspiration, and although he is Jewish he comes back to the house with objects relating to Catholicism. He's obtained the usual objects such as a Bible and a cross as well as a product called Wonderbread and jar of Mayo! It is the way that this scene is delivered that makes it funny.
For as many comedy scenes as there, they are nicely balanced by scenes showing a high level of emotion. They do get to you as well as this was where my barriers broke, and yes I had a few tears rolling down my cheek as well. I cannot say whether it was from a personal experience or what, but one scene in particular where Barbara Hershey and Max Von Sydow parting for the final time was heart wrenching, and it is not often I sob at scenes like this, but this got me and it got to me unexpectedly as well. Which I think is a credit to the writer and director of the film, who just happen to be one Woody Allen.
I liked about the film and the fact that I found refreshing was that it was made before there was any need to have any sort of CGI or picture manipulation, effectively what you see is what you get with this film. That is the cast giving high quality sound performances, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Diane Weist and Barbara Hershey give an outstanding performance in this piece. Not forgetting Carrie Fisher in only her second film after the Star Wars Trilogy was completed.
Although this is billed as a comedy, I found it to be more drama based with a few very good strategically placed touched of comedy. It is little things in the film that really lift when the pace slows down and brings back into the film to stop you from when you start to drift away.
The film is beautifully photographed with what can only be described as postcard shots that really show off New York and the surrounding area to its finest. This really impressed me as I knew Allen highly regards New York anyway, but in a film like this it really does show off Allen's trademark signature to a tee. In the manner that the shots of the City are captured it not only looks beautiful but is also striking and adds a breather when necessary to the story. DVD only enhances this further and makes these look sharper and therefore even more striking and pleasurable to look at.
In a number of scenes the camera never moves and there are no shots cut in, it is just the actors acting. This not only helps to build and maintain the atmosphere of the scene but also makes yours eyes wander around the screen for example hand movements, expressions, etc seem to stand out more as they can easily be noticed and give more away without cutting to another shot and losing the built up tension.
I don't consider myself to be a film buff at all, but this was one of the first Woody Allen films I saw and immediately fell for it. Bear in mind that before this I had only seen Allen in the 1967 version of Casino Royale. This film is obviously completely different from the start and shows a full range of emotions throughout, some high, some very high, others low. It is what larger families go through and the fact that this can be deemed a film based reality for me is the difference between saying that this is a good film or that this is a great film. For me this is a great film and one not necessarily for the chicks with a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine either.
At the Oscars that year the acting was rewarded for this film as Michael Caine won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The film also won another two for Dianne Wiest in Best Supporting Actress and Woody Allen for Best Screenplay.
Runtime is 103 minutes. There were a few surprises for me when I saw this film as Julie Kavner who voices numerous characters from TV's The Simpson's appears in this film along with an early appearance from John Turturro.
---Extras---
As this could be considered part of the budget range of films you don't get much in the way of Extras, although the Menu's are Interactive and you get Chapter Selection which really kind of standard across the board nowadays anyway, the only real true extra you get is a Trailer for the film. It is interesting to note, I watched the trailer before watching the film and noticed that there was a scene in the trailer involving Carrie Fisher and Sam Waterstone that was cut out of the released print. This doesn't detract or add anything to the story at all, but it has to be said that it would have been nice as a Deleted Scene on the DVD.
---Situations to view---
If I was to say what type of situation this film could be viewed in… well then I would say first date scenario…. no, girl's night in … yes, also a romantic evening for two with Pizza and Wine… yes definitely. Chaps you could get some serious brownie points with this film, believe me.
---Availability---
£5.99 for this film on the net, HMV are doing as part of there 3 for £20 deal. This is available in a three film triple pack with Annie Hall and Manhattan included. The film is a certificate 15.
Thanks for reading and thank you for your time. Until the next review.
Tim
More details
Soundtrack
Good
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Outstanding
Value for Money
Good
What format are you reviewing?
DVD
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somewhat helpful![Hannah And Her Sisters [1986]](http://picnic.ciao.com/uk/65508508.jpg)
