Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) or, Manhattan Struggles and Wonders

3/22/2022

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) or, Manhattan Struggles and Wonders

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Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest look very fashionable and lovely on this poster for Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters, which calls to mind a beauty magazine cover

Hannah is the center of her extended family and the coordinator for her parents and two sisters: One of them is a recovered alcoholic, who ventures on an affair with Hannah's husband; the other is a flighty creative with poor self-confidence.

Hannah and Her Sisters is written and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker Woody Allen (What's Up, Tiger Lilly? (1966)), whose 15th feature it is.

Allen hits the bull's eye with this moving romance dramedy, served with intertitles that give the entire ordered story a vivid, intelligent distance. The film has strong characters and amazing performances: Mia Farrow (Guns at Batasi (1964)) towers with assuredness and irony in what is likely a role that she later looked back upon with some anguish, (as her partner at the time, Allen used their personal life in the script and would later leave her for Farrow's Korean-adopted daughter.) Also fantastic in Hannah and Her Sisters are Barbara Hershey (Frogs for Snakes (1998)), Michael Caine (The Quiet American (2002)), Dianne Wiest (Rabbit Hole (2010)); Max von Sydow (Judge Dredd (1995)) is grand - and Allen himself, of course.

How does the film transcend many of Allen's other great films? In a classical way, you may say, through a simple case of raised stakes: There's really something at stake in the several strong scenes here. Allen shows great curiosity, interest in and knowledge of life, religion and first and foremost love, - the capricious and the flighty kind in particular, - while he himself is divinely funny yet again.

Café Society (2016) - The greatest living American filmmaker hands us another splendid gem

Irrational Man (2015) - Allen's pleasant morality tale divertisement

2014 in films - according to Film Excess

Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - Allen's irresistible French Riviera romance

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Blue Jasmine (2013) - Allen presenets Blanchett, a woman under the influence

Fading Gigolo (2013) - Turturro's pleasant turn as a high-end NY prostitute (as actor)

To Rome with Love (2012) - Woody Allen's slightest film to date

2011 in films - according to Film Excess

Midnight in Paris (2011) - Allen's zany (and a little depressing) crowd-pleaser

Cassandra's Dream (2007) - Allen's well-laid but inconsequentiel English cul-de-sac

Match Point (2005) - Allen takes London with pensive thriller hit

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Top 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Anything Else (2003) - Perfect contemporary relationship comedy

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) - Allen's hypnotic, noirish shenanigans
Celebrity (1998) or, Stars in New York
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) - Sin and guilt up for laughs and rumination in unspectacular Allen work
Broadyway Danny Rose (1984) or, Keep Your Heart

Top 10: Best comedies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Annie Hall (1977) or, My Relationship with Alvie Singer

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972) - Allen's curious sex comedy is a riot
Bananas (1971) - Woody Allen's South American misadventure is still a barrel of laughs
Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time (as actor)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 6.4 mil. $

Box office: 40 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Uncertain, but at least a huge hit (returned 6.25 times its cost domestically alone) and more likely a mega-hit (projected return of at least 8.59 times its cost)

[Hannah and Her Sisters premiered 25 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 106 minutes. Inspirations for the film include Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander (1982) and Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers (1960) as well as Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1878). Farrow criticized the script to Allen, calling it "self-indulgent and dissolute" and felt that it "was wordy but it said nothing". Shooting took place from October 1984 - ? in Italy, New York and California, including in Los Angeles. Many of Hannah's scenes were shot in Farrow's actual New York apartment. Farrow later elaborated on her and her mother's reaction to Allen's script; he "had taken the ordinary stuff of our lives and lifted it into art. We were honored and outraged." The film opened #10 to a 1.2 mil. $ first weekend in 54 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #5, behind new releases Pretty in Pink and House and holdover hits Down and Out in Beverly Hills and The Color Purple, and in 761 theaters (different weekends), grossing 35.3 mil. $ on its original release in North America, which was boosted with a re-release the following year by impressive 4.6 mil. $. Regrettably the foreign numbers are not made public. A very conservative world gross of 55 mil. $ (the real number may well be 65 mil. $ or beyond) would result in a return ratio of at least 8.59 and elevate the film's status to that of a mega-hit. It was nominated for 7 Oscars, winning 3: For Best Supporting Actor (Caine), Supporting Actress (Wiest) and Original Screenplay. It lost Best Art Direction/Set Decoration to A Room with a View, Director to Oliver Stone for Platoon, Editing to Platoon, which also took Best Picture. It also won 2/8 BAFTA nominations, was nominated for a César award, won 1/2 David di Donatello awards, 1/5 Golden Globe nominations, 3 National Board of Review awards and many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/ 4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Allen returned with Radio Days (1987). Farrow returned in Radio Days; Hershey in Hoosiers (1986); and Wiest in Radio Days. Hannah and Her Sisters is certified fresh at 91 % with an 8.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hannah and Her Sisters?

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

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3/22/2022