Crimes and Misdemeanors

Overview

Considered an important entry in filmmaker Woody Allen's body of work, and certainly one of his most interesting pieces, Crimes and Misdemeanors is an alternately comical and dramatic examination of scruples as it follows two parallel storylines that manage to connect by the story's end. One follows the exploits of a philandering optometrist (Martin Landau) who is trying hard to break off his relationship with an obsessive, overly dependent woman (Angelica Huston) who blackmails him into remaining with her. Her conniving leads to tragedy. The other plotline deals with a depressive documentarymaker (Allen) in love with his producer (Mia Farrow). He is working on a film about her selfish and arrogant employer, a popular television comedian.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/25/2022
UPC:	0850035985366
Original Release:	1989
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Sandpiper Pictures
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:44:00
Sales rank:	13,360

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Woody Allen	Clifford Stern
Martin Landau	Judah Rosenthal
Mia Farrow	Halley Reed
Alan Alda	Lester
Anjelica Huston	Dolores Paley
Sam Waterston	Ben
Joanna Gleason	Wendy Stern
Caroline Aaron	Barbara
Jerry Orbach	Jack Rosenthal
Claire Bloom	Miriam Rosenthal
Jenny Nichols	Jenny
Stephanie Roth	Sharon Rosenthal
Daryl Hannah	Lisa
Victor Argo	Detective
Bill Bernstein	Testimonial Speaker
Gregg Edelman	Chris
George J. Manos	Photographer
Zina Jasper	Carol
Delores Sutton	Judah's Secretary,Judah's Secretary
Martin Bergmann	Prof. Louis Levy
Kenny Vance	Murray
Jerry Zaks	Man on Campus
Nadia Sanford	Alva
Chester Malinowski	Hit Man
Stanley Reichman	Chris' Father
Rebecca Schull	Chris' Mother
David S. Howard	Sol Rosenthal
Garrett Simowitz	Young Judah
Frances Conroy	House Owner
Anna Berger	Aunt May
Grace Zimmerman	Bride
Randy Aaron Fink	Groom
Joel Zion	Rabbi
Thomas P. Crow	TV Producer
Rabbi Joel Zion	Rabbi
Derek Smith	Actor
George Mason	Photographer
Joel Fogel	TV Producer
Donna Castellano	TV Producer
Barry Finkel	TV Writer
Steve Maidment	TV Writer
Sol Frieder	Seder Guest
Justin Zaremby	Seder Guest
Marvin Terban	Seder Guest
Hy Anzell	Seder Guest
Sylvia Kauders	Seder Guest
Nora Ephron	Wedding Guest
Merv Bloch	Wedding Guest
Thomas Bolster	Wedding Guest
Robin Bartlett	Wedding Guest
Warren Vaché	Jazz Band

Technical Credits

Woody Allen

Woody Allen	Director,Screenwriter
Robert Greenhut	Producer
Charles H. Joffe	Executive Producer
Jack Rollins	Executive Producer
Juliet Taylor	Casting

Editorial Reviews

One of Woody Allen's most serious dramatic comedies, Crimes and Misdemeanors invoked comparisons to Hannah and Her Sisters, which Allen had made three years earlier. Similar to Hannah in its novel-like scope, interweaving stories, and rich ensemble acting, Crimes took the previous film's moral and ethical issues one step further: whereas Hannah was primarily concerned with love and loss, Crimes presented questions about the very meaning of human existence. Unabashedly philosophical, Allen's film was also one of his darkest, powered by a relentless pessimism, evocative of Allen's heroes Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, and Anton Chekhov, coming to rest at the conclusion that true love will go unrewarded and the bad will go unpunished. It is a mark of Allen's strength as a director and storyteller that, despite such pessimism, Crimes managed to be a surprisingly funny film, a masterful demonstration of Allen's ability to weave together high comedy and sober drama. An ambitious project that Allen helmed with remarkable self-assurance, Crimes and Misdemeanors further established him as one of the cinema's most reliably cerebral directors.