Crimes and Misdemeanors [Blu-ray]

Overview

Woody Allen spent most of the 1980s and '90s veering between comedy and drama, and he rarely combined the two with greater success than in Crimes and Misdemeanors, in which he weaved together two stories, one deadly serious, one often funny, both ending in sadness. Martin Landau plays Dr. Judah Rosenthal, a prominent ophthalmologist with a successful practice, a loving family, and a reputation for generous charity work. But Rosenthal also has a secret: his mistress, Dolores (Anjelica Huston). What began as a casual fling has become uncomfortably intimate, and as he tries to break off the relationship, Dolores threatens to expose his infidelity to his wife and some unorthodox financial arrangements to his colleagues. Fearful that Dolores will make good on her threats, Judah confesses his secret to his brother Jack (Jerry Orbach), who has ties to organized crime and offers to "make the problem go away." Meanwhile, Cliff Stern (Woody Allen) is a filmmaker working on his pet project, a documentary about philosopher Prof. Louis Levy (Martin Bergmann). However, films about philosophers don't pay the rent, so Cliff's wife Wendy (Joanna Gleason) arranges for him to make a documentary for public television about her brother Lester (Alan Alda), a famous TV comedian whose vapidity is exceeded only by his arrogance. While Cliff tries to bite the bullet and finish the film, he finds himself falling in love with PBS producer Halley Reed (Mia Farrow).

Product Details

Release Date:	10/25/2022
UPC:	0850035985373
Original Release:	1989
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Sandpiper Pictures
Language:	English
Time:	1:44:00
Sales rank:	6,045

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.

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