Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer (WGA):

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

13 October 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A film about humanity.

Plot:

An opthamologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife, while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated by another woman.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Brother | Mistress | Adultery | Doctor

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Bill Bernstein	...	Testimonial Speaker
Martin Landau	...	Judah Rosenthal
Claire Bloom	...	Miriam Rosenthal
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Sharon Rosenthal (as Stephanie Roth)
Gregg Edelman	...	Chris
George J. Manos	...	Photographer (as George Manos)
Anjelica Huston	...	Dolores Paley
Woody Allen	...	Cliff Stern
Jenny Nichols	...	Jenny
Joanna Gleason	...	Wendy Stern
Alan Alda	...	Lester
Sam Waterston	...	Ben
Zina Jasper	...	Carol
Dolores Sutton	...	Judah's Secretary
Joel Fogel	...	T.V. Producer (as Joel S. Fogel)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Brazil:12 | Norway:10 | Norway:15 (self applied) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13 | UK:15 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Trivia:

One-third of the film had Woody Allen's character shooting a documentary on old vaudevillians, with Mia Farrow as the head of the institute to which they belonged. Allen didn't like the scenes in the final cut. During postproduction he cut an entire third of the film, then rewrote and re-shot that section from scratch. As a result, Sean Young's scenes were cut out, and Daryl Hannah's role was reduced to a brief cameo.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Judah decides to have Delores killed, he only dials seven digits on the phone calling his brother, Jack. Judah lives in Connecticut and Jack lives in New York, so he would have to dial at least 10 digits to call him.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Testimonial Speaker: We're all very proud of Judah Rosenthal's philanthropic efforts. His endless hours of fund raising for the hospital, the new medical center, and now, the ophthalmology wing, which until this year had just been a dream. But it's due to Rosenthal our friend that we most appreciate. The husband, the father, the golf companion. Naturally if you have a medical problem you can call Judah...
Miriam Rosenthal: You're blushing darling.
Testimonial Speaker: ...day or night, weekends or holidays. But you can also call Judah to find out which is the best restaurant in Paris - or Athens. Or which hotel to stay at in Moscow. Or the best recording of a particular Mozart symphony...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sisters: Crimes and Ms. Demeanors (#3.14)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

String Quartet in G major, Op. 161, D 887, 1st movement

A perfect film

Not much has to be said. This is an outstanding film, possibly one of the best films I have ever seen. All performances are perfect. Half drama, half comedy, and that very well done. It has deep thoughts about quilt and mistakes, lots of truth about relationships. It has laughs and a perfect ending. Every time I watch this film I just want to sit down and write, just write something interesting to leave behind. The film is already 16 yrs old and you wont notice that at all, it's one of those films that never age. I would recommend this movie to anyone who doesn't want to spend another two hours of his life watching yet another Hollywood crap.