Husbands and Wives (1992)

When their best friends announce that they're separating, a professor and his wife discover the faults in their own marriage.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Sydney Pollack

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Metropolis	...	TV Scientist
Woody Allen	...	Gabe Roth
Mia Farrow	...	Judy Roth
Sydney Pollack	...	Jack
Judy Davis	...	Sally
Jeffrey Kurland	...	Interviewer / Narrator (voice)
Bruce Jay Friedman	...	Peter Styles
Cristi Conaway	...	Shawn Grainger
Timothy Jerome	...	Paul
Rebecca Glenn	...	Gail
Juliette Lewis	...	Rain
Galaxy Craze	...	Harriet
Lysette Anthony	...	Sam
Benno Schmidt	...	Judy's Ex-Husband
John Doumanian	...	Hamptons' Party Guests

Storyline

When Jack and Sally announce that they're splitting up, this comes as a shock to their best friends Gabe and Judy. Maybe mostly because they also are drifting apart and are now being made aware of it. So while Jack and Sally try to go on and meet new people, the marriage of Gabe and Judy gets more and more strained, and they begin to find themselves being attracted to other people.

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | panties | prostitute | nipples | call girl | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and a scene of sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the TCMDb, the picture's "U.S. release had been set to platform beginning September 23, 1992. However, due to publicity generated by the Farrow-Allen custody battle in August, TriStar opted to open the film (earlier) nationwide September 18, 1992."

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Goofs

When Sally (Judy Davis) and Jack (Sydney Pollack) are arguing in their living room, one of the crew members can be seen moving in the reflection off the picture glass on the back wall.

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Quotes

[first lines]
TV Scientist: [on TV] Einstein was then celebrating, uh, the seventieth birthday anniversary and there was a colloquium given for him. And he said, "God doesn't play dice with the universe".
Gabe: No. He just plays hide-and-seek.

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Connections

Featured in The 65th Annual Academy Awards (1993)

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Soundtracks

The Song Is You
(1932)
Written by Jerome Kern (music) & Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics)
Performed by Bernie Leighton

User Reviews

Is Such Thing as Perfect Relationship Possible? How to Find and to Keep It?

Woody Allen makes good, very good, and excellent films.

Husbands and Wives is a very good film with excellent performances. It is not a comedy but rather a dramedy that explores marriages and relationships of four main characters. It has several funny moments and dialogs (it is Allen after all) but it has disturbing and sad scenes, too.

When Jack and Sally (Sidney Pollack and Judy Davis) announce that they're separating, this comes as a shock to their best friends Gabe and Judy (Allen and Farrow). They start to reevaluate their own marriage only to find out that it is not as perfect as they thought. Very soon Jack and Sally, and then Gabe and Judy start to meet new people - young, bright, and attractive. They all hope that new is better, and for some of them it is true while the others come to understanding that true love involves loving another's imperfections even when very well aware of them.

This film is for all husbands and wives, lovers, and partners around the world. It is for couples who've been in a relationship for a month, a year, or decades. It is for singles who are ready or who think they want to enter a relationship. It is also for people who don't. All of us have been or may find ourselves in a situation or relationship or having a conversation like the ones in the Allen's film. All of us think and talk about love, trust, understanding, fidelity, sex, and yes - marriage.

The best scenes of the film belong to Allen and Farrow. Some of their conversations in the movie probably reflect the situation in their own relationship that ended soon after the film was made. It is the last film Allen made with Farrow.

Judy Davis played the role of her carrier practically stealing the film. I was shocked to find out that she received all possible Critics Awards that year and lost Best Supporting Oscar to Marisa Tomei. I love Tomei's performance in My Cousin Vinny (1992) but nomination itself would've been enough. Davis was the Best Supporting actress (I saw all films with nominated performances). Sidney Pollack (The Oscar winning director of Out of Africa and two times nominee for Tootsie and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?) and Liam Nisson were wonderful. I did not like Juliet Lewis at all. What she did adorably in Cape Fear with De Niro for ten minutes scene, she tried to stretch for over an hour here - did not work, IMO.

I like "Husbands and Wives" - it was interesting to watch, and it left me thinking if such thing as perfect relationship is ever possible, and what it would take to not only find it but to keep it.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Husbands and Wives

Filming Locations:

4651 Fieldston Road, Riverdale, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,520,550, 20 September 1992

Gross USA:

$10,555,619

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,555,619

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions, TriStar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (Mono)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1