Crimes And Misdemeanors Reviews

Outstanding Woody Allen film

'Crimes and Misdemeanours' is a strong contender for Woody Allen's best film. It's the perfect example of a director, torn between two film making styles and having it both ways. On one hand He's created a dark and profound drama about a Doctor forced into murder and on the other, a typically sweet and funny romantic comedy. The two strands have only the most tenuous of connections but Allen crafts this film with a dazzling alchemy.

Ophthamologist Judah Rosenthal(Martin Landau) has been having an affair for some years with a younger woman(Angelica Huston). But now she wants him for herself and is threatening to spill the beans. Scared, Judah begins to contemplate silencing her for good. Meanwhile the second story concerns a TV director(Allen) who's making a film about a pompous producer(Alan Alda) and also competing with him for the affections of Mia Farrow.

To say much more about this beautifully crafted screenplay would be to spoil the fun as Allen effortlessly develops the two tales, helped by a superb cast(Landau gives his best performance here). The conclusion is suprising, moving and profound. It's arguably Woody Allen's last great film and is a truly magnificent achievement.

Profound and funny

Great performances, great script and some good laughs too. Alan Alda is really good in this, but Martin Landau gives one of the best performances I have seen.

My favourite Woody Allen film, why didnt/doesnt he make more like this ?

woody's labyrinth

Another labyrinthine work that combines juxtaposed moral problems and somehow arrives at a compounded philosophy. Woody Allen's use of plot and sub-plot and his parallel lives analysis provide an intriguing and entertaining film in his usual inimicable style. Brilliant!

Quality Allen - TO is wrong

'Dramatically, the film seldom fulfils its promise, and its pessimistic 'moral' - that good and evil do not always meet with their just deserts - looks contrived and hollow.' The grounded moral is not contrived or hollow, since both characters are developed with tenderness as well as objectivity.

Allen has rarely seemed more sympathetic than in his scenes here with Farrow. The Judah character's internal struggle is not an empty one, despite the inevitability of his bad actions. Rather a point is made about the human being's capacity for self delusion, that for some people time can heal anything. The muted, reflective tone of the film certainly does not promise melodrama, and it does not need it, as the sombre optimism of the resolution befits the moral of the story.

don't bother

boring, self-indulgent tripe. not worth bothering with.

Woody Allen marries his penchants for Bergman-esque intellectual drama and slapstick romanticism in what ranks as one of his masterpieces. Martin Landau stars as the successful ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal who finds his reputation at risk when his unstable mistress, Dolores (Anjelica Huston, in superb form), threatens to reveal their affair to the world. Judah's brother, Jack, offers a practical solution to Judah's problem--but with severe moral implications. In the meantime, Allen dons his well known persona, this time as low budget documentary filmmaker Cliff Stern who finds his artistry at risk when his wife forces him to direct a portrait of her brother Lester (Alan Alda), a shallow and hypocritical TV producer. Cliff and Lester both fall for Halley Reed (Mia Farrow), who is involved in the documentary. Allen directs the film as two separate stories, and through his well-crafted characters analyses lofty questions of morality, religion, and love. Funny, moving, and disturbing, Crimes and Misdemeanors manages to score all the right points in an apparently effortless manner. A must-see in any film-lover's canon.

A solid film

Though not as strong as he was during his 70s heyday with this film Allen proves that he can still write believable characters and weave compelling stories around them.

There are a few one liners but this is firmly from the serious side of the directors body of work.

[Highly rated reviewer]

The older, more original ones...

Like his more recent film, Melinda and Melinda, Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanours tells two stories: one is a romantic comedy featuring himself and Mia Farrow, the other is a tragic tale of a man (Martin Landau who gives a career best performance) unable to meet the demands of his vengeful mistress (Anjelica Huston who's character is really just a plot device and is one of the weaker elements of the film).

Unlike Melinda and Melinda which was two versions of the same story these two very different stories are set in the same universe although they are only very tentatively linked. The most important difference between the two films however, is that while the later film was conceived as an intellectual argument between two playwrights and therefore its two stories had to stay within the confines of tragedy or comedy, this one is not and it is the shades of grey (and lighter/darker moments in the two stories) that this allows that make the film truly great and provides the audience with real food for thought particularly on the subject of guilt (religious or otherwise) and punishemnt (deserved and undeserved). Nowhere is this more evident in the fantistic ending (particularly during the exchange between Allen and Farrow) which I could enthuse further about but wouldn't want to ruin.

Crimes and Misdemeanours is a great fim (one of Allens best and most thought provoking) and the fantastic cast do the story justice with a set of wonderful performances particularly Landau, Allan Arkin (as a loathsome tv producer) and Farrow (who's character is nowhere near as needy and passive aggressive as usual and is actually given some of the funniest lines in the film). It is particularly great when compared to his later, lesser, similarly-themed 'Melinda and Melinda' and it is a shame that Allen now feels it necessary to retread themes and subject matter that he has already successfully explored before in many of his newer films (see also Stardust Memories and Celebrity, Take The Money and Run and Small Time Crooks, Annie Hall and Anything Else. I could go on...) Hopefully, Vicky Christina Barcelona and his yet currently untitled film with Larry David will mark a much overdue return to form!

This is the ideal movie with which to start watching Woody Allen films. It has both the laughs and the drama. An excellent cast at the top of their form performing a witty engaging script. This is a fun movie with more going for it than just the jokes. Also if you are a Martin Landau fan it's a must. The man's performance is worth your time all on it's own.

Fascinating, thought provoking, humorous

This excellent film was made when Allen still cared about making serious, thought provoking movies. It takes as the inspiration for its title and theme Dostoievski's "Crimes and Punishment". Allen gives this his inimitable humorous spin in a modern setting. The plot concerns a successful, philanthropic doctor, an unbalanced woman and a shadowy brother, The movie addresses the fascinating question: is such a crime something you can or should get over? The film is full of well-drawn characters, deep issues attacked full-on and an at times hilarious script. One of Allen's very best.