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September on DVD (1987)

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Average rating: 56%
25212122091215
3.0
from 203 members
 
Starring: Mia Farrow, Denholm Elliott, Sam Waterston, Dianne Wiest, Jack Warden, Elaine Stritch
Director: Woody Allen
Studio: MGM ENTERTAINMENT
Run time: 79 mins
Certificate: PG
Genres: Drama
Languages: English
Dubbed: French, German, Spanish
Hearing-impaired: English
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, French, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
Released: 15/04/2002

Brief synopsis of September

In a serene Vermont country house, six people share their dreams, their fears, and their desires, as secrets are revealed and trusts broken. The cast is led by Mia Farrow, who plays Lane, a woman who has never fully dealt with a long-ago shooting. Elaine Stritch plays Diane, Lane's mother, who never stops talking about her wild past spent with movie stars and gangsters; she is married to Lloyd (Jack Warden), a physicist with a gloomy view of the future of the universe. Sam Waterston plays Peter, a divorced writer wanna-be who loves Stephanie (Dianne Wiest), Lane's married best friend. Finally, Denholm Elliott plays Howard, the older and wiser professor who is coming to terms with his feelings for Lane. Writer-director Woody Allen's SEPTEMBER is a mature, grim, serious film, close in theme and pacing to INTERIORS, very different from such spirited romantic comedies as ANNIE HALL and HANNAH AND HER SISTERS.

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Critics Reviews

Rating of 4 stars out of 5 Radio Times

A title admirably suited to the melancholic mood of Woody Allen's autumnal story, a tale straight out of Chekhov, as relationships fray between intellectuals in a Vermont mansion, where Mia Farrow, Denholm Elliott, Dianne Wiest and Sam Waterston vent their frustrations on each other. It's one of Allen's early “serious” pieces, without his angst-prone presence, and was originally filmed with Maureen O'Sullivan (Farrow's real-life mother), Sam Shepard and Charles Durning, but Allen was so unsure about its balance that he largely re-shot it, and was forced to find alternative actors because of the cast's other commitments. The result is wonderfully stylish and beautifully shot, but don't expect a barrel of laughs except from Elaine Stritch as a former film star who is visiting her daughter, Farrow.

Variety

"...Exceedingly well acted and sparked by numerous outstanding scenes....Farrow is heartwrenching in her portrayal of naked, undisguised pain..."

Time Out

Like Interiors, a Serious Drama: a Chekhovian chamber piece investigating the twisted bonds that tether a handful of... Read more on www.timeout.com

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Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Rated - 3 starsPlay the opposite Mia!

Zamy from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 07/01/2005

Lane is a very sad, depressed young lady and Mia Farrow plays her with a gloom and doom look and voice throughout. Makes you want to slap her and tell her to get out of her smart Vermont house and get some enjoyment into her life. It is also very tedious to watch such a monotone acting performance from the film's star. The theme of the movie seems to be that some of us face up to life's difficulties and pull through, others go under. Except that in a practical sense Lane is moving on and coping with the sale of the family home and planning a new life in New York, perhaps as a photographer. If she were as depressed as portrayed I doubt she would be getting that much together. That said there are good things in this Bergmanesque Allen film. There are even some jokes if you can rise above the all pervasive mood of pessimism to spot them. Elaine Strich delivers a fine performance as Lane's mother and steals the film from the acting point of view. There is a nice little jazzy soundscape and the (all interior) design is pleasing autumnal gold. Not so sure about the frumpy costumes Mia and her female co-star are forced to wear. Yeah, these two women really do have to get a life. But would you chose Sam Waterston as your lover on his showing here? Check it out and see, ladies.

  3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 3 stars...........arghhhhh

Mark MacMillan from scotland , 08/05/2006

Enough with the laura ashley sexless corduroy wearing middle class vermont set .... I wish Allen had mixed it up a bit with characters of different stature and 'class' ..whilst I can appreciate his work ... his regulars , Farrow especially are too frigid and angst ridden ...This is good movie making sure but if it were a colour it would be beige ...

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 5 stars

Eva#5 from GLASGOW , 13/05/2004

Warning this isn't the Woody Allen to rent if you want a laugh. But for those who like his more serious efforts it's a classic. Interiors, Another Woman, Alice and this one are the other side of Allen's work. It is a fine ensemble piece of film art.

  2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 1 starsThe Ingmar Bergman film Woody Allen never made

A customer from London, England , 06/04/2004

This is definately one of the early intentionally unfunny ones. I am a lifelong Woody Allen fan, preferring the comedies and specifically the ones in which he appears. I have dipped my toe in his more serious output before and have been frequently disappointed. This offering was no exception. Middle class people with angst ridden insecurities and assorted neuroses. Mia Farrow's character gets my vote as 'most deserving of a slap' with her generally whining performance. I believe the film was shot twice and this is the reshot version. Perhaps the original had more insight.

  1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Most Recent Reviews

Rated - 3 starsPlay the opposite Mia!

Zamy from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 07/01/2005

Lane is a very sad, depressed young lady and Mia Farrow plays her with a gloom and doom look and voice throughout. Makes you want to slap her and tell her to get out of her smart Vermont house and get some enjoyment into her life. It is also very tedious to watch such a monotone acting performance from the film's star. The theme of the movie seems to be that some of us face up to life's difficulties and pull through, others go under. Except that in a practical sense Lane is moving on and coping with the sale of the family home and planning a new life in New York, perhaps as a photographer. If she were as depressed as portrayed I doubt she would be getting that much together. That said there are good things in this Bergmanesque Allen film. There are even some jokes if you can rise above the all pervasive mood of pessimism to spot them. Elaine Strich delivers a fine performance as Lane's mother and steals the film from the acting point of view. There is a nice little jazzy soundscape and the (all interior) design is pleasing autumnal gold. Not so sure about the frumpy costumes Mia and her female co-star are forced to wear. Yeah, these two women really do have to get a life. But would you chose Sam Waterston as your lover on his showing here? Check it out and see, ladies.

  3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 3 stars...........arghhhhh

Mark MacMillan from scotland , 08/05/2006

Enough with the laura ashley sexless corduroy wearing middle class vermont set .... I wish Allen had mixed it up a bit with characters of different stature and 'class' ..whilst I can appreciate his work ... his regulars , Farrow especially are too frigid and angst ridden ...This is good movie making sure but if it were a colour it would be beige ...

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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