User reviews

Except for MANHATTAN, this stands alongside of ANNIE HALL as the top of the game for the brilliant Woody Allen. A total rep company atmosphere (in New York) with Michael Caine giving one of his most subtle and touching performances. Dianne Wiest (her 1st of 2 Oscars for W. Allen films) is striking, funny, and ultimately all too human. Barbara Hershey (always talented since LAST SUMMER) has the perfect role at her age, at that stage of her career, to play Lee (one of the sisters), and Mia Farrow was born to play Hannah (the all-too-together control freak). Add in Max Von Sydow (superb), Daniel Stern buying ART by the yard, and Lloyd Noland Maureen O'Sullivan (Mia's real-life Mom who played Jane in the Tarzan flicks of the 30's) are belligerent and beautiful.

A 9 out of 10. Best performance = Diane Wiest. If you don't get this one, give it up (especially if you don't trust Woody Allen), check into a New Mexico motel, pretend you know Dennis Hopper in the 70's, and buy ice all night long..waiting for Karen Black.

In "Hannah and her Sisters," Woody Allen has created a funny, poignant, and sweet film about three very different sisters.

The focus is Hannah (Mia Farrow), a successful actress currently married to Elliot (Michael Caine) and divorced from Mickey (Woody Allen).

Hannah is more of a mother figure to her sisters, Holly and Lee (Dianne Wiest and Barbara Hershey) than their own mother (Farrow's real-life mother, Maureen O'Sullivan) an alcoholic performer who likes to flirt with younger men, to the fury of her husband.

Hannah handles her mother, puts up with Holly constantly borrowing money and then picking fights with her in that mother/daughter fashion, but she doesn't know that her sister Lee is having an affair with Elliot. And so it goes, as Thanksgivings pass and the women attempt to straighten out their lives.

This is one of Woody Allen's best films - I won't say best, because I love Match Point and Crimes and Misdemeanors more.

The humorous parts of the films are provided by Wiest and Allen, and some of the lines and situations are hilarious: Holly and Mickey's disastrous date ("I had a great time. It was just like the Nurenberg trials"), Mickey's contemplation of suicide, and Mickey's fear of a brain tumor.

Allen is brilliant as a man who believes he's living in a godless world but wants to believe. Though Jewish, he decides to become Catholic, bringing home religious info with his mayonnaise and Wonder Bread; when that doesn't work out, he talks to the Hari Krishna in the park.

Wiest is as adorable as she is fantastic as a manic-depressive who goes from acting (including auditioning for a musical when she can't sing), catering (until her partner, played by Carrie Fisher, steals the man she thinks is her boyfriend), and finally writing.

The rest of the cast is magnificent and tackle some of the more serious moments of the movie: Michael Caine as Hannah's husband, looking for love in all the wrong places; Max von Sydow, Lee's tortured artist boyfriend; and Lloyd Nolan and Maureen O'Sullivan as the sisters' parents, in an imperfect marriage filled with love, booze, and jealousy.

Hershey is lovely as a confused woman who adores her sister but looks to Caine for a way out of her relationship with a controlling boyfriend.

The film, of course, is filled with New York sights and sounds, including Bobby Short ("You don't deserve Cole Porter," Mickey screams at Holly. "You should stick with those rock musicians who look like they murdered their parents"), the opera, Central Park, etc., that give Allen's films their special atmosphere (until "Match Point," that is, which has a special atmosphere all its own).

A great film with Allen asking again about the meaning of life and, again, coming up with some good answers.

This reminds me of Arthur Schopenhauer's comparison of human beings to porcupines in winter: cold, they huddle together for warmth, but prick each other with their quills and scurry apart, then endlessly repeat this cycle. This was the third of three great films by Woody Allen, made in '84 to '86, all starring Mia Farrow. The large, superb cast seems comfortable and smooth in their natural tribulations, especially sisters Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest. It is a charming depiction of the anxiety and pathos of daily life and the foibles that make us human. The plot is complex without being abstruse; Max von Sydow's misanthrope is a marvelous contrapuntal character. Allen's native New York City receives the affection that he offers in his best movies. Cutting against the grain of fashionable commercial cinema, it earned critical and commercial acclaim.

Masterfully crafted, exquisitely and cleverly directed and has such an intricate plot that makes plenty of room for contemplation due to the complex, well-developed characters it centers around. Hannah and Her Sisters is hands down one of, if not the most tender, heat-warming, non-indulgent, and hence accessible, and finest Allen film. It baffles me how underrated this is among his other films! Because, if one thing for sure, this is his best-directed one in his filmography, imo.

(9/10)

I loved it back in 1986... and I still love it (31 years later and counting)! I identify with many of the characters (having been in their positions, at least briefly, at some point throughout my life). I get weapy at parts. The humor is undeniable. It gives so much in terms of character and story... and the connections throughout are no less than masterful.

If you haven't seen this one (and if you tend to enjoy Woody Allen films... or smart, ensemble movies in general) what are you waiting for?! Watch HANNAH AND HER SISTERS. I hope you love it as I do.

I'm hot and cold with Woody Allen. I like one movie he makes and hate the next. I also admit to preferring latter Woody (post 1980) to early Woody. HANNAH AND MY SISTERS is probably my favorite Woody Allen film...the prototypical Woody Allen film revolving around several neurotic New Yorkers and how their lives intersect bound together by the thread of three sisters (Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Dianne Wiest)and the various people and events that invade their lives. Allen appears as a writer (surprise) who actually marries two of the sisters at various points in the story. Michael Caine won an Oscar for his charming performance as Mia's current husband, who has been secretly lusting after sister Hershey for years. Caine has rarely appeared more vulnerable and endearing on screen. Dianne Wiest also won an Oscar for her powerhouse performance as the proverbial black sheep of the family, the sister who never seems to be able to get her life together or figure out what she wants to do with it. Most of the performances are on target; only Max Von Sydow misses the boat in a creepy performance as Hershey's current roommate/hermit. Mia's real-life mom, Maureen O'Sullivan, turns in a scene-stealing performance as the sisters' Mom and the late Lloyd Nolan made his final film appearance as their dad. To say much more would give too much away, but if you love Woody Allen, this film is a must. A charming story with a lovely ending, all set to some beautiful music.

Along with Annie Hall, Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters ranks among the writer-director's best films. The movie manages to be complex and nuanced without going overboard. It is not a comedy, but there are big laughs within the family dynamics. In a sense, you could also view the film as a near-tragedy. The film is viewed through the eyes of Woody Allen's character, Mickey. Mickey is one of those characters who is hypochondriac or a person who believes he has some unchecked major disease and is about to die. He wants a sense of belonging within the web of characters. That alone makes the film have tragic moments. The film on a whole works because of Allen's sprawling, but tight (if that makes sense) narrative that interweaves dozens of characters within one another. It's funny, sad, poignant, and emotional.

Woody Allen originally imagined the film to be a simple one about a husband falling in love with his wife's sister. Then he started getting ideas to make his film more complex. His lover at the time, Mia Farrow actually criticized his script and suggested changes. She felt the characters, especially the sisters, were too indulgent and narcistic. With the film already in pre-production, there was little that Allen could do. In the end, the script is seen as one of Allen's best. Although, it could be problematic hinting at his later years and the drama it came with it. Allen, being a New Yorker himself, gets the idea of the characteristics of a typical New Yorker; always busy, bustling, and moving fast. There is no such thing as slowing down and thinking ahead. That idea is portrayed very well in his script and from the performances.

The film has a zillion characters it seems and that means a large cast. Usually a large cast has the propensity to dull a film, but Allen managed his cast very well. Hannah (Mia Farrow), Holly (Dianne Wiest), and Lee (Barbara Hershey) are sisters from a family that runs in the show business. Their mother, Norma (Maureen O'Sullivan) is married to Evan (Lloyd Nolan), a constant cheater. Hannah is the glue that holds the family together and is married to an accountant, Elliot (Michael Caine). Her first marriage was to Mickey (Woody Allen), a TV executive who believes he will die. She keeps him around the family, however. Holly is the insecure sister who starts a catering business with her friend, April (Carrie Fisher). She is the typical Manhattanite. Lee is the more emotional sister. She lives with an older artist, Frederick (Max von Sydow) who is out of touch with reality. If this does not sound complicated already, hold on to your seat! Elliot figures out he has feelings for Lee, who may not being romantically satisfied enough herself with Frederick.

As the plot description outlines, there is a big cast! In addition to the aforementioned actors, there are cameos/small performances from Sam Waterston, Julia Louis-Drefyus, John Turturro, J.T Walsh, Daniel Stern, Julie Kavner, Richard Jenkins, and the list goes on. Yeah, told you so! The best performance comes from Michael Caine. His performance is more subtle compared to other roles, but it works very well. Dianne Wiest is hilarious and ultimately very human. These two won the Academy Awards for their supporting performances which is the right move considering how awesome they are. Woody Allen's character is a headcase, a neurotic guy who does not believe in the afterlife and figures he will die soon and wants redemption. Funny and touching performance. Farrow was solid and Hershey's role was just right for her. This is an actor-driven film that highlights a plethora of excellent performances. You can say Allen told this story in a series of vignettes that highlight individual characters.

Hannah and Her Sisters is Woody Allen at his finest. It allows him to mix his style of filmmaking without going overly complicated or sentimental. His characters are humanized and are involved in situations that could be relatable to most of us. I enjoyed the style in which the dialogue is used. Despite a sophisticated complex of characters, the story is simple to follow. Allen definitely grew as a filmmaker and it is not a surprise this film is one of his finest. My only concerns are about very brief situations in which tied Allen up with his later personal life. That said, the film is a definite recommend.

My Grade: A-

"A week ago, I bought a rifle. I went into a store and bought a rifle. If they told me that I have a tumour I was gonna kill myself. The only thing that might've stopped me, might've, is... my parents would devastated, I would have to shoot them also first. And then my aunt and uncle, I would have... you know it would have been a bloodbath".

I was going though the exact same thing years ago. It's rare to talk about hypochondria in films. That's why this film feels very close... and too damn funny. Those lines truly echoed in my head during my darkest times and made me laugh. A message of hope, love and community. Surely in my top five Woody Allen.

Despite watching through a modern lens of seeing Allen as the creepy dude he seems to be, you can't deny that this interweaving story is a classic. Sure, the Allen parts are a tad... Woody Allen-y with the neurotic, hypochondriac being all nebbish and insecure, but the rest deals with some real emotions and balances a lot of humanity as it goes in and out of the lives of the characters. Well worth a watch with some strong performances!

As I get older I find I'm beginning to prefer these more complex offerings on relationships and human morals by Woody Allen over his earlier all-out comedies (not to say they aren't a lot of fun themselves).

Hannah (Mia Farrow) is a lovely level-headed woman who used to be married to obsessive hypochondriac Mickey (Woody Allen), but things never worked out so they split. Hannah is now married to Elliot (Michael Caine) who lately has been yearning to strike up a side romance with Hannah's sister Lee (Barbara Hershey). Since Lee herself is shacked up with a closeted and unadventurous older artist (Max Von Sydow) she finds herself susceptible to her brother-in-law's advances.

Meanwhile, the paranoid Mickey discovers he may have a dangerous brain tumor during one of his routine pilgrimages to his doctor, and starts having second thoughts on life and death, seeking to change from his own Jewish religion to Catholicism, or possibly even an Eastern faith. He has had a bad history of dating Holly (Dianne Wiest) who is another of Hannah's sisters, but has her own past drug history to contend with, as well as a constant struggle to be accepted as a serious performer or writer.

There is a lot going on in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, but it's mostly interesting and perhaps self-revealing for the viewer. That meaning there may be one or more characters who are experiencing something any of us might be able to identify with. It's an enjoyable blend of romance, self-awareness, passion, confronting one's own mortality, and ultimately trying just to enjoy life. It also makes us laugh, mainly through some of Allen's observations. ***1/2 out of ****

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Hannah And Her Sisters is one of the most realistic human dramas portrayed on film. Like most of Woody's movies, the characters are very real people with very real issues that the common person can identify with.

Brilliantly balanced between drama and comedy, the movie tells two parallel stories: Elliot (Michael Caine) who's in love with Lee (Barbara Hershey) who is the sister of his wife Hannah (Mia Farrow), and Mickey (Woody Allen) a neurotic hypochondriac trying to find a purpose for his life.

Woody's characters are well-written as usual, and the actors do an amazing job playing them and displaying real emotions. The dialogue is interesting, romantic, funny and clever.

Overall, one of Woody Allen's masterpieces and an example of how to write interesting, believable characters.

In my mind, Hannah and Her Sisters will always be Woody Allen's best work, but considering that I have only seen three of his films, it doesn't really matter what I say. The film is far more superior to Allen's claim-to-fame charmer, Annie Hall because of the multiple love triangles and the complicated emotions hidden beneath. While Annie Hall will always be a story about those two hopeless neurotics whose relationship was not meant to be, Hannah and Her Sisters is about fixing relationships and developing new ones that make the world a better place.

The film spans two years into the lives of three sisters in New York: Hannah (Mia Farrow), Lee (Barbara Hershey), and Holly (Dianne Weist) are sisters. Hannah, the perfect actress sister who keeps the family together as she prepares the Thanksgiving dinner is married to Elliot (Michael Caine) who is hopelessly in love with Lee, who is living with Frederick (Max von Sydow). Hannah was once married to Mickey Sachs (Woody Allen) is a television producer and hypochondriac who go to the doctor almost daily. Holly meets Mickey after difficulties of finding what she wants to do in her life, and despite their differences, they are quite similar.

One the things that made this film stand out was Michael Caine's character, Elliot. He is involved with his wife's sister, who is also quite fond of him, but probably doesn't have the same exact feelings as he does for him. Their relationship is unpredictable as Elliot finds out that he actually does admire his perfect wife Hannah very much. He knows he is in much more trouble as Lee decides to leave Frederick.

Dianne Weist is really good here as Holly. Despite being quite unlikable, her relationship with Mickey rings true. Their relationship almost reminds me of the relationship between Alvy Singer and Annie Hall – just that Holly isn't ditzy. I think what draws them together is that they don't know exactly what they want to do in life. As Holly changes professions, Mickey changes religions (one of the highlight moments for me in the film).

Overall, Hannah and Her Sisters is a likable and almost feels like a novel, with black screens with quotations and chapter introductions. I liked how Allen makes a film seems different by creating that sort of tidbits. The film ends happily on the last Thanksgiving, as everything begins to sort out and everyone seems to finally find a place in the world.

Hannah and Her Sisters is one of Woody Allen's very best films. It's a skillful mix of comedy and drama, with a lot of perceptive observations about life and relationships. It's centred on the lives of three sisters from Manhattan. The plot-line is too full of detail to be usefully described here, it's best to simply watch it for yourself to discover its nuances. But suffice to say, the film is structured in such a way that the comedic and dramatic threads are separated a little, with the story involving Allen's character and his neurosis's being the one with most of the obvious laughs, while the other parts centred more directly on the sisters being more dramatic.

The cast is outstanding with standout turns from almost everybody. Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest picked up deserved Oscars but really you could name half a dozen top level performances from this movie. Also, it's really clear here again that Allen is one of the best screenwriters when it comes to creating female characters. The women drive the film and they are all extremely believable. This is partly down to brilliant acting but also terrific writing and direction. And it would be remiss not to add that in amongst the top drawer acting and dramatics is a lot of great comedy too. There are several terrific one liners and many other more subtle comic observations. And Allen himself is really funny once again. After Annie Hall, it's just possible that Hannah and Her Sisters is the most accomplished movie Woody Allen ever directed.

Well I'm a self-confessed Woody Allen fan, but I think my responses to his work are balanced. I admit, for example, that not all of his films are good; take Curse of the Jade Scorpion for example. Hannah and Her Sisters, however, is one of the very best Woody Allen films and a great film "period". My better half hates most Woody Allen films but agrees that this one is a superb movie.

It was in this film that we realised that Michael Caine can seriously act - his performance is excellent. Barbara Hershey, Mia Farrow and Woody himself are also in sparkling form.

It is a compelling film from start to finish. I saw it soon after it came out and then again recently. 15 years gives you a different perspective on the piece and I enjoyed it enormously, but differently, both times. The scene where Micky (Woody's character) ends up in a movie house watching the Marx Brothers and realising the value of life has been an enduring memory of this film for me, although thankfully I do not suffer from the depressions and doubts of the neurotic Micky. His hypochondria (which to some extent I do share) is hilarious.

This is a charming, funny, deep and entertaining film. Do see it.

Another great Woody Allen film. The cast is amazing - and no offense to Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Barbara Hershey, Dianne Wiest, and Woody himself - but seeing Max von Sydow (age 57) and Maureen O'Sullivan (age 75, and also Farrow's real-life mother) was truly special. Keep an eye out for John Turturro, Lewis Black, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus too. In the film, Allen plumbs the depths of existential angst, love and marriage, and finding one's path as an artist when facing so much rejection. The interleaving stories, multiple characters allowed interior dialogue, and action often centered on family gatherings worked very well. I loved the shots of the architectural sites and shops of New York, and as always the humor. The writing is top-notch, as Allen asks big questions about our lives but does so in ways that are cleverly funny and with sprinkles of erudite references. While 'Crimes and Misdemeanors' from a few years later has many of the same things and is ultimately pessimistic, 'Hannah and Her Sisters' has a mature optimism to it, despite our flaws, anxieties, and transience. The scene in the movie theater watching the Marx Brothers in 'Duck Soup' is sweet, and one of several that are memorable.

Life is one giant human comedy, and Woody Allen understands, and portrays, this fact better than any living American director. I prefer him when he's trying to make a comedy comedy ("Manhattan Murder Mystery", "Sleeper"), but there's no denying just how proficient of a writer, of a director he is when it comes to studying the complex relationships between lovers, friends, family. "Annie Hall" remains immortally wise, "Manhattan" blindsidingly poignant. He hit his stride during his professional (and personal) relationship with Mia Farrow (lasting in the movies from 1982-1992), "Hannah and Her Sisters" acting as the era defining tour-de-force that broadened his horizons as a writer as mischievously observant as his idol, Ingmar Bergman.

Told in three stretches over a two-year period, "Hannah and Her Sisters" begins during Thanksgiving and ends during Thanksgiving, both dinners held at Hannah (Farrow) and her husband, Elliot's (Michael Caine), impressive New York apartment. Acting as a plot device in similar spirit to the Cookie of "Cookie's Fortune" or the Alex of "The Big Chill", the interweaving stories, in some shape or form, connect to the perpetually frazzled blonde.

As the film opens, Hannah, along with her sisters, are facing particularly difficult periods in their lives. Normally happily married, Hannah and Elliot's union begins to hit turbulence when Elliot suddenly finds himself obsessed with his wife's earthy sibling, Lee (Barbara), with whom he begins having an affair. The neurotic Lee, in turn, is currently living with a much older, antisocial artist (Max Von Sydow) she no longer finds physically or mentally arousing.

While Lee's guilt thickens, Hannah, in the meantime, is forced to act as the emotional net for her basket case sister Holly (Dianne Wiest), an ex-cocaine addict who jumps from career to career while attempting to also make it as a Broadway actress. Her failed jabs at a normal life eventually settle, however, when she begins dating Mickey (Woody Allen), Hannah's hypochondriac ex-husband.

"Hannah and Her Sisters" kicks off as warm as any one of Allen's other comedies, but as its observational progression toward character study oblivion becomes more apparent, the film turns voyeuristic — it's as though we're a fly on the wall, catching glimpses of these imperfect people at their most imperfect times. Notice how the vulnerabilities of the characters never lose their prominence even when they're putting on friendly façades for strangers, how Allen draws such subtly profound characterizations that it becomes increasingly effortless to understand these people so well it's as though we've known them since they were children. Long after "Hannah and Her Sisters" closes does one begin to realize just how masterful of a writer Allen is; he can cover up his genius with his neuroses all he wants, but to make a cast of characters feel so multidimensional in the scope of a single film is an astonishingly difficult task — for Allen, it's duck soup. He's the perceptive one in the room.

It's as if he's known people like these before. Hannah is the kindhearted success story whose need to nurture sometimes hinders her own personal growth; Lee is the intellectual who doesn't quite know where to focus her potential. Holly is the type that fantasizes about what her life could be like rather than trying to make much needed changes; Mickey closes himself off in a bubble of fear because he doesn't want to admit that a mundane life is something okay to live. Perfectly cast, the ensemble feels like one large extension of Allen's consciousness.

"Hannah and Her Sisters" is a saga of failed attempts at moviedom happiness, combining comedy and heartfelt drama with startling pathos. The characters here aren't merely characters but people, people with ticks, little confidence, doubts. How Allen so successfully pens them all I can hardly understand — just let the film do the talking instead of me.

Hannah and Her Sisters-***1/2 (out of 4)- After starting off with his bizarre, slapstick comedies, Woody Allen reached into dramatic terrain in the late 1970s, while still retaining his comic insight. He clearly displays an empathy and an understanding for family drama, neurosis, and despair in this film. His observations on the Upper Crust of NYC are still fresh and wonderful. Besides that, he gets terrific help from his cast of actors, showcasing Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest at their peak of form. However, you can't forget Mia Farrow as Hannah herself and Allen as the typical suicidal hypochondriac New Yorker with a sense of existential dismay over the world. The film is an expansion of Allen's art, encompassing more than just his character, but expanding to include other characters, separating this movie from his previous classics and broadening his film canvas as an artist.

This film is about Hanna (Mia Farrow) who is married to Elliot (Michael Caine) and her two sister Lee (Barbara Hershey) who lives with a man who could be her father, Frederick (Max Von Sydow) and she is a recovering alcoholic, and Holly, who doesn't know what she wants to do with her life.

The film start when all the family get together for Thanksgiving dinner. At the very start trouble brews for this family. Elliot is fantasizing about Lee how much he wants her. Holly is coming up with plan to start a catering business with her friend April (Carrie Fisher) and of course she wants Hanna to finance because she is a successful actress, and the film takes off after that. The theme being this could be happening in your family right now. The film breaks away to each character and does a very good job of letting you understand their feelings Before long after the attention being shown to Lee by Elliot she succumbs to him, and the guilty come after a few time sleeping with him not right away. Elliot is caught up in should he leave Hanna for her sister or stay because Hanna is a good wife. Lee on the other hand is tired of the old guy anyway trying to be a teacher to her instead of what she needs is a relationship.

Mickey (Woody Allen) is Hanna ex-husband who is a hypochondriac who can take the smallest thing and turn in to a very big thing. Mickey really makes the film. He gets a ear infection and now he is dying from a tumor, not really but that what he thinks.

Holly is the one who always been in trouble, but the family is waiting for her to make something of herself. She comes up with that plan and that plan of course Hanna is footing the bill. Hanna doesn't know what is going one with anything, she things all is well maybe her and Elliot need to talk to someone and they will be back to normal. The film makes a full circle coming back to Thanksgiving dinner at the end and all the changes that have taken place since the dinner at the beginning of the film.

The film musical score is one of the highlights of the film. The music blended mixed right along with the scenes. The camera used close up shot to show the look the reactions of the actor and actress to make the audience feel how they felt.

Overall this film is for adults who can see their own family members in the film. Lee cheating with her sister's husband may put some at odds but it does happen all the time. The point being is that all family's have problems maybe not as extreme as the film or maybe more extreme. This is an example of the lives of everyday people.

This movie has a first-rate screenplay and it is worth watching for the humor and the one-liners that fly by in the course of the conversations. Woody Allen has assembled a cast of seasoned actors as well as a few with long-time seasoning in the case of Maureen O'Sullivan,Lloyd Nolan and Max Von Sydow. The usual venues of parties, dating, family get-togethers and meetings give rise to the angst of modern life. The situations are often funny, sometimes bordering on hilarity. Mia Farrow plays Hannah, the sister who is the "brick" in the family, the stable one who comforts and counsels and comes to the aid of everyone else, even her parents, played by Nolan and O'Sullivan. In the end she too faces her own personal crisis. In the background is Woody Allen whose fear of impending death never comes to pass. This life crisis leads him towards religion as a way of coping with the inevitable. His short embrace with Catholicism ends in disappointment,as does his subsequent courtship with the Hare Krishna movement. Eventually, he finds closure to calm his restless spirit.