Rent Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

ComedySteve

Woody returns to straight drama (save a few comic lines for himself) but this has an energy that was missing from Interiors. It follows the conflicts and heartaches of three sisters and the men who orbit their lives over two years, bookended by a pair of Thanksgiving parties.

Allen is the former husband of Mia Farrow's Hannah who marries Holly (Diane Wiest) having faced a crisis when he becomes convinced he has a terminal illness. Michael Caine is Hannah's present husband who has an affair with the middle sister, April (Barbara Hershey). For this film, the critical acclaim that had somehow evaded Allen through the eighties, finally landed.

 It has a brilliant script which deservedly won the Oscar and the cast don't fluff it. I'm not usually impressed by Michael Caine, but here he is most sympathetic as a philanderer stricken by a bad conscience. It's such a treat to see Max von Sydow as an impenetrable, brittle intellectual, a relentless pessimist in a relationship with April. And from the golden age, Hannah's parents are played by Lloyd Nolan and Mia's real mother, Maureen O'Sullivan ('such a boozy flirt').

But best of all is Diane Wiest who brings so much necessary elan to the film and whose captivating appeal gives the great ending ('I'm pregnant!') such a kick. It is an actors film, in which Wiest and Caine won Oscars but we also get one of the most beautiful portrayals of Manhattan through the eyes of an architect played by Sam Waterson. Having faced death and finding no solace in religion, Woody finds epiphany through the Marx Brothers. Such a classic Allen resolution.

Top of the class - Hannah and Her Sisters review by HM

Somehow Allen's jokes/one liners work in this serious drama about emotional entanglement within a family and self doubt over desires. Wonderfully done and a classic. Haven't seen it? Well make sure you do, also Michael Cane's finest hour. You won't be anything less than addicted from the start, witty, well observed and absorbing; unless of course you are primarily into Guardians of the Galaxy 2 type films.....

Enjoyable - Hannah and Her Sisters review by AER

This is the first time I've seen Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters; I recently rewatched Annie Hall and saw 'Melinda and Melinda' too - so I'm going through something of a Woody Allen phase it would seem. The most recent one I've seen of his was Wonder Wheel which seems like a long time ago now...

Anyway, Hannah and Her Sisters benefits from pushing Woody Allen (the actor) into a supporting role rather than have him hogging the limelight. I'm not a fan of his characters (which always seem the same), so this was cool to see Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, and Barbara Hershey take centre stage for once - and they embody some interesting roles convincingly. Woody isn't even the best male actor in the film, as Michael Caine and Max Von Sydow have better roles and nail them with aplomb. Hannah and Her Sisters is an entertaining, serio-comedy that adds nothing new to the Woody Allen cycle of films. Like all his movies, you either warm to the story or you don't I enjoyed this as it wasn't as irritating and as dated as some appear to be. Look out for John Turturro in a walk-on role!