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Synopsis

Considered by many to be Woody Allen’s best film, even over Annie Hall. Hannah and Her Sisters follows a multitude of characters: Hannah (Mia Farrow), who plays den mother to her extended family; her sister Lee (Barbara Hershey), emotional and a bit of a flake, who’s involved with a much older artist (Max Von Sydow), who treats her like a child; and Hannah’s other sister, Holly (Dianne Wiest), a neurotic who feels incapable of managing her life. Hannah’s husband Elliot (Michael Caine) falls in love with Lee, which sets off a series of upheavals. Allen gives one of his best performances as Hannah’s ex-husband Mickey, who—much like Allen himself—is obsessed with death and unhappiness. But a simple summary doesn’t begin to capture the warmth and intimacy of this movie; though the story follows a capsizing family, the outcome is surprising, joyous, and richly human. –Bret Fetzer

Director

Original

Woody Allen

Actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright Woody Allen redefined film comedy during the 1970s, bringing a new measure of sophistication and personal complexity to the form. Born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in Brooklyn, NY, on December 1, 1935, he adopted his stage name at the age of 17, and in 1953 enrolled in NYU’s film program, and soon dropping out of school to begin writing for comedian David Alber. Two years later, Allen graduated to writing for television; during his five-year in television, his efforts won him an Emmy nomination. He eventually decided to try his hand as a stand-up performer. After slowly gaining a reputation on the New York-club circuit, he became a frequent talk show guest and in 1964 issued his self-titled debut comedy LP. With 1966’s What’s Up, Tiger Lily?, a puckish re-tooling of a Japanese spy thriller complete with his own story line and dubbed English dialogue, he made his directorial debut. In 1969 Allen directed two short films for a CBS television special… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 42 wall posts.
Picture of Carlos Rui Ribeiro

Carlos Rui Ribeiro

6May13

nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

Picture of Cbarky99

Cbarky99

11Apr13

Embarrassingly enough, for some reason, I thought Sigourney Weaver was in this. Barbara Hershey gives a terrific, deft performance and the film is a good one, but I couldn't help feeling tricked by the version that had existed only in my head into being just a little let down by the final product

Picture of Annina

Annina

18Mar13

i gave it an extra star for the scene with the three sisters in the restaurant. underwhelming... and definitely not the insightful character study that others have alluded to.

a Smith likes this

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sister chromatid

6Mar13

Wonderful character study.

Baby Rocco likes this

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Fans

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Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

"Wise Cracks: The Comedies of Woody Allen"

By David Hudson on December 30, 2011

Notes on the series running in London through February 8.

read article

Lists

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Reviews

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Hannah and her sisters: a reflective view of life

By F.B. Elliott on June 26, 2010

Although in my Woody Allen Films list I place this movie in the third position after Annie Hall and Crimes and Misdemeanors, unquestionably, this is one of his finest works. We are thrown into our…  read review

Untitled

By Eric Osborn on June 16, 2009

I love how Allen touches on so many subjects here: love and relationships, family and friendship, mortality and religion and philosophy. So often during his films, I get the urge to jot down a line…  read review

Forum

Displaying 1 discussion topic.

Realistic Optimism

15 posts by 4 people over 1 year ago