Crimes and Misdemeanors
1989 Directed by Woody Allen
Synopsis
A New York doctor resorts to desperate measures when his long-term mistress threatens to reveal their affair if he doesn't marry her. When his brother offers to eliminate the situation, he is faced with a moral dilemma. Meanwhile, Clifford Stern is commissioned to make a portrait of successful TV producer and brother-in-law Lester, who represents everything that Clifford despises.
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“God is a luxury I can’t afford”
I picked up this film so many times in the library and rental store, today I finally brought it back home. What took me so long? Crimes and Misdemeanors is a rare piece of cinema; blending straight up humor whilst giving the audience something to chew on. Actually more than just something… a lot of things. It’s rare to see a film appease on both intellectual and entertainment levels. Woody Allen addresses the complexity of human nature/emotion(s) with both dramatic and comedic appeal; satisfying everyone.
Allen’s screenplay revolves around two protagonists with no relation with the other. But because of their similar situations, are seamlessly juxtaposed in this story. Judah (Landau) a praised… -
An outstanding Woody Allen film!
Perfectly structured...we learn the entire Martin Landau character through his speech in the opening scene-we learn his life dilemma in the following scene when he opens his mail-we get deeper information into how this dilemma came to be with each scene that follows.
Landau is truly mesmerizing in this. We can see all of his stress and conflict through his facial expressions-his deep stares into his memories and thoughts-excellent work-well deserved Oscar nod for this role. After the turning point in the film he gets even better-the guilt that he deals with and how it brings his entire existence and ever battling belief or non belief of God into the foreground is executed without a…
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My experience with Woody Allen thus far is highlighted by Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979), both which deal with the natural dysfunction of relationships, marriage and love with Allen's signature intellectual wit. This one is noticeably different, but still maintains that distinctive intelligent charm while being less aloof and whimsically meandering. There is actually an easily distinguishable narrative that follows two characters - successful ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal and small-time filmmaker Clifford Stern. Judah, played by Martin Landau, is plagued by his neurotic mistress (Anjelica Huston) who threatens to expose their affair and shady business deals he did in the past. He is overcome by his fear which results in him making an impulsive and immoral judgement call. Clifford, played…
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#1 for Great Movies May
This feels very much like a transitional film for Woody Allen - half follows a documentary filmmaker (Allen) and his unlucky artistic and romantic pursuits, the other half is a more dark drama about an eye doctor (Martin Landau) who contemplates murdering his mistress. Both are good, but it's only until the end that they're pulled together and their cohabitation of the same film makes sense. As usual with Allen, the witticisms and narcissistic self-loathing come thick and fast, there's plenty of infidelity mostly committed by ageing men, and sprinklings of cinematic and literature references (Singin' In the Rain!). Perhaps this revisiting of themes is what makes Allen an auteur; I really respect his work…
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Ben: It's a human life. You don't think God sees?
Judah Rosenthal: God is a luxury I can't afford.After having to watch the brooding mess that is Woody Allen's 'Match Point' yesterday for Media class, I decided to go back and watch a similar film, Woody's 'Crimes and Misdemeanors'. Allen's morality based tale may be one of his greatest achievements, filled with terrific performances and profound moments, it's an endearing and moving experience, a terrific film that makes 'Match Point' seem even worse.
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Hard to pick because there are so many great ones, but I think this might be my favorite Woody Allen movie. So many layers.
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Revisiting one of Allen's masterpiece dramas after almost 7 years was an enriching experience. While earlier the movie was just two extraordinary stories told in classic tragicomic style, today while watching it I felt a much greater force of deep themes (like God, religion, love, philosophy, success) and a heartfelt pang of Woody to let his viewers enjoy a piece of his mind. This is surely a movie to inspire generations of film makers, a lesson in how to achieve the perfect blend of profoundness and sarcasm. Kudos to the ensemble cast at having pulled this off so miraculously, and Woody, what can I say? You're a genius.
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“God is a luxury I can’t afford”
I picked up this film so many times in the library and rental store, today I finally brought it back home. What took me so long? Crimes and Misdemeanors is a rare piece of cinema; blending straight up humor whilst giving the audience something to chew on. Actually more than just something… a lot of things. It’s rare to see a film appease on both intellectual and entertainment levels. Woody Allen addresses the complexity of human nature/emotion(s) with both dramatic and comedic appeal; satisfying everyone.
Allen’s screenplay revolves around two protagonists with no relation with the other. But because of their similar situations, are seamlessly juxtaposed in this story. Judah (Landau) a praised… -
Una película bastante entretenida e interesante desde el punto de vista de los dos personajes principales, Judah y Clifford. Lo que me gustó bastante, aunque tampoco es muy significante, es que el título encajó perfectamente con las historias que se cuentan a lo largo de la trama. El título, a mi parecer, es muy importante a la hora de escribir un guión de una película, saber que título ponerle y que la identifique perfectamente es muy importante.
La historia es un tanto complicada al principio, pero no tardas en darte cuenta que algunas de las escenas que no pertenecen a la acción que se está desarrollando en ese momento, son flashbacks de los personajes y recuerdos de los mismos. Luego…
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This is Allen at his darkest and most existential. The existence of God is underlined throughout the movie, but the question doesn't really come down to that. Rather, it doesn't matter if God exists or not, since he never steps in. The powerful men get away with anything, while the schlubby men suffer.
It's not as funny as Love and Death (though this movie could easy have that title as well), for example, but Woody Allen proves his perfect comedic timing works even in the bleakest of stories.
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I haven't seen this film for about 20 years. I remember it as representing Allen's rejection of, and farewell to, the idea of God and a higher law. Of course, this was a much more complicated work of art than I was accustomed to at the time. I heard it was a masterpiece, and was happy to agree, excited to be appreciating a movie that was much more "grownup" in its concerns.
Watching it now, I'm surprised at how clunky the film seems, how it feels like the work of someone with questions so loud in his head that they almost overwhelm his ability to tell stories.
The typical Woody Allen character who stumbles Chaplin-like through his movies seems to…
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Woody Allen often mixes comedy with tragedy, but in this movie in particular, since it has two on going stories, it feels like one carries the tragedy and the other the comedy. To me that caused it to feel like two separate movies tied together by merely a whisper, they fit together but didn't require each other. Getting past that I really enjoyed the stories, I feel like the themes it explores are more successfully developed on Match Point, but you can see his first iteration on this idea of justice and corruption, along with a lack of self analysis.
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An excellent film. One of those rare movies I wanted to re-watch the moment it ended, if only to allow myself more time to mull over the themes and ideas tossed around. I will need some time to think about the film, but I did love it. The writing is fantastic, it's well directed and the performances are all wonderful. Out of all the Woody Allen films I've seen, it may be my favorite.
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I'm not sure how I feel about this one, its a bit like a boiled sweet. Reasonably enjoyable while it lasts, but once it's over, you're left a bit empty.
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A tale of two stories, if it was 100% Woody's then this would've been a lot better.