CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS (DVD/WS/16X9/COLL BK/1989/CONTEMPORARY C/TRAILER) DVD

Crimes and Misdemeanors
Woody Allen spent most of the 1980s and '90s veering between comedy and drama, and he rarely combined the two with greater success than in Crimes and Misdemeanors, in which he weaved together two stories, one deadly serious, one often funny, both ending in sadness. Martin Landau plays Dr. Judah Rosenthal, a prominent ophthalmologist with a successful practice, a loving family, and a reputation for generous charity work. But Rosenthal also has a secret: his mistress, Dolores (Anjelica Huston). What began as a casual fling has become uncomfortably intimate, and as he tries to break off the relationship, Dolores threatens to expose his infidelity to his wife and some unorthodox financial arrangements to his colleagues. Fearful that Dolores will make good on her threats, Judah confesses his secret to his brother Jack (Jerry Orbach), who has ties to organized crime and offers to "make the problem go away." Meanwhile, Cliff Stern (Woody Allen) is a filmmaker working on his pet project, a documentary about philosopher Prof. Louis Levy (Martin Bergmann). However, films about philosophers don't pay the rent, so Cliff's wife Wendy (Joanna Gleason) arranges for him to make a documentary for public television about her brother Lester (Alan Alda), a famous TV comedian whose vapidity is exceeded only by his arrogance. While Cliff tries to bite the bullet and finish the film, he finds himself falling in love with PBS producer Halley Reed (Mia Farrow). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Martin Landau as Judah Rosenthal Woody Allen as Cliff Stern Mia Farrow as Halley Reed Alan Alda as Lester Anjelica Huston as Dolores Paley Jerry Orbach as Jack Rosenthal Sam Waterston as Ben Joanna Gleason as Wendy Stern Caroline Aaron as Barbara Claire Bloom as Miriam Rosenthal Stephanie Roth as Sharon Rosenthal Jenny Nichols as Jenny David S. Howard as Sol Rosenthal Anna Berger as Aunt May Victor Argo as Detective Martin Bergmann as Prof. Louis Levy

Crew Speed Hopkins - Art Director Thomas A. Reilly - Associate Producer Helen Robin - Associate Producer Juliet Taylor - Casting Jeffrey Kurland - Costume Designer Woody Allen - Director Susan E. Morse - Editor Jack Rollins - Executive Producer Charles H. Joffe - Executive Producer Fern Buchner - Makeup Santo Loquasto - Production Designer Sven Nykvist - Cinematographer Joseph Hartwick - Production Manager Robert Greenhut - Producer Susan Bode-Tyson - Set Designer Woody Allen - Screenwriter

Crimes and Misdemeanors
One of Woody Allen's most serious dramatic comedies, Crimes and Misdemeanors invoked comparisons to Hannah and Her Sisters, which Allen had made three years earlier. Similar to Hannah in its novel-like scope, interweaving stories, and rich ensemble acting, Crimes took the previous film's moral and ethical issues one step further: whereas Hannah was primarily concerned with love and loss, Crimes presented questions about the very meaning of human existence. Unabashedly philosophical, Allen's film was also one of his darkest, powered by a relentless pessimism, evocative of Allen's heroes Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, and Anton Chekhov, coming to rest at the conclusion that true love will go unrewarded and the bad will go unpunished. It is a mark of Allen's strength as a director and storyteller that, despite such pessimism, Crimes managed to be a surprisingly funny film, a masterful demonstration of Allen's ability to weave together high comedy and sober drama. An ambitious project that Allen helmed with remarkable self-assurance, Crimes and Misdemeanors further established him as one of the cinema's most reliably cerebral directors. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
 

Alan Alda: National Board of Review, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) Alan Alda: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) Martin Landau: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominated) Woody Allen: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Director (nominated) Woody Allen: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Original Screenplay (nominated) Woody Allen: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Director (nominated) Woody Allen: Directors Guild of America, Best Director (nominated)

Berlin International Film Festival, In Competition (nominated) British Academy of Film and Television, Best Picture (nominated) Golden Globe, Best Picture - Drama (nominated) National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: French, Spanish, English Sound Processing: 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects 1: PCM mono Additional Features: Collectable booklet Original theatrical trailer English: mono French: mono Spanish: mono French & Spanish subtitles DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 104 min Part of Series: Contemporary Classics   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Scene Selection 1. Main Title/Committed [1:21] 2. "Idea For Farce" [6:07] 3. To See Or Not To See [1:12] 4. High Anxiety [5:20] 5. "Tragedy Plus Time" [3:49] 6. Blind Date [4:51] 7. Handling The Problem [1:06] 8. Dark Justice [3:39] 9. Singin' In The Brain [2:22] 10. The Dirty Deed [2:41] 11. Crime And Passover [4:23] 12. Cut Short [3:06] 13. Meltdown [3:56] 14. Benito Jealousini [:56] 15. A Great Murder Story [5:03] 16. Epilogue/End Credits [4:17]