Barbara Hershey, Carrie Fisher, Michael Caine

Hannah regularly meets with her sisters Holly and Lee to discuss the weeks' events. It's what they don't always tell each other that forms the film's various subplots. Hannah is married to rock-star m...( read more  read more... )anager Elliot, who carries a torch for Lee, who in turn lives with pompous Soho artist Frederick. Meanwhile, Holly, a neurotic actress and eternal loser in love, dates TV producer Mickey, who used to be married to Hannah and spends most of the film convinced that he's about to die.

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88% liked it

7,884 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

40 critics

PG-13, 107 min.

Directed by: Woody Allen

Release Date: February 7, 1986

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DVD Release Date: November 6, 2001

Stats: 1,090 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,090)


  • June 14, 2009
    An easy movie to understand for me, as I too am in love with Barbara Hershey. With two deserving Oscar-winning performances (Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest, both in supporting roles), Hannah and Her Sisters is a truly enjoyable film from a filmmaker that I find myself getting mor...( read more)e and more into with every one of his films that I see. The best part, for me, was the solliloquies that each character got, a form of narration that was not as annoying as it usually is to hear a character think... and it's funny too. Most people put this among Woody Allen's best, and I know that it will lead me to watch more of his movies to see if I agree. An enjoyable meditation on coupledom that pulls off one of my favourite movie tricks - letting one piece of music basically tell the whole story - everyone should see this film at least once.
  • November 26, 2008
    The dress and relationships seen a little dated in this one, but it's another Woody Allen film in which Dianne Wiest shines. I also particularly like the scene where Allen is sitting in a movie theater watching a Marx Brothers film.
  • August 20, 2008
    In films like "Annie Hall" and "Husbands and Wives", Woody Allen shows a great understanding for human behavior as it regards to love. In "Hannah and Her Sisters", however, he offers much more than the familiar shallow and fairly pretentious world where people are driven only by ...( read more)their sexual desires. Although a character in this film quotes a poet that says something along the lines of "love is the only true answer", which i'd imagine Allen takes to heart, this is the only film i've seen by him that really tried to examine something more. It's about love, sure, but it's also about these vibrant and completely distinctive personalities that only exist in each others world because of a family bond. In this way, I think this film is ultimately more fulfilling than Allen's classics like "Annie Hall".

    "Husbands and Wives" is a complex story centered around the relationships of three sisters and their spouses. Elliot (Michael Caine) is married to Hannah (Mia Farrow), however he's recently developed interest in her younger sister, Lee (Barbara Hershey). Hannah, on the other hand, is really the only character in the film who seems fairly grounded. Her relationship seems unhealthy and she has some selfish tendencies, but overall she seems to be the one person we can really emotionally connect to. Elliot is all over the place acting sporadically on his impulses and constantly trying to tread through his guilt of cheating on his wife with her own sister.

    The third sister, Holly, is played magnificently by Dianne Wiest. Holly is insecure, unstable, and has a past of loud punk-rock music and excessive cocaine use. She doesn't seem to have too much direction throughout the film until we see her relationship with Mickey (Woody Allen) and what went wrong, and why Mickey lets his feelings for her reemerge. This is my favorite character Woody Allen has played in what i've seen - he is essentially the same guy, but we get an interesting look at a character who is constantly troubled by his fears of death and disease. Of course, by the end of the film you expect him to realize he should be happy living life and carrying on - but, before then, he just seems more "human" than the cartoonish character Allen tends to play in a film like "Sleeper" (which essentially is a cartoon) or even "Annie Hall".

    I probably only mentioned half of the significant characters as the screen is incredibly crowded. However, Allen is able to give everyone their chance to shine with an extremely complex and well-balanced script. No one's story is any less interesting than another. Unlike a lot of other films in this style, we never get restless waiting to see what another character is up to.

    Throughout this film we essentially get "chapters" - titles on the screen that come into play around the end of that particular "segment", usually a quote. This is an interesting technique and one I really enjoyed. First of all, it gave us something to look for and a focus for the next 15 minutes or so. And second of all, it was ironic in a way that these chapters were presented as a book while the life within the story is actually really chaotic. It mirrors the characters in the film who think they have everything sorted out and are going in one direction, when life takes them somewhere entirely different. By splitting it up so meticulously, it gives you a strong impression that order cannot necessarily be achieved due to the unpredictable nature of life itself.

    This is a wonderful ensemble cast with a whole lot of standouts. My favorite's were Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest, who are strong for entirely different reasons. Elliot's character always seemed to be reasoning with himself that he was a decent guy even under the circumstances, but Caine's delivery and almost constant uncomfortable reassurance of his nature made him almost come off as a "bad guy". He didn't do anything to make us look at him any differently or flat out have to slap around his wife for us to look at him negatively. Dianne Wiest, on the other hand, is a constantly evolving and charismatic character throughout the entirety of the film. I absolutely loved the scene late in the film where her character meets Mickey in a record store.

    Having only seen "Annie Hall", "Husbands and Wives", and "Sleeper" - I will easily say that I feel this is Allen's best work. This world is more complex and unpredictable while still examining similar characters in the same environment. It doesn't seem structured - it almost comes off as a documentary in it's realism, even moreso than "Husbands and Wives", in which it literally was treated as if it were a documentary. Really insightful and satisfying stuff here.
  • April 29, 2008
    heard some good reviews but i honestly didn't like it,and i usually adore woodys films
  • April 20, 2008
    ugh, so sad and ugly. yes he has variety but the stuff is soo much better.
  • November 4, 2009
    Woody Allen's character was good and I was glad to see Carrie Fisher in another role
  • October 27, 2009
    The film just moves me so much and still makes me laugh incredibly hard. The structure and the pacing are perfect! Amazing.
  • August 24, 2009
    Senza dubbio uno dei migliori film di Woody Allen, con la solita brillante sceneggiature e tante trovate registiche che sembrano omaggiare spesso il Maestro Bergman (magari la presenza di Von Sidow non è casuale). Personaggi ben studiati e dialoghi illuminanti sul senso (?) della...( read more) vita.
  • August 21, 2009
    I suspect Hannah is the female alter-ego of Woody Allen after all.There's a heartfelt emotion from beginning to end and all the characters gain something regardless of the low blows they might get or their selfish attitude most of the times.Wiest and O'Sullivan are the female roc...( read more)ks and Caine is the cool jazz,questions and quarrels are the main protagonists of this carousel of comedic adventures.
  • August 13, 2009
    Dumb and never ending.

Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Allen's writing and directing style is so strong and assured in this film that the actual filmmaking itself becomes a narrative voice, just as we sense Henry James behind all of his novels, or William... full review

View more Hannah and Her Sisters reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • 68Scottie86
    February 3, 2008
    Was Carrie Fisher a sister because she barely had anything to do with the film at all and she was never in the sister pictures, look she's not even in the poster and she was a sister. It's like Hannah and 2/3 of her sisters
  • Iqbalplayboi64
    October 11, 2006
    Its sad but im not crying

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Hannah and Her Sisters Trivia


  • Michael Caine won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in which movie?  Answer »
  • Which character actress has these films in common? Hannah and Her Sisters The Lost Boys Edward Scissorhands Little Man Tate  Answer »
  • My real name is Maurice Joseph Michlawhite,but changed it after seeing The Caine Mutiny. For over 40 years, parents kept secret that brother was in mental home.Won Oscar in 1986 for Hannah and Her Sisters.Also in Sleuth,Italian Job,and many as elder man, last being Children of Men. My name is-  Answer »
  • In the film "Hannah and Her Sisters", Woody Allen's character complains of what...  Answer »

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