Watching writer/director Woody Allen's acclaimed Hannah and Her
Sisters had me thinking about Allen's own Radio Days, which I also
reviewed recently for DVDFILE. Unlike the sweet and nostalgic Radio
Days, Hannah and Her Sisters is definitely one of Allen's more typical
films about the neurotic relationships that upscale and artistically
inclined New Yorkers have with one another. These people behave in an
emotionally brutal fashion, and their insensitive actions most often
reflect their own self-absorption. I'd refer to it as the emotional
equivalent criminal negligence; the critical inability to put anyone
else's needs before their own (no matter how important one of these
characters might claim the person they're abusing is to them).
Like much of Allen's best work, Hannah and Her Sisters is
unflinchingly brave in how revealing Allen is about himself and his
relationships (especially his relationship with former partner Mia
Farrow). That so much of Allen's personal life has become public
knowledge, and so much of that is reflected in his films, makes a
movie like this one almost uncomfortable to watch. Another element of
this film, and many others that Allen has written and directed since,
deals with how the friends and relatives of the artist feel about
being portrayed in his work. Hannah and Hers Sisters features
standout performance from much of its terrific cast, especially
Michael Caine and Barbara Hershey. Caine's Elliot is an accountant
who's married to an actress named Hannah, but begins an affair with
Hannah's sister Lee, played by Hershey. In many ways they are the most
sympathetic characters in the film (Hannah herself might qualify, but
because of her strength she needs less than the others do). Their
attraction to one another and what they need from their relationship
is portrayed wonderfully. Hannah's sister Holly is played by Dianne
Wiest, who's terrific as the insecure sister who lashes out at Hannah,
seemingly resenting her for her professional and emotional success.
Max Von Sydow and Allen himself offer strong supporting roles.
Hannah and Her Sisters is going to be difficult for many people
because it's hard to find a character to get behind and root for; just
about everyone here behaves selfishly. But if you're someone who can
handle the raw emotion and don't need a hero (or even anyone who
behaves decently) in a movie, there's a lot of relevant commentary on
relationships to admire in this film and I recommend it to anyone who
can handle it.
Video: How Does The Disc
Look?
Hannah and Her Sisters is presented in anamorphic
widescreen, in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1. The colors are
deep and well balanced and the overall sharpness and quality of the
image here is a clear cut above what I saw in MGM's recent release of
Allen's Radio Days. While not reference quality, Hannah and Her
Sisters is nicely detailed and shows a degree of depth and
dimensionality that was not present in Radio Days. The image is solid
in every way, with no distracting edge enhancement or any other
transfer-related artifacts. This clean transfer looks good enough to
please fans of this film.
Audio: How Does the Disc
Sound?
Like all of Woody Allen's films I remember, Hannah
and Her Sisters is presented in mono. The most unfortunate aspect of
Allen's refusal to care about the sound of his films is that he always
has excellent music in them that would sound so much better if
presented in stereo. Oh well, no such luck here anyway. While limited
monaural, the sound here is clean and dialog is always intelligible,
although not always well integrated with the rest of the sound
elements. 
In addition to the English soundtrack, this DVD also
features Spanish and French mono tracks. Closed Captioning in English
and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish are present as well.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
The
theatrical trailer. Yee-haw.
Parting Thoughts
Not much to say. This is a decent, albeit "bare-bones"
DVD of one of Woody Allen's most acclaimed films. It helps to know
that this disc will most likely be available at retail at prices well
below $19.95. I remember paying $19.95 for VHS tapes way back in the
day, so it's pretty hard for me to argue with this DVD.
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