Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

• Year: 1989
• Released: 03 Nov 1989
• Country: United States
• Adwords: Nominated for 3 Oscars. 16 wins & 26 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097123/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/crimes_and_misdemeanors
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/crimes-and-misdemeanors
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English, Hebrew
• MPA Rating: PG-13
• Genre: Comedy, Drama
• Runtime: 104 min
• Writer: Woody Allen
• Director: Woody Allen
• Cast: Martin Landau, Woody Allen, Bill Bernstein
• Keywords: murder, new york city, doctor, assassin, adultery,

	7.8/10
	77/100
	92% – Critics
	91% – Audience

Crimes and Misdemeanors Storyline

Two separate but interweaving stories of the moral choices made in crumbling marriages and marital infidelity are presented. On the want of his wife Wendy and so that he can finance his own project, struggling documentary filmmaker Clifford Stern reluctantly accepts the offer of Wendy’s brother, Lester, a successful but pompous and egotistical television producer, to shoot a commissioned documentary of him for a television documentary anthology series. The offer by Lester is also reluctant as he has a mutual dislike of Cliff, but wanted to help Wendy. However, in the process of shooting, Cliff meets recently divorced Halley Reed, an associate producer for the documentary television series. As Cliff and Halley spend time together, he contemplates having an affair with her, not only because he feels his life with Wendy is stagnating, but because Halley had previously rejected Lester’s advances. Meanwhile, well respected and honored ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal learns that his mistress of two years, ex-flight attendant Dolores Paley, wants to tell Judah’s wife of twenty-five years, Miriam, of their affair. Despondent Dolores believes that Judah has lied to her in that he stated or at least implied that he would leave Miriam, and as such she has placed her life and opportunities on hold for him. Judah denies that he ever intended on leaving Miriam. As Judah speaks to others for guidance, both spiritual and practical, on how to handle the issue with Dolores who is applying greater and greater pressure on him, Judah contemplates taking the advice of his lowlife brother Jack to have her murdered so that he can retain the outwardly successful and happy life he leads.

Crimes and Misdemeanors Play trailer

Crimes and Misdemeanors Photos

Crimes and Misdemeanors Torrents Download

Crimes and Misdemeanors Subtitles Download

Crimes and Misdemeanors Movie Reviews

“Human happiness does not seem to be included in the design of creation… If you want a happy ending, you should go see a Hollywood movie.”

“Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989)- is Woody Allen’s masterpiece and my favorite film. It is urban and sophisticated, subtle and cruel. It is darker than dark and self-ironic. It is profound and touchingly poignant. It is deadly serious and in the same time it is incredibly funny. Its humor is razor sharp and sparkling and the best and funniest Woody’s one-liners and comic performances belong here. As always in his best films, Allen had created a clever and elegant film out of his own weaknesses and insecurities and it shines. How much was Allen able to meditate on life, death, God, religion, morality, crimes and the responsibility, love and lust, happiness and the price one pays for it, and among those eternal subjects – how much fun it is to skip work or school and to sneak to the movies.

It is universal. It has the references to many Artists and cultures – Chekhov, Dostoyevsky, and Bergman among the others but it is so undeniably and uniquely Allen. It could not have been made by any other director.

It is the movie Allen will be remembered for.

Allen’s best

This is a profound film, a true classic and great even among Woody Allen’s great films! Thought-provoking and involving, I’ve found since seeing it that the film and its statements about good versus evil, denial, guilt, narcissism, have never really left me. A film with many layers, one that demands a re-visiting from time to time.

One of Woody Allen’s most ambitious films, also one of his classics

Woody Allen is not everybody’s cup of tea, with me while his body of work is not always consistent(but that is true with a lot of directors) much of it is wittily written and insightful as seen with his masterpiece Annie Hall. Crimes and Misdemeanours has everything that is so good about the best of his work. With the subject matter and how the comedy and seriousness is blended Crimes and Misdemeanours is one of Allen’s most ambitious, and along with the likes of Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Husbands and Wives and Manhattan it’s one of his best too. The look of the film is elegant and hauntingly dark, while the score is jazzy and seductive. The story has some key themes(good and evil and life and death as examples) that are very clearly addressed and dealt with with adroitness and truth. The concept is not an innovative one as such but it’s challenging and hugely compelling. And the writing is to thank for that, the humour is wonderfully ironic and very characteristic of the distinctive wise-cracking Allen style, there are references and observations that are sharp and insightful(always one of Allen’s strong points as a writer) and they is blended well with a serious tone that is dark and appropriately troubling, the shifts between comedy and drama didn’t jar to me. The acting is very good, often outstanding. Woody Allen acts as well as directs and writes and there are no obvious problems with his performance(or his directing), not a likable character by all means but that was the intent. Anjelica Huston doesn’t disappoint, nor does Jerry Orbach before his Law and Order days, Sam Waterson and Claire Bloom. Mia Farrow is affecting as well. But the acting honours go to Alan Alda and especially Martin Landau, Alda plays an absolute weasel to perfection while Landau gives a performance that has not only only been matched by his Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood but also one of the greatest performances of any Woody Allen film. All in all, a Woody Allen classic, an example of ambitious done brilliantly. 10/10 Bethany Cox