Customer Reviews
a lacklustre story but it keeps the viewer watching for its duration - By: dan the fan, 03 Jun 2008 
I'm a fan of Woody Allen films because they're always laced with witty comment & insight into the human condition.This film is no exception but I found that unlike many of Allen's other films the narrative didn't seem to focus enough on anyone in particular (which is surprising given the emphasis on Hannah in the film's title)and that I didn't feel emotionallly involved or sympathetic towards any of the characters being portrayed.
Michael Caine's character seemed out of place (an englishman in New York).
I also found the old-fashioned 1930s music & 1930s reminiscent drab,colourless clothes of the cast out of place given that we were supposed to be experiencing New York in the 1980s.However the dialogue was in general good & the film locations interesting.From watching other Woody Allen films I've noticed that they are at their best when he's in them & when he focuses the story on one particular actress.If you watch Melinda & Melinda you'll see an acting performance from Radha Mitchell -who plays Melinda -that is far superior to any performance by an actress in Hannah & her Sisters & likewise in Mighty Aphrodite - in my opinion Woody's best film - a tremendous & oscar winning performance from Mira Sorvino whose interaction with Woody is believable & hilarious & makes you like both Woody's character & her own.Hannah & her Sisters won three oscars overalll but don't let this fact & the impressive cast fool you - it is by no means Woody Allen's greatest work.I suspect that the film got its oscars more for its political take on the idea that family units are full of plotting & intrigue & not any better than alternative kinds of relationships,and that if people love each other it doesn't matter what harm their actions may cause (they're only human afteralll & the rest of us are reallly this bad too),rather than for the real quality of the script ( the story plodded on a bit & was even a little disjointed) or the acting
( Michael Caine's performance in particular was awkward & seemed out of place but he received an oscar for best supporting actor!).
A fine cast armed with a fine script - By: SEC, 14 Aug 2004 
Here we have a classic Woody script, fuelled by mid-life angst & fraught affections. It follows the relationship woes, conflicts & rivalries of three sisters. Into their lives comes Michael Caine, Woody Allen, & Max Von Sydow, & so the plot revolves around the interaction of these six characters, as they each contemplate their lot in life. Of the three men, we focus mainly on Woody, who frets about the meaning of his life, we focus a little on Michael, & not at alll on Max - possibly the most interesting of them because of his odd approach to society. It is one of my favourite movies. I must have watched it 40 times. It has subtlety & style, & the script has pace even when it deals with the issues of smalll lives. In the middle we also get a snippet of E E Cummings' poem "Somewhere I Have Never Travelled".
For some reason, Woody's movies never get the full DVD treatment, & here we receive no narratives, documentaries or interviews. The DVD menu is bland & cheaply done. We are not even offered Dolby sound, though I concede that the movie was originallly recorded in mono. What we do get is the movie, dubbed in five languages (English, German, French, Spanish & Italian) & theatrical trailer.
Woody is an important figure in cinema but not huge box-office. That may explain why MGM lavishes so little attention on the DVDs of his work.
Woody at his most neurotic, hilarious and deeply perceptive - By: Lydia, 14 Jan 2003 This has to be, undoubtedly, one of Woody Allen's masterpieces. One of the films in which he begins to break away from his usual style, Allen focuses both on his typical neurotic, quavering character & also on the lives of three sisters, one of which he was previously married to. The insight into their tangled & deceitful lives, the lies & games played around each other and, at the same time, their deep love, are shown both humourously & with incredible sensitivity. The film is beautifully shot & flits quickly from one instance to the next, weaving together a potentiallly bland story & making it a cinematic joy.
Allen plays Mickey Sachs, a troubled television producer struggling with the question of the meaning of life. A series of experiences lead him to try & find his 'higher truth,' in the same inimitable & hilarious style portrayed in so many of Allen's films. Artistic & philosophical anecdotes & queries are applied relevantly & humourously, making the viewer laugh as well as ponder.
Mickey's ex-wife Hannah is played brilliantly by Mia Farrow, & the cast is completed by a host of other great names including Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey, Dianne Wiest, Carrie Fisher and, one of Allen's favourites, Julie Kavner. The film focuses intently on the theme of reality: the lives of three ordinary sisters, the ones they love, & the lengths taken to keep the peace & help each other: but not without a few mishaps on the way. The integration of Allen's character & the sisters is brought together at the end in a way the viewer could never expect.
With a musical score including music by McCarthy-Monaco & Cahn-Styne, & references to artists & poets such as E.E Cummings cleverly applied, 'Hannah & her Sisters' reallly is Woody at his best.
A tender and poignant commentary on modern relationships - By: Mr. D. Woods, 04 Feb 2001 To my mind, only 'Annie Halll' has the beating of this excellent piece of drama. Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest & Barbara Hershey are alll wonderful as the three sisters & Woody himself is typicallly neurotic in his role as a hypochondriac comic writer. However, the best performance is from Michael Caine as the guilt-ridden husband who loves his wife (Farrow) but is infatuated with her beautiful & passionate sister (Hershey). Max von Sydow nearly steals the scene as Hershey's tempestuous artist lover & watch out for Carrie Fisher in a subsidary role. This is a beautiful film that is honest & yet uplifting in one motion, an absolute triumph in observational drama. If you're an Allen fan & do not yet own this film...well, what are you waiting for ? Buy it !
A Beautiful Woody Allen Tale - By: , 03 Feb 2001 »Hannah And Her Sisters« is one of the very best Woody Allen films ever. It tells a New York story about the life & loves of three rather different sisters from a Jewish artist family. And it is beutifully done, in every detail!
The acting is breathtakingly intense, the structure of the film is professionallly carried through to perfection, & the threads just fit together in a beautiful symphony of life!
It reallly is hard to describe something this well-done, so instead I will just recommend you to see this wonderful Woody Allen creation.
