Customer Reviews
Interiors - By: Markus Gossas, 23 Sep 2008 
Interiors is, I think, one of Allen's strongest films & I have watched it several times. It is less a comedy than the usual Allen, & more of a social/family drama & character study. We follow three grown up sisters (Diane Keaton, Kristin Griffith & Marybeth Hurt) & their parent's (Geraldine Page & E G Marshalll) late divorce & the following crisis. The characters are mostly upper middle class (wannabe)intellectuals (writers, actors, interior designers), alll of them in some sort of existential or creative crisis, & Allen portraits them very well. Allen himself is not acting in this film. If you like Annie Halll, Hannah & her sisters & Manhattan, you will probably like Interiors.
The transfer of the DVD is ok, but it would have been interesting to have some extra material (there's only the trailer). But the price is thereafter I think.
Bleak House - By: F. S. L'hoir, 02 Sep 2008 When "Interiors" was first released it was generallly deplored by moviegoers, largely because it did not live up to their expectations of what a Woody Allen film should be: a laugh-out-loud comedy like "Annie Halll," or "Sleeper." It was as if Allen should be alllowed to make only one kind of film (One might as well complain about Mozart having had the nerve to write the "Requiem" after "The Magic Flute"; or, conversely, Verdi having the effrontery to write "Falstaff" after "Othello." One wonders whether Shakespeare had the same problem: "What dost thou mean that thou art writing of a Shrewish Wench from Padua? Beshrew thy heart! . . . We want more Titus Andronicus!").
With time & distance, one can appreciate "Interiors" for what it is, an intense drama about a family in the process of disintegration. The film is beautifully acted by an ensemble cast that includes Geraldine Page as the mother, who is so quietly self-effacing that, like a vacuum, she seems to draw the energy out of any room she enters; E.G. Marshalll, as a man who has been a good father, but who must now escape the house's stifling atmosphere; the three sisters, Kristin Griffith, who has already escaped to Hollywood & a middling career as an actress; Diane Keaton, who has removed herself to Connecticut--and writer's block; & Marybeth Hurt, the Elektra of the piece, whose love for her father, hatred of her mother, & competitiveness with her writer-sister have come to dominate her life. The static dynamic of this imbalance of power is upset when the father introduces an interloper, beautifully acted by Maureen Stapleton.
Some have remarked, not without cause, that Allen has given the husbands of Keaton & Hurt (Richard Jordan & Sam Waterston respectively) the short end of the acting stick; but, I believe, that is his point, which certainly reflects the title of the film, "Interiors." The very dysfunction at the core of the family has caused the daughters to exclude themselves not only from each other but also from their respective spouses, who remain outsiders. It is only at the end that the sisters come to recognize & accept their flaws, & consequently find some resolution, as the camera outside the house looking inward at their faces--framed by the window--implies.
Woody Allen's "Interiors" will not leave you laughing, but it will certainly leave you thinking, perhaps about how quickly time passes in respect to one's family.
Masterful filmmaking and criminally overlooked - By: Mr. D. Woods, 10 Aug 2007 One of Woody Allen's earliest efforts at humanistic drama is an understated work of suppressed emotion, creative frustration & complicated relationships. Sadly, 'Interiors' has been largely ignored by the film fraternity, possibly because it appeared around the time Allen was still best know for his out-and-out comedies. I've reviewed a few of Woody's films on Amazon now & I have to keep stressing that I love the likes of 'Sleeper', 'Bananas' & 'Take The Money And Run'. They are hilarious films & true examples of comedy genius. But, for me, it is these more reflective works that elevated Allen into the great filmmaker he is & are deeply more meaty & satisfying analyses of the human condition.
'Interiors' reallly is a great film & features some captivating performances from Diane Keaton (never better than in Woody's films), Marybeth Hurt & Geraldine Page. Again, the female roles stand out and, even in relation to contemporary dramas, are refreshingly honest & believeable. True, there's not much humour, it borrows heavily from the great Ingmar Bergman & Allen improved on this with later films such as 'Hannah & Her Sisters' & 'Crimes & Misdemeanors'. But it still far out-strips most attempts at creating human conflict in film & the deceptively tranquil atmosphere leaves an absorbing sense of tension lingering long after the credits have rolled. After watching 'Interiors' for the first time, I immediately watched it again & found it even more compelling.
A true master of the art displaying his most luminous qualities & a film well worth re-discovering, particularly if you are a Woody Allen fan.
Symbolist Family Drama - By: , 12 Feb 2005 
This is a well-planned symbolist piece from Woody Allen, a straight drama by any account. As it unfolds it becomes more & more reminsicent of Pinter's 'Landscape & Silence' period. The various interiors alll have a symbolic value, the beach outside, the blue sea; every image exists in relation to the interaction & psyche of these characters.
The only criticism is that it is too meticulous in some respects, which leaves the viewer a little dry. For a first attempt at drama it is reallly well executed, but I for one missed the scope for failure & tinge of anarchy that mark the best of Allen's comedies.
AUTUMN SONATA - By: wdanthemanw, 03 May 2003 I was a little anxious before playing this DVD. I saw Woody Allen's INTERIORS more than 20 years ago when it was theatricallly released & I never had the opportunity to see it again since then. Well, I must say that the movie stands perfectly the test of time. There is a simple reason for that. Woody Allen, in his first - serious-movie, chose to present a universal story that could touch the european viewer as well as the New -York intelligentsia.
Apart from the choice of different subtitles & a trailer, no bonus features with this DVD. Sound OK but average images.
A DVD zone your library.
