Woody Allen Crimes and Misdemeanors

directed by Woody Allen
USA 1989

Ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) has had an long-standing affair with Dolores (Anjelica Huston), and now her patience has waned and she threatens to expose it and some of his financial indiscretions if he doesn't get a divorce. His brother suggests resolving the problem by having Dolores murdered. Judah morally digests before agreeing and following through with a paid assassin. With Judah, Woody Allen probes the depths of human existence and how the greatest punishments can be self-inflicted (guilt). In an eventually convergent story, documentary filmmaker Clifford Stern (Allen) is trying to make a film on a philosophy professor who he strongly believes in. However, to pay the bills he gets commissioned to make a portrait of successful TV producer, and pompous brother-in-law, Lester (Alan Alda). Lester represents everything that Clifford despises in the world - false bravado of perceived talent and success through self-marketing savvy as opposed to genuine skill.

Woody Allen is one of the most prolific directors the United States has ever produced and the balance of pathos and humor in "Crimes and Misdemeanors" might be comparable to Chaplin's "City Lights". Avoiding quick cuts by following his characters around the room and to close-ups, Allen creates a unique reality that is devoid in his other films. Landau is excellent and the film reverberates with moral dilemmas that the viewer can envision themselves pondering. I think this is his best film. out of

Gary W. Tooze

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 13, 1989

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DVD Comparison:

Image Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC

(Image- Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. MGM - Region 1- NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Image Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC	MGM Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:43:56	1:43:42
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.53 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.30 NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Image
Bitrate: MGM
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUBs: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French and none	Spanish, French and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterbox - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • None DVD Release Date: July 21, 1998 Snap Case Chapters 20	Release Information: Studio: MGM/UA Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen • Theatrical trailer • Two page liner notes DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001 Keep Case Chapters 16

Comments:

The image quality difference is not extraordinary. The MGM is sharper and anamorphic, it also shows the Image Entertainment disc has had some very minor cropping. This was a very early DVD for Image and I think, for the time, the quality is excellent. The MGM is brighter with more red in the image, but its pluses slightly outweigh its minuses. I really hate this misleading comment about the MGM " Collectible Booklet". This is a two page liner notes leaflet, hardly a booklet and hardly a collector's item. Liars. Still, especially for projection users the MGM is the way to go, but to simply see the film, if it is cheaper and available there is nothing wrong with Image DVD.