Rev. Danny Fisher

Before we go into finals week here, UWest’s Religion & Film Series is screening Woody Allen’s 1989 comedy-drama-fusion-classic Crimes and Misdemeanors.  Nominated for three Academy Awards—Best Director (Allen), Best Original Screenplay (Allen), and Best Supporting Actor (Martin Landau)—the film features an all-star cast, including: Allen himself, Landau, Alan Alda, Mia Farrow, Jerry Orbach, Anjelica Huston, Sam Waterson, Claire Bloom, Joanna Gleason, Caroline Aaron, Daryl Hannah, Jenny Nichols, Martin Bergmann, Frances Conroy, and Nora Ephron.  It is described this way by the All Movie Guide:

Martin Landau plays Dr. Judah Rosenthal, a prominent ophthalmologist with a successful practice, a loving family, and a reputation for generous charity work. But Rosenthal also has a secret: his mistress, Dolores (Anjelica Huston). [As] he tries to break off the relationship, Dolores threatens to expose his infidelity to his wife and some unorthodox financial arrangements to his colleagues. Fearful that Dolores will make good on her threats, Judah confesses his secret to his brother Jack (Jerry Orbach), who has ties to organized crime and offers to ‘make the problem go away.’ Meanwhile, Cliff Stern (Woody Allen) is a filmmaker working on his pet project, a documentary about philosopher Prof. Louis Levy (Martin Bergmann). However, films about philosophers don’t pay the rent, so Cliff’s wife Wendy (Joanna Gleason) arranges for him to make a documentary for public television about her brother Lester (Alan Alda), a famous TV comedian whose vapidity is exceeded only by his arrogance. While Cliff tries to bite the bullet and finish the film, he finds himself falling in love with PBS producer Halley Reed (Mia Farrow).

Vincent Canby, the great New York Times film critic, has said of the film:  “Crimes and Misdemeanors is…about love and death, lust and murder, and attempts to reconcile religious faith in a world where it’s now taken for granted that E=MC²…[It is] Mr. Allen’s most securely serious and funny film to date.”  A trailer is below.

The screening starts tonight at 7 p.m. in Room ED309.  It is free and open to the public.  A discussion will follow.  We hope to see you there!