Crimes and Misdemeanors

"It's about love and reality. Faith and delusion. Good and evil. Success and failure."

1989 1h 44m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 979🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes●77Metacritic★7.8IMDB · 62,875

ComedyDramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A renowned ophthalmologist is desperate to cut off an adulterous relationship…which ends up in murder; and a frustrated documentary filmmaker woos an attractive television producer while making a film about her insufferably self-centered boss.

“It's about love and reality. Faith and delusion. Good and evil. Success and failure.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Fandango At HomeRent

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Woody Allen
Cliff Stern
Martin Landau
Judah Rosenthal
Mia Farrow
Halley Reed
Alan Alda
Lester
Anjelica Huston
Dolores Paley
Joanna Gleason
Wendy Stern
Sam Waterston
Ben
Jerry Orbach
Jack Rosenthal

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Woody Allen
Writers: Woody Allen
Languages: English, Hebrew
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 96% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Hebrew.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Woody Allen, shot by Sven Nykvist. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Susan E. Morse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Woody Allen and Martin Landau and Mia Farrow carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It's about love and reality. Faith and delusion. Good and evil. Success and failure.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0097123 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Woody Allen directs. Sven Nykvist behind the camera. Susan E. Morse cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Hebrew.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 96% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Hebrew.
4Directed by Woody Allen, shot by Sven Nykvist. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Susan E. Morse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Woody Allen and Martin Landau and Mia Farrow carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It's about love and reality. Faith and delusion. Good and evil. Success and failure.".
8IMDB entry: tt0097123 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "adultery", "new york city", "assassin", "professor".
10Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sven Nykvist
Editing: Susan E. Morse
Production design: Santo Loquasto
Costume design: Jeffrey Kurland
Makeup / hair: Romaine Greene
Sound: Lee Dichter
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $19,000,000
Box office: $18,254,702
Return: 96% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 77/100
IMDB rating: 7.8/10 · 62,875 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 3 Oscars. 16 wins & 26 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Woody Allen

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-05-13
★ 9/10
Definitely top-tier Woody Allen. The writing, acting and directing are first-rate, as he finishes off another of his artistic purple patches. I'm not an Alan Alda fan in the slightest simply because he's so good at this slimy, know-it-all persona that he once again carries off so effortlessly here. An essential watch for all cinephiles, and worth a purchase and rewatches for Woody Allen enthusiasts.
CinemaSerf2026-08-08
★ 7/10
I think of all Woody Allen's ensemble-style critiques of societal dysfunction, this is probably my favourite. Ostensibly, it's really about the perilous peccadilloes of "Judah" (Martin Landau) who is one of those highly respected clinicians who is married to "Miriam" (Claire Bloom) but has been having an affair with "Dolores" (Anjelica Huston) for as long as he can remember. To be fair to the man, he does love both women, but he is a downright liar promising the latter woman marriage when he hasn't the slightest intention of leaving his wife. Finally sick of this scenario, "Dolores" demands a meeting with "Miriam" and when that is swerved writes a letter that he is only just able to intercept. Now a little panic-stricken, he confides his predicament to his brother "Jack" (Jerry Orbach) who promises, for a token sum of money, to make the whole thing go away. In parallel to these domestic shenanigans, Woody himself makes his appearance as film cameraman "Stern" who is charged with making a documentary about the rather pompous "Lester" (Alan Alda) who reckons he, and he alone, understands the rudimentary nature of comedy. To put it mildly, "Stern" isn't exactly enjoying his task but he does take a bit of a shine to "Halley" (Mia Farrow) who appears to share his scepticism of their subject and his smarminess. With his marriage more obviously on the rocks, is there any chance he might be able to take his relationship with her to a next level? At times the proceedings do sail perilously close to farce, but the standard of the pithy and often sarcastic writing - especially as it emanates from "Stern", "Halley" and from the scene-stealingly obnoxious "Judah" and "Lester" keeps it from becoming as contrived as some of Allen's other more introspective and neuroses-driven works. Indeed, some of the put-down lines here are really quite between-the-eyes. It doesn't want for pace, nor for a wide variety of characters and their concomitant ludicrousness as just about every stereotype is presented and, to an extent, shot down in comedy flames.