Hannah and Her Sisters

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Hannah and Her Sisters

PG-13

Released Feb 7, 1986

1h 46m

Comedy

Drama

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92%

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59 Reviews

90%

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25,000+ Ratings

Three successive family Thanksgiving dinners mark time for Hannah (Mia Farrow), her younger sisters Lee (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest) and the men in their lives. Lee is having an affair with Hannah's husband, Elliot (Michael Caine), and trying to end her Svengali-like romance with artist Frederick (Max von Sydow). Holly is frustrated by her lack of career fulfillment and her increasing dependence on Hannah's largesse, while being courted by the hypochondriac Mickey (Woody Allen).

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Critics Consensus

Smart, tender, and funny in equal measure, Hannah and Her Sisters is one of Woody Allen's finest films.

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Dolores Barclay

Associated Press

Is Hannah and Her Sisters, the 14th movie written and directed by Allen, worth the wait? No.

Oct 22, 2018

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David Robinson

The Times (UK)

Allen is one of the rare clowns with the gift of discovering the universal upon his own doorstep.

Dec 31, 2017

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

The marvel of Hannah and Her Sisters is just how many fully realized characters and relationships Allen is able to weave into the fabric of this extraordinarily well-written film. This script is one to be studied by aspiring filmmakers.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 10, 2014

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

The bittersweet story is a superb balance of human drama and Allen’s brand of neurotic comedy... with a warmth not always seen in a lot his films.

Apr 26, 2025

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A wondrous work so beloved in its day that the jurists for the Pulitzer Prize pushed for its script even though it was written for a film instead of a play (unfortunately, the Pulitzer committee said no way).

Rated: 4/4

Jun 5, 2024

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an erratically-paced yet mostly satisfying endeavor...

Rated: 3/4

Jun 7, 2023

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Alain E

A very nice way to study human relationships, music and even religion. Allen has the advantage of an excellent cast and superb cinematography. Superb!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/19/25

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Tim M

Woody Allen once again showing his aplomb for writing personable and relatable characters, Hannah and Her Sisters is a wryly engaging family dramedy.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/12/25

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Jacob B

The comedy/drama style Woody Allen pioneered with “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan” is finally balanced and perfected in this film. The best he ever did with his trademark style.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/29/25

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Lanfranco C

A comedy sometime funny, but with a too complicated plot.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/11/25

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Audience Member

They don't make films like this that are true character studies anymore. If I have any criticisms of the script, it's that there's no backstory on the Michael Cain character, Elliot. Cain is a fine actor but we're left with no explanation as to how a guy with a Cockney accent became a NY financial expert, or how Hannah met and married him. Likewise there's the insufferable older mentor character from Europe with whom Lee [Barbara Hershey] is shacked up. The audience has to apply some suspension of disbelief on those two, just as we must with Woody's usual display of neuroses. The film is beautifully shot using NYC streets as backdrops and the classy NY apartments look genuine rather than sets so the camera work had to be awfully tight for those scenes which is a credit to the director and cinematographer. Hard to imagine that I actually saw this movie in "real time" at a theatre when it came out. It was a different world four decades ago as evidenced by the characters' frequent use of pay phones, etc. which have gone the way of the dinosaur.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/01/24

Full Review

Alec B

One of Allen's most emotionally satisfying movies, probably because he embraces the romantic comedy angle while maintaining a certain air of melancholy.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/28/24

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Woody Allen

Director

Woody Allen

Mickey Sachs

Mia Farrow

Hannah

Michael Caine

Elliot

Carrie Fisher

April

Barbara Hershey

Lee

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Hannah and Her Sisters: Trailer 1

1:32

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Synopsis

Three successive family Thanksgiving dinners mark time for Hannah (Mia Farrow), her younger sisters Lee (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest) and the men in their lives. Lee is having an affair with Hannah's husband, Elliot (Michael Caine), and trying to end her Svengali-like romance with artist Frederick (Max von Sydow). Holly is frustrated by her lack of career fulfillment and her increasing dependence on Hannah's largesse, while being courted by the hypochondriac Mickey (Woody Allen).

Director: Woody Allen
Producer: Robert Greenhut
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Orion Pictures, Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 7, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 20, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $37.3M
Runtime: 1h 46m

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