Husbands and Wives

Last updated
Husbands and Wives
Husbands moviep.jpg
Theatrical film poster
Directed by Woody Allen
Written byWoody Allen
Produced by Robert Greenhut
Starring
Cinematography Carlo Di Palma
Edited by Susan E. Morse
Production
company
Distributed byTriStar Pictures
Release dates
  • September 14, 1992 (1992-09-14)(TIFF)
  • September 18, 1992 (1992-09-18)(United States)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million (estimate)
Box office$10.6 million [1]

Husbands and Wives is a 1992 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. [2] [3] [4] The film stars Allen, Mia Farrow, Sydney Pollack, Judy Davis, Lysette Anthony, Juliette Lewis, Liam Neeson and Blythe Danner. The film debuted shortly after the end of Allen and Farrow's romantic and professional partnership, and was the last of their 13 films together. The movie is filmed by Carlo Di Palma with a handheld camera style and features documentary-like interviews with the characters interspersed with the story.

Contents

Husbands and Wives, released by TriStar Pictures, was Allen's first film as sole director for a studio other than United Artists or Orion Pictures (both now part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) since Take the Money and Run (1969). It received critical acclaim despite being a box-office failure, and was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actress (Judy Davis) and Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen).

Plot

The film follows two couples: Jack and Sally, and Gabe and Judy. It starts with Jack and Sally visiting Gabe and Judy's apartment to announce their separation. Gabe is shocked, but Judy takes it personally and is deeply hurt. The four of them go out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant, still confused about the situation.

A few weeks later, Sally visits a colleague's apartment to begin an evening at the opera and dinner. She calls Jack from the colleague's phone and accuses him of having an affair during their marriage after learning that he has met someone new.

Judy and Gabe meet Jack's new girlfriend, Sam, an aerobics trainer. While Judy and Sam go shopping, Gabe calls Sam a "cocktail waitress" and tells Jack that he's crazy for leaving Sally for her. Later, Judy introduces Michael, her colleague from the magazine, to Sally. They begin dating, but Sally is unsatisfied with the relationship.

Meanwhile, Gabe has developed a friendship with Rain, a young student of his, who reads and criticizes his novel manuscript. They share a romantic moment at her 21st birthday party, but Gabe decides they should not pursue it any further.

At a party, Jack learns that Sally is seeing someone else and becomes jealous. He and Sam argue intensely, and Jack drives home to find Sally in bed with Michael. He asks Sally to give their marriage another chance, but she refuses.

Less than two weeks later, Jack and Sally are back together and meet Gabe and Judy for dinner. Afterward, Judy and Gabe argue about her not sharing her poetry, and Gabe makes a failed pass at her. Judy tells him she thinks the relationship is over, and a week later Gabe moves out. Judy begins seeing Michael.

In the end, Jack and Sally are still struggling with marital problems, but accept them as the price of remaining together. Gabe is living alone and not dating to avoid hurting anyone, including himself. The film ends with Gabe asking the unseen documentary crew whether he can leave.

Cast

The cast includes (in credits order):

Soundtrack

Philosophical interpretation

The scene in which Sally, while having sex with Michael, begins to mentally compare (through voiceover narration) him and her husband Jack, as well as numerous friends and acquaintances, to hedgehogs and foxes, is an allusion to British philosopher Isaiah Berlin's 1953 essay The Hedgehog and the Fox. In that book, Berlin contrasts two distinct types of thinker in the Western literary and philosophical tradition: those he calls "hedgehogs"—"who relate everything to a single central vision, one system"—and those he calls "foxes"—"who pursue many ends, often unrelated and even contradictory... related to no moral or aesthetic principle". [6]

Reception

Box office

Husbands and Wives opened on September 18, 1992 in 865 theatres, where it earned $3,520,550 ($4,070 per screen) in its opening weekend. It went on to gross $10.5 million in North America during its theatrical run. [1] The film was also screened at the 1992 Toronto Festival of Festivals.

Critical response

Husbands and Wives opened to acclaim from film critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 93% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 40 reviews, with an average score of 8.2/10. [7]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it "a defining film for these emotionally embattled times; it's classic Woody Allen." [8] Todd McCarthy of Variety similarly praised the film as "a full meal, as it deals with the things of life with intelligence, truthful drama and rueful humor." [9]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a very fine, sometimes brutal comedy about a small group of contemporary New Yorkers, each an edgy, self-analyzing achiever who goes through life without much joy, but who finds a certain number of cracked satisfactions along the way." He added, "'Husbands and Wives' -- the entire Allen canon, for that matter -- represents a kind of personal cinema for which there is no precedent in modern American movies. Even our best directors are herd animals. Mr. Allen is a rogue: he travels alone." [10] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times opined, "... what 'Husbands and Wives' argues is that many 'rational' relationships are actually not as durable as they seem, because somewhere inside every person is a child crying me! me! me! We say we want the other person to be happy. What we mean is, we want them to be happy with us, just as we are, on our terms." [11]

In 2016, Time Out contributors ranked Husbands and Wives fifth among Allen's efforts, with Keith Uhlich praising the work's "trenchant examination of long-term relationships on the downswing". [12] The same year, Robbie Collin and Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph listed Husbands and Wives as his seventh greatest film, calling it "a rapid marvel of four-way characterization" and praising the opening scene as "one of Allen’s most vividly written, shot and acted scenes ever". [13]

Accolades

AwardCategoryNominee(s)Result
20/20 AwardsBest Director Woody Allen Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Judy Davis Won
Best Original ScreenplayWoody AllenNominated
Academy Awards [14] Best Supporting Actress Judy DavisNominated
Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen Woody AllenNominated
American Comedy Awards Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureJudy DavisNominated
Artios Awards [15] Best Casting for Feature Film – Comedy Juliet Taylor Nominated
Australian Film Institute Awards Best Foreign Film Robert Greenhut Nominated
Awards Circuit Community AwardsBest Actress in a Supporting RoleJudy DavisNominated
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards [16] Best Supporting Actress Won
British Academy Film Awards [17] Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Woody AllenWon
Cahiers du Cinéma Best Film 4th Place
César Awards [18] Best Foreign Film Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards [19] Best Supporting Actress Judy DavisWon
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Won
Golden Globe Awards [20] Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated
Guldbagge Awards [21] Best Foreign Film Won
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards [22] Best Supporting ActressJudy DavisWon
London Film Critics Circle Awards Actress of the Year Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards [23] Best Supporting Actor Sydney Pollack Runner-up
Best Supporting Actress Judy DavisWon
National Board of Review Awards [24] Best Supporting Actress Won
National Society of Film Critics Awards [25] Best Supporting Actress Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards [26] Best Supporting Actress Runner-up
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards [27] Best Picture6th Place
Best Supporting ActressJudy DavisWon
Turkish Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Film10th Place
Writers Guild of America Awards [28] Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen Woody AllenNominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Allen</span> American filmmaker, actor, and comedian (born 1935)

Heywood Allen is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many accolades, including the most nominations (16) for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for a Emmy Award and a Tony Award. Allen was awarded an Honorary Golden Lion in 1995, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, an Honorary Palme d'Or in 2002, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. Two of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

<i>Manhattan</i> (1979 film) 1979 film by Woody Allen

Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen and produced by Charles H. Joffe from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman. Allen co-stars as a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl but falls in love with his best friend's mistress. Meryl Streep and Anne Byrne also star.

<i>Hannah and Her Sisters</i> 1986 film by Woody Allen

Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begins and ends with a family Thanksgiving dinner. Allen also stars in the film, along with Mia Farrow as Hannah, Michael Caine as her husband, and Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest as her sisters. Alongside them, the film features a large ensemble cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mia Farrow</span> American actress

Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera Peyton Place and gained further recognition for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra. An early film role, as Rosemary in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968), saw her nominated for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She went on to appear in several films throughout the 1970s, such as Follow Me! (1972), The Great Gatsby (1974), and Death on the Nile (1978). Her younger sister is Prudence Farrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Keaton</span> American film actress (born 1946)

Diane Keaton is an American actress. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for a Tony Award and two Emmy Awards. She was honored with the Film Society of Lincoln Center Gala Tribute in 2007 and an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2017.

<i>Zelig</i> 1983 film by Woody Allen

Zelig is a 1983 American satirical mockumentary comedy film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen as Leonard Zelig, a nondescript enigma, who, apparently out of his desire to fit in and be liked, unwittingly takes on the characteristics of strong personalities around him. The film, presented as a documentary, recounts his period of intense celebrity during the 1920s, including analyses by contemporary intellectuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Davis</span> Australian film, television and stage actress

Judith Davis is an Australian actress. In a career spanning over four decades of both screen and stage, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequent collaborator Woody Allen described her as "one of the most exciting actresses in the world". Davis has received numerous accolades, including nine AACTA Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards.

<i>Interiors</i> 1978 film by Woody Allen

Interiors is a 1978 American drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Kristin Griffith, Mary Beth Hurt, Richard Jordan, Diane Keaton, E. G. Marshall, Geraldine Page, Maureen Stapleton, and Sam Waterston.

<i>Alice</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Woody Allen

Alice is a 1990 American fantasy romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Mia Farrow, Joe Mantegna, and William Hurt. The film is a loose reworking of Federico Fellini's 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits.

<i>Crimes and Misdemeanors</i> 1989 film by Woody Allen

Crimes and Misdemeanors is a 1989 American existential comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, who stars alongside Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Orbach, Alan Alda, Sam Waterston, and Joanna Gleason.

<i>Shadows and Fog</i> 1991 film by Woody Allen

Shadows and Fog is a 1991 American black-and-white comedy film directed by Woody Allen and based on his one-act play Death (1975). It stars Allen, Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, Kathy Bates, David Ogden Stiers, Jodie Foster, Donald Pleasence, Lily Tomlin, John Cusack, Madonna, and Kenneth Mars. It was filmed on a 26,000-square-foot (2,400 m2) set at Kaufman Astoria Studios, which was the biggest set ever built in New York. It was also Allen's last film for Orion Pictures.

<i>The Purple Rose of Cairo</i> 1985 film by Woody Allen

The Purple Rose of Cairo is a 1985 American fantasy-romantic film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, and Danny Aiello. Inspired by the films Sherlock Jr. (1924) and Hellzapoppin' (1941) and Pirandello's play Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921), it is the tale of a film character named Tom Baxter who leaves a fictional film of the same name and enters the real world.

<i>Broadway Danny Rose</i> 1984 film by Woody Allen

Broadway Danny Rose is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It follows a hapless theatrical agent who, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. The film stars Allen as the titular character, as well as Mia Farrow and Nick Apollo Forte.

<i>Radio Days</i> 1987 film by Woody Allen

Radio Days is a 1987 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It is a nostalgic look at the golden age of radio during the late 1930s and 1940s, focusing on a working-class family living in Rockaway Beach, New York. The film weaves together various vignettes, blending the lives of the family members with the radio programs they listen to daily. It also features an ensemble cast.

<i>September</i> (1987 film) 1987 film by Woody Allen

September is a 1987 drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film is modeled on Anton Chekhov's 1899 play Uncle Vanya, though the gender roles are often subverted.

<i>Another Woman</i> (1988 film) 1988 American film

Another Woman is a 1988 American drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Gena Rowlands as a philosophy professor who accidentally overhears the private analysis of a stranger, and finds the woman's regrets and despair awaken something personal in her.

<i>To Rome with Love</i> (film) 2012 film

To Rome with Love is a 2012 magical realist romantic comedy film written, directed by and co-starring Woody Allen in his first acting appearance since 2006, as well as his most recent appearance in a film he's directed. The film is set in Rome, Italy; it was released in Italian theaters on April 13, 2012, and opened in Los Angeles and New York City on June 22, 2012.

<i>Blue Jasmine</i> 2013 film by Woody Allen

Blue Jasmine is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film tells the story of a rich Manhattan socialite who falls on hard times and has to move into her working-class sister's apartment in San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soon-Yi Previn</span> Wife of Woody Allen (born 1970)

Soon-Yi Previn is the adopted daughter of actress Mia Farrow and musician André Previn. She is married to filmmaker Woody Allen, with whom she has two adopted children.

<i>Allen v. Farrow</i> American documentary television miniseries

Allen v. Farrow is an American documentary television miniseries directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering that explores an allegation of sexual abuse made against Woody Allen in 1992. It consists of four episodes and premiered on February 21, 2021, on HBO.

References

  1. 1 2 "Husbands and Wives (1992)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  2. ↑ Canby, Vincent (September 18, 1992). "Husbands and Wives (1992) Review/Film -- Husbands and Wives; Fact? Fiction? It Doesn't Matter". The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Love and Fog". Entertainment Weekly . 1992. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  4. ↑ "Scenes from Woody's Marriage". Entertainment Weekly . 1992. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  5. ↑ Harvey, Adam (2007). The Soundtracks of Woody Allen. US: Macfarland & Company,Inc. p. 73. ISBN   9780786429684.
  6. ↑ Patterson, Troy (19 March 2014). "On the Origins of Foxes and Hedgehogs". Slate. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Husbands and Wives (1992)". Rotten Tomatoes . Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  8. ↑ Travers, Peter (September 18, 1992). "Husbands and Wives". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (August 26, 1992). "Review: 'Husbands and Wives'". Variety . Archived from the original on February 11, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Canby, Vincent (September 18, 1992). "Review/Film -- Husbands and Wives; Fact? Fiction? It Doesn't Matter". The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ Ebert, Roger (September 18, 1992). "Husbands and Wives". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  12. ↑ "The best Woody Allen movies of all time". Time Out. March 24, 2016. Archived from the original on May 29, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  13. ↑ Collin, Robbie; Robey, Tim (October 12, 2016). "All 47 Woody Allen movies - ranked from worst to best". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  14. ↑ "The 65th Academy Awards (1993) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  15. ↑ "Nominees/Winners". Casting Society of America. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  16. ↑ "BSFC Winners: 1990s". Boston Society of Film Critics . 27 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1993". BAFTA . 1993. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  18. ↑ "The 1993 Caesars Ceremony". César Awards . Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  19. ↑ "1988-2013 Award Winner Archives". Chicago Film Critics Association . January 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  20. ↑ "Husbands and Wives – Golden Globes". HFPA . Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  21. ↑ "Husbands and Wives (1992)". Swedish Film Institute. 22 March 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "KCFCC Award Winners – 1990-99". kcfcc.org. 14 December 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  23. ↑ "The Annual 18th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association . Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "1992 Award Winners". National Board of Review . Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  25. ↑ "Past Awards". National Society of Film Critics . 19 December 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  26. ↑ "1992 New York Film Critics Circle Awards". New York Film Critics Circle . Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  27. ↑ "1992 SEFA Awards". sefca.net. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  28. ↑ "Awards Winners". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.