MAGNET contributing writer Jud Cost is sharing some of the wealth of classic films he’s been lucky enough to see over the past 40 years. Trolling the backwaters of cinema, he has worked up a list of more than 500 titles—from the silent era through the ’90s—that you may have missed. A new selection, all currently available on DVD, appears every week.
Crimes And Misdemeanors (1989, 104 minutes)
The connection between the best writing of Woody Allen and Seinfeld, the most successful television comedy of its time, is easy to see in Crimes And Misdemeanors, one of Allen’s masterpieces, though hardly a comedy. The secret: Take a handful of diverse elements that seemingly defy emulsification and make chicken soup out of them.
Hanging around a building just inside the delivery zone of a favorite Chinese restaurant, Elaine is mistaken for the apartment’s janitor. Kramer takes a barrel of paint thinner from the janitor’s room to erase confusing white lines he’s painted on an expressway he’s adopted. Newman snags an abandoned sewing machine underneath the mail truck he’s driving down that same road. Sparks ignite the paint thinner and the flames spread to Newman’s truck, full of fresh fish destined for that same Chinese restaurant. And that’s an episode of Seinfeld called “The Pothole.”
Crimes And Misdemeanors stars Martin Landau as successful ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal, about to be honored for his lifelong work for a NYC hospital. Before leaving for the big evening, Judah notices a letter in the mail addressed to his wife Miriam (Claire Bloom). It’s from his girlfriend, Dolores Parker (Anjelica Huston), a flight attendant he met two years ago, threatening to divulge not only the doctor’s infidelity but some questionable financial maneuvers he’s performed recently.
Cliff Stern (Allen) is a small-time film director who’s been hired to make a television documentary by Lester (Alan Alda), his pompous, highly successful brother-in-law. The subject is Lester, himself, a thought that gnaws at Cliff like squirrels on a telephone wire. He tells Halley Reed (Mia Farrow), the rep for the series that will run the Lester piece, about his real work, a documentary on theologian Louis Levy. “Boy, he’s really interesting,” she admits later after seeing the rough footage. “He’d be wonderful for the series.” Cliff replies, “You want to dump Lester and do this instead?” Halley laughs, “We can’t dump Lester, but I think I could talk them into a little financing for you.”
When Dolores opens the door to her Manhattan apartment, Judah is there waiting for her. “Why did you write that letter! Do you want to destroy my life!” he demands. “I wanted her to know the kind of man she’s married to. You told me over and over you’d leave Miriam. We made plans. I gave up things for you!” she says, putting down her bag of groceries and lighting a cigarette. “I never said I’d leave Miriam. I’ve lived with her for 25 years. Our roots are very deep.” “I’m not going to be without you,” she says. “Let me get my thoughts together,” Judah tells her softly, giving her a hug. “It’s gonna be OK,” he says, perhaps already contemplating another way to deal with this situation.
