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A Woody Allen DVD review by Bill Chambers


ANOTHER WOMAN (1988)
**1/2 (out of four)

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Another Woman
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The first half of Another Woman (a loaded title if there ever was one, especially for Woody Allen) is a very gratifying look at the middle-aged life of Marion (Gena Rowlands), a philosophy professor whose intellectual priorities inspire both admiration and resentment from everyone she meets. Holed-up in a writing room next door to a psychiatrist's office, she can hear the intimate words of his patients--and like a random radio song, almost always these disembodied voices express, in Allen's words, "her inner turbulence." It's when we delve so deeply into Marion's past that only flashbacks can sufficiently illuminate her turmoil that Another Woman becomes stagey and overindulgent, and while characters played by Gene Hackman and a pregnant Mia Farrow are integral to the film's conclusion, they seem underutilized throughout. In contrast, Harris Yulin leaves a strong impression in a tiny role as Marion's brother. The 1.85:1, 16x9-enhanced video transfer on MGM's DVD release of Another Woman is given to 'screen door' artifacting, and bright backgrounds in general appear poorly compressed. Sven Nykvist's shadow-rich cinematography deserves better. The 2.0 mono mix is undistinguished, and I must confess to watching Another Woman closed-captioned during the therapy sessions, as the sounds travelling through Marion's vent are all but inaudible to us. Extras include the theatrical trailer and the usual top-notch insert booklet.-Bill Chambers

© Film Freak Central; filmfreakcentral.net. This review may not be reprinted, in whole or in part, without the express consent of its author.

DVD GRADES:
Image B-
Sound B-

DVD VITALS:
Running Time
81 minutes
MPAA
PG
Aspect Ratio(s)
1.85:1 ONLY, 16x9-enhanced

Languages
English Mono,
French Mono,
Spanish Mono
CC

Yes
Subtitles
French, Spanish
DVD-5
Region One
MGM

Published: July, 2001