Rating: 
Summary: Woody Chekhov...
Review: "September" is Woody Allen's updated version of the Chekhov play "Uncle Vanya". It is not "like" "Uncle Vanya", or as great as "Uncle Vanya". It is "Uncle Vanya". The sex of some of the characters has been changed and the dialog has been updated (Art Tatum had yet to be born when Chekhov wrote "Uncle Vanya"), but the movie is as true to Chekov's play as, for example, the movie "O" is to Shakespeare's "Othello".
Those of you who have criticized "September" as boring, including Amazon's own reviewer, Richard T. Jameson, who called it, '...the single most excruciating viewing experience the Woodman ever invited audiences to share..." need to see or read Chekov's masterpieces, The "Cherry Orchard", "Three Sisters", "The Seagull" and-most especially-"Uncle Vanya", in order that you may make your observations from a more informed perspective. Chekov was once criticized as the "..master of the play in which nothing happens..." Unfortunately, Amazon lists no VHS or DVD versions of Uncle Vanya, so you will have to wait to see Vanya performed at a college near you or sit down under a good lamp and read.
The fact that Woody Allen has never dumbed down his writing to the level of most of the movie-going public has been a two edged sword and it has cut him both ways. One only has to read the reviews here on Amazon to understand why. Is anyone curious as to why the reviews of this movie are so polarized? This is either Woody's most boring movie ever, or the reviewer's favorite Woody movie-almost nothing in the middle. I hope he gets a good laugh over that if he bothers to read such things.
I have looked all over the internet to find a reference to Woody's source for the movie and have not found it mentioned. Roger Ebert praised the movie saying, "... In the neat pairings of couples and non-couples, Allen almost seems to be making a modern-dress Elizabethan comedy..." and that "... he is as acute an author of serious dialogue as anyone now making movies..." Read Uncle Vanya, Roger.
Rating: 
Summary: bored to tears...
Review: 1st things 1st...I love Woody's films and consider myself a true fan but after several re writes, scraping almost the entire film, re casting almost every role I found this film completly boring and just too claustrophobic...
Rating: 
Summary: exceptional
Review: Although this late 80s Allen flick will, in tone, certainly remind you of "Interiors..." Again, all of the Allen conceits are here: Nature vs. The City; infidelity; starting over as an artist in New York; the tortured artist who's unfaithful to his calling; angst due to parents; Kurosawa...and of course Jazz...The supreme offering here being from Art Tatum's and Ben Webster's marvelous 50s collaboration...this is the film that introduced me to two such wonderful musicians... Mia Farrow gives me a sore throat here...she's a dowdy, weepy, tortured Jan Brady here, and we tire of her awfully fast...as her mother, Elaine Stritch comments, she looks like a "Polish refugee..." Stritch, as Farrow's mother, we find out, killed her boyfriend but asked her daughter, Farrow, to take the blame...hence the major source of turmoil for this family...Was Allen commenting on the famous Lana Turner case? Dianne Weist is always marvelous, and I agree with a previous reviewer: her gestures are very affected and at times overdone...one thing I can't stand to see in film are actors who haven't learned how to smoke...to light it, to hold it, to inhale...but that's just a minor thing... Sam Waterston is wonderful here...He and Weist play beautifully together... Cinematically, the shots are stunning...and be very aware of Allen's use of light and music to set the scene... Not bad but the laughs are not here...Not typical of what the viewing audience thinks a Woody Allen film should be...but there are many moments here to treasure... This film reminds us that August can indeed be hell...so there's always hope come September... --dd
Rating:
Summary: Better than "Interiors"...
Review: Although this late 80s Allen flick will, in tone, certainly remind you of "Interiors..." Again, all of the Allen conceits are here: Nature vs. The City; infidelity; starting over as an artist in New York; the tortured artist who's unfaithful to his calling; angst due to parents; Kurosawa...and of course Jazz...The supreme offering here being from Art Tatum's and Ben Webster's marvelous 50s collaboration...this is the film that introduced me to two such wonderful musicians... Mia Farrow gives me a sore throat here...she's a dowdy, weepy, tortured Jan Brady here, and we tire of her awfully fast...as her mother, Elaine Stritch comments, she looks like a "Polish refugee..." Stritch, as Farrow's mother, we find out, killed her boyfriend but asked her daughter, Farrow, to take the blame...hence the major source of turmoil for this family...Was Allen commenting on the famous Lana Turner case? Dianne Weist is always marvelous, and I agree with a previous reviewer: her gestures are very affected and at times overdone...one thing I can't stand to see in film are actors who haven't learned how to smoke...to light it, to hold it, to inhale...but that's just a minor thing... Sam Waterston is wonderful here...He and Weist play beautifully together... Cinematically, the shots are stunning...and be very aware of Allen's use of light and music to set the scene... Not bad but the laughs are not here...Not typical of what the viewing audience thinks a Woody Allen film should be...but there are many moments here to treasure... This film reminds us that August can indeed be hell...so there's always hope come September... --dd
Rating:
Summary: Like being in a trance...
Review: I admit that when I first saw September back in the late '80's the movie seemed...thin, lacking in substance, not a whole lot to it. I just saw it again for the first time in several years when Turner Classics had "Woody Allen month" a while ago. Boy, was I ever surprised by the difference a decade or more can make! This is a superb film that accomplishes in its own way what a jazz improvisation or piece of chamber music can, i.e. an illustration of strength through delicacy. And jazz echoes all the way through the trickling stream of this beguiling chamber drama. The Tatum/Webster piano/sax duet of "My One and Only Love" is both exquisite in its own right as well as a masterstroke of subtle cruelty by director Allen: no one in this movie gets the one they love. And the languorous blackout sequence, where Dianne Wiest takes to the piano and plays one wistful ballad after another is pure heaven. If you've ever had to deal with an aging, overbearing parent, then you can relate to September. The spectacle of Farrow's character still paying as an adult for the crimes (literal and otherwise) that her mother inflicted on her as a child is some of the truest, finely observed stuff Allen has put on film. Lane (Farrow) is trapped in a kind of arrested development. She speaks of wanting to sell the Vermont house and move to Manhattan to make it as a photographer. I had a hard time believing this. Lane is a creature of the Vermont woods, and while the city might perhaps energize her it is more likely that the teeming New York streets would repel her back into dreamworld or worse. When Lane disparages her ability to succeed as an artist, Wiest tough-loves her, "you'll just have to try harder, won't you!?" I found Elaine Stritch's monologue at/with the Ouija board a tad coy. Yet her exit line about donating her diaphragm to the antique fair more than makes up for it!
Rating:
Summary: WOODY'S WORST!
Review: I am the happy owner of ALL Woody Allen's films on DVD that are currently available. I am also a fan of his dramatic work, particularly the under-rated and underappreciated "Interiors" and "Another Woman." "September" is not only one of the worst of his career, but one of the worst films I've ever endured. It is rather BEAUTIFULLY ACTED, with some CLEVER LINES interspersed (hence the two stars I granted it), but it's mostly MELODRAMATIC SLOP. And that CLAUSTROPHOBIC feel you may have read about previously: Absolutely true! Despite constant references to how "beautiful" the scenery is, the blinds are always closed day and night (this is because the film was shot entirely on a soundstage with no artifical backdrops). I wanted to write this to warn other Woody Allen fans who may wish to experiment -- DO YOURSELF A FAVOR: NOT WITH THIS ONE! ... inexplicably, "September" (and the equally inept "Shadows and Fog") was released on DVD prior to "Hannah and her Sisters" and "Husbands and Wives," two masterpieces in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: One of Woody's Best
Review: Probably not everyone would agree with me on this, but I think this is one of Woody Allen's top 5 movies, and pretty close to the top 1 or 2. It is just as good as "Another Woman" (which is often considered his "best" drama) and all of the performances are captivating throughout the film. The pacing of "September" is excellent-83 minutes is the perfect length for the story, and it is not overly drawn out nor does it move too quickly. If you don't know this film, be warned that it is not a comedy, but a drama-on par with Bergman-although Elaine Stritch does have some pretty funny lines...This is definitely one to check out (and since the DVD is so reasonably priced, you should just buy it). By the way, the DVD transfer is much cleaner than any VHS copy I have seen, so the cinematography can be appreciated even more.
Rating:
Summary: One of Woody's Best
Review: Probably not everyone would agree with me on this, but I think this is one of Woody Allen's top 5 movies, and pretty close to the top 1 or 2. It is just as good as "Another Woman" (which is often considered his "best" drama) and all of the performances are captivating throughout the film. The pacing of "September" is excellent-83 minutes is the perfect length for the story, and it is not overly drawn out nor does it move too quickly. If you don't know this film, be warned that it is not a comedy, but a drama-on par with Bergman-although Elaine Stritch does have some pretty funny lines...This is definitely one to check out (and since the DVD is so reasonably priced, you should just buy it). By the way, the DVD transfer is much cleaner than any VHS copy I have seen, so the cinematography can be appreciated even more.
Rating:
Summary: Underrated and excellent play
Review: Richard T. Jameson, who has the dubious distinction of writing the "official" editorial statement about this Allen masterpiece, does not know what he is talking about. As often happens here on Amazon, many of the customer reviews are far more knowledgeable and discerning that the conventional mainstream critic's assessments. This is a finely written, highly dramatic play transfered flawlessly to film by a master cinematographer and is immensely superior to "Interiors" which is heavily influenced by, if not actually ripped off from, Ingmar Bergman. Here, the influence is subsumed into Allen's style and milieu, and he gets tremendous performances from the cast, especially Mia Farrow who despite the later troubles with Allen gave him a heartbreaking rendition of the fragile, wounded character of "Lane" who is brought to a state of desperation in the climax of the story, which is a spellbinding example of pure dramatic storytelling.
Rating:
Summary: Allen's Best Bergman Influence!
Review: September is a display of Woody Allen's influence by the Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman. This is an psychoanalytical examination of characters who are constrained to the home of Lane (Mia Farrow) on the Vermont countryside. Through the eyes of Allen, one can scrutinize a wide array of actions taken by the characters that are personified from their self-interests, insecurities and fears. These actions lead to a cyclical pattern of the characters' behaviors that are built on their own view of self. At the end, September will leave with a taste of bitterness due to its self-reflective influence.
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