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It still remains my favorite Woody Allen film. After twenty years, "Crimes and Misdemeanors" still holds up as a deeply funny and courageously thought-provoking infliction toward the human condition, the human soul and the human experience. The main narrative thread of the film follows the comedic misanthropy of Cliff Stern (Woody Allen) while also juxtaposing him against the curdling malice--and later, deep regret--of Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau). It is with Rosenthal's story that one of the film's many great scenes comes into profound focus.

The scene: Judah (Landau), while trying to register a horrific crime he just participated in, revisits his old childhood home to find some comfort. The house, now occupied by new tenants, remains more or less a picturesque mirror of his memory. It is when Judah actually hears forks clinking and voices from the dining room does a bizarre flashback scene begin; Judah stands inside his own flashback at one of his family's past Seder (passover) dinners. He also breaks timeline logic by participating in the discussion (an act that yells "Marty McFly!"). Inside the flashback, the dialogue at the dinner table copes with the possibility of a universe with no God. An argument is made between Judah's father and Judah's aunt. The father believes in his biblical teachings and insists that evil will always go punished (even in the afterlife). The aunt says there is no afterlife: "I say if he can do it and get away with it, and he chooses not to be bothered by the ethics, then he’s home free. Remember, history is written by the winners. And if the Nazis had won, future generations would understand the story of World War II quite differently." In the end, this information is both puzzling and promising for Judah.

Why we love it: As viewers, we know Judah's secret crime: he arranged for the murder of his mistress in order to avoid wrecking his own public image within his community. In the film, Judah is always looking for a rational pardon from outside authority. Ironically enough, he asks a Rabbi early in the film for moral guidance--only to later learn that the same Rabbi has gone blind. There is potency in that. If the Rabbi represents a higher authority (therefore one that can punish a crime) and that higher authority can no longer see crimes, well then in this universe CRIME CAN AND WILL GO UNPUNISHED. This provocative idea is beautifully articulated in this flashback dinner scene. What Woody Allen, as the writer and filmmaker of "Crimes and Misdemeanors," is suggesting, is that we are essentially alone in the universe. There is no one watching us. So what is the significance of religion or an institution that encourages a rigid set of beliefs? This is what Allen is fascinated with. In the flashback, after the aunt renders Judah's father's case of 'evil always going punished' to in fact be wrong, the father answers, “Then I’ll still have a better life than all those that doubt.” Judah's aunt then asks, “Do you mean that you prefer God to the truth?”  “If necessary," Judah's father begins, "I will always choose God over truth.” In a film known for its cosmic cynicism, this is the moment that pounds the audience down. Allen acknowledges the scary realization of a human existence without purpose--and points out the even scarier idea of choosing to ignore that.

You can watch this terrific scene by clicking HERE.