Film: Crimes And Misdemeanours (1989)

Allen triumphantly returns to form in this fantastic black comedy about two separate adulterers: Martin Landau’s Judah Rosenthal, a ophthalmologist who bumps off his one-time lover, and Woody Allen’s Cliff Stern, a documentary director trying to avoid temptation on set.

What laughs, you’re thinking. Seriously though, there are a lot somehow, with both stories tied together by Allen’s razor sharp script and Sam Waterston’s Rabbi Ben.

Murder, retribution and original sin might not make for humourous jumping-off points in anyone else’s hands, but in Allen’s you’re watching a black comedy so deliciously well-crafted that it’s impossible not to agree: this is an excellent piece of work. Plus, those one-liners: “The last time I was inside a woman was when I visited the Statue of Liberty” – they just can’t be ignored. Of course, the scene of scenes is the final one, so unless you’ve watched it already, you might want to wait till you have before you click this. (SPOILER WARNING)