Script To Screen: “Hannah and Her Sisters”

A pivotal scene from the wonderful 1986 movie Hannah and Her Sisters, written and directed by Woody Allen.

Next, the film cuts to an almost isolated path in Central
Park, complete, with old-fashioned streetlamps and scattered
leaves. Holly and Mickey stroll into view, deep in
conversation.HOLLY
(gesturing)
Gosh, you really went through a
crisis, you know that? H-how did
you get over it? I mean, when I
ran into you, you seemed, you
seemed just perfectly fine. Well,
you seem fine now.MICKEY
Well...
(chuckling)
I'll tell you.
(sighing)
One day about a month ago...The film abruptly cuts to Mickey's flashback, a visual
counterpoint to the story he is telling Holly. A close-up
of a nervous, perspiring, and panting Mickey alone in his
apartment appears on the screen as his voice is heard.MICKEY (V.O.)
...I really hit bottom. You know,
I just felt that in a Godless
universe, I didn't want to go on
living. Now I happen to own this
rifle...
(coughing)Mickey raises the barrel of a rifle to his forehead. He
shuts his eyes tightly.MICKEY (V.O.)
...which I loaded, believe it or
not, and pressed it to my forehead.
And I remember thinking, at the
time, I'm gonna kill myself. Then
I thought...what if I'm wrong?
What if there is a God? I mean,
after all, nobody really knows that.The camera moves past the desperate Mickey to a mirror on
the wall behind him. Its reflection shows his spiral
staircase and some standing lamps. A clock faintly ticks.MICKEY (V.O.)
But then I thought, no. You know,
maybe is not good enough. I want
certainty or nothing. And I
remember very clearly the clock was
ticking, and I was sitting there
frozen, with the gun to my head,
debating whether to shoot.The gun goes off with a loud bang. The mirror shatters.MICKEY (V.O.)
All of a sudden, the gun went off.Mickey, holding the rifle, is seen running over to the
shattered mirror. The sounds of his excited neighbors,
their shouting, a knocking door, are heard as he continues
his tale.MICKEY (V.O.)
I had been so tense, my finger had
squeezed the trigger inadvertently...NEIGHBOR #1
(offscreen, overlapping)
What's happening? Wh-wh-what's
going on?MICKEY (V.O.)
(continuing)
...but I was perspiring so much,
the gun had slid off my forehead
and missed me.NEIGHBOR #2
(offscreen, overlapping)
I don't know. I heard a gun. Is
everything all right?Mickey, still brandishing the rifle, runs into his sunlit
living room. He looks around frantically, his shirt loose.Finally, he throws the rifle down between the sofa and the
coffee table. The gun goes off a second time. Mickey,
standing nearby, jumps, his hands flying to his head. The
doorbell rings; the neighbors begin pounding at the door.MICKEY (V.O.)
And suddenly, neighbors were, were,
pounding on the door, and-and I
don't know, the whole scene was
just pandemonium. And, uh, you
know, and I-I-I-I-I ran to the door.Mickey runs offscreen briefly to answer the door.MICKEY (V.O.)
I-I-I-I didn't know what to say.
You know, I was, I was embarrassed
and confused, and my-my-my mind was
r-r-racing a mile a minute...He returns onscreen, panting; he looks frantically once
again around the living room.MICKEY (V.O.)
...and I-I jus knew one thing.The film cuts to a West Side street. It's an overcast day.
Mickey, walking slowly along the sidewalk, passes several
other pedestrians and numerous storefronts, including
Klein's Pharmacy and a "Bar-B-Q" take out. Occasionally, he
is obscured by a tree trunk on the opposite side of the
street; a few taxis go by as he talks over the scene.MICKEY (V.O.)
I...I-I-I-I had to get out of that
house. I had to just get out in
the fresh air and-and clear my head.
And I remember very clearly. I
walked the streets. I walked and I
walked. I-I didn't know what was
going through my mind. It all
seemed so violent and un-unreal to
me. And I wandered...The movie cuts to the exterior of the Metro movie theater,
with its smoked glass entrance doors and its Art Deco feel.
An old publicity photo hangs inside. Mickey's reflection is
seen at the almost-transparent doors, as well as the
reflection of the street and various cars whizzing by. His
reflection walks towards the theater entrance; he continues
his story.MICKEY (V.O.)
...for a long time on the Upper
West Side, you know, an-and it must
have been hours! You know, my, my
feet hurt. My head was, was
pounding, and, and I had to sit
down. I went into a movie house.
I-I didn't know what was playing or
anything.Mickey walks into the movie house. He is seen through the
glass doors, which still reflect the street and traffic
outside. He makes his way through the lobby into the actual
theater.MICKEY (V.O.)
I just, I just needed a moment to
gather my thoughts and, and be
logical, and, and put the world
back into rational perspective.The film abruptly cuts to the theater's black-and-white
screen, where the Marx Brothers, in Duck Soup, play the
helmets of several soldiers standing in a line like a live
xylophone. The sounds of the "xylophone" are heard as the
movie cuts to the darkened theater, where Mickey slowly sits
down in a balcony seat. The "xylophone" music stops and
changes to "Hidee-hidee-hidee-hidee-hidee-hidee-ho" as sung
by the Marx Brothers and ensemble in the movie. The singing
continues faintly in the background as Mickey continues his
tale:MICKEY (V.O.)
And I went upstairs to the balcony,
and I sat down
(sighing)
and, you know, the movie was a-a-a
film that I'd seen many times in my
life since I was a kid, an-and I
always u-uh, loved it. And, you
know, I'm, I'm watching these
people up on the screen, and I
started getting hooked o-on the
film, you know?The film cuts back to the black-and-white movie screen as
Mickey continues to talk. The Marx Brothers, as well as the
hundred-odd other cast members in Duck Soup, are kneeling
and bowing as they sing "Hidee-hidee-ho." They kick their
heels up in the air. They sway back and forth, hands
clasped, singing "Oh-h-h-h-h-h..."MICKEY (V.O.)
...And I started to feel how can
you even think of killing yourself?
I mean, isn't it so stupid? I
mean, l-look at all the people up
there on the screen. You know,
they're real funny, and, and what
if the worst is true?The movie cuts back to Mickey, sitting almost obscured in
the dark theater. The Oh-h-h-h-h-h's coming from the
offscreen movie are heard as he continues to speak.MICKEY (V.O.)
What if there's no God, and you
only go around once and that's it?
Well, you know, don't you want to
be part of the experience? You
know, what the hell, it-i-it's not
all a drag. And I'm thinking to
myself, geez, I should stop ruining
my life...As Mickey talks, the film cuts back to the antics of the
Marx Brothers on the black-and-white theater screen. The
four brothers are now swaying and singing and strutting,
their voices indistinct over Mickey's narration.MICKEY (V.O.)
...searching for answers I'm never
gonna get, and just enjoy it while
it lasts. And...you know...The film is back on Mickey's dark form in the audience.MICKEY (V.O.)
...after, who knows? I mean, you
know, maybe there is something.
Nobody really knows. I know, I
know "maybe" is a very slim reed to
hang your whole life on, but that's
the best we have. And...then, I
started to sit back, and I actually
began to enjoy myself.As Mickey continues, the film cuts back to Duck Soup on the
black-and-white screen. The Marx Brothers are sitting on a
judge's bench, playing banjos and singing with the other
cast members. They jump down from the bench, still singing.
Their voices swell.MARX BROTHERS & COMPANY
"Oh, Freedonia
Oh, don't you cry for me
They'll be coming around the
mountain..."

The scene in the movie:

Like most scripts floating around that purport to be by Woody Allen, this is likely a post-production transcript. But still a great scene with much wisdom in it.

Does anyone love this movie as much as I do, one of my favorite Woody Allen films? If so, I’ll be happy to carry on the conversation in comments.

One of the best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

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