Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Woody Allen, Claire Bloom, Helena Bonham-Carter, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Rapaport, Mira Sorvino, David Ogden Stiers, Jack Warden, Peter Weller

Director: Woody Allen

Summary: A New York sports writer is obsessed with finding the natural mother of his highly-intelligent adopted son. However, when he finally meets her she's not at all how he imagined...

MIGHTY APHRODITE is Woody Allen's stab at Greek comedy/tragedy, and it is wildly successful. Allen stars as Lenny Weinrib, a sportswriter married to ambitious Amanda Sloan (Helena Bonham Carter), who desperately wants her own art gallery in New York City and is willing to play the game to get it. Amanda convinces a reluctant Lenny to adopt, and they end up with beautiful Max. Lenny soon becomes obsessed with finding out who Max's biological parents are, and he is not exactly happy when he discovers that the mother is a high-pitched actress wanna-be who is also a minor porn star and hooker (Mira Sorvino, in an Oscar-winning performance). Lenny is determined to turn her life around--but at the same time is forced to examine his own marriage, which is failing.
Allen intersperses New York City vignettes with hysterical scenes of a Greek chorus, led by F. Murray Abraham, chiming in about Lenny's life, comparing it to Greek drama, and breaking out into song-and-dance numbers. The scenes in which the two worlds meet--both in New York and in the Greek theater, are wonderfully witty and incisive. This charming light comedy from Woody Allen also features fine cameo appearances by Olympia Dukakis, David Ogden Stiers, Jack Warden, and Tony Sirico.

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Released in 1995, Mighty Aphroditewas arguably Woody Allen's most successful film since Hannah and Her Sistersalmost a decade earlier. The story follows Allen's neurotic New York sports writer Lenny, who becomes obsessed with tracking down his adopted son's birth mother, Linda. His odyssey is narrated and commented upon with coruscating wit by a Greek chorus led by F Murray Abraham. Despite their dire warnings at his rather ham-fisted attempts at hubris, there is nothing tragic in the ultimately uplifting tale. Lenny eventually locates Linda (an Oscar-winning performance from the enchanting Mira Sorvino) and discovers that she's caught up in just about every aspect of the sex trade. Without revealing his reasons, he sets about improving her life with hilarious results.

Sorvino is a wonder as the tall, alluring and vulnerable Linda, who talks with candid innocence of her adventures in vice (she offers a blow job as if it was a pound of apples) and clearly deserves a better hand than she has been dealt. Helena Bonham Carter, not entirely convincing as a driven Manahattanite, plays Allen's ambitious art dealer wife whom Lenny ultimately realises is the love of his life. And a host of stars including Claire Bloom, Gwenn Verdon and Olympia Dukakis (Jocasta) contribute shining moments to this intelligent and touching comedy. When the chorus bursts into "When You're Smiling" at the end, it's like the sun coming out.

On the DVD:The widescreen (1.85:1) presentation gives the location-shot chorus scenes marvellous resonance, although the Dolby Digital mono soundtrack is occasionally rather flat. Both picture and sound quality, however, preserve the intimacy which is the trademark of Allen's finest work. There are no extras beyond a choice of subtitles and the usual scene selection menu.--Piers Ford

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Scene Access
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1995
Release Date:	June 15, 2006
Runtime:	91 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B E D 888431
Keywords:	Comedy, Mighty, General, Wide, Screen, Aphrodite
Genre:	Comedy