Another trio of online store additions is ready to be released. Today’s offerings consist of Brian De Palma’s “Sisters,” Seijun Suzuki’s “Youth of the Beast,” and Woody Allen’s “Mighty Aphrodite.”
In “Mighty Aphrodite” Allen plays a sportswriter that goes in search of his adopted son’s biological mother, who turns out to be what they called a “fallen woman” back in the old days (played by Mira Sorvino). As it concerns two of the major elements of Allen’s life beyond movies — sports (of which he is a ravenous consumer) and adoption (the film was made in the wake of his divorce from Mia Farrow, with whom he adopted two children) — one has to imagine that the picture is among the director’s most personal works. While the allegations pertaining to Allen that came to light during the divorce created a societal backlash, they didn’t seem to hinder his film during awards season: Allen received his 12th Academy Award nomination in the category of Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Sorvino won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.