Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Joe Swanberg

Writers:

Joe Swanberg (writer) and
Greta Gerwig (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Hannah is a recent college graduate interning at a Chicago production company. She is crushing on two writers at work...

Plot Keywords:

Mumblecore | Character Name In Title

Cast

Greta Gerwig	...	Hannah
Kent Osborne	...	Matt
Andrew Bujalski	...	Paul
Ry Russo-Young	...	Rocco
Mark Duplass	...	Mike
Todd Rohal	...	Brian Duges
Tipper Newton	...	Minnie
Kris Swanberg	...	Gaby (as Kris Williams)
Kevin Bewersdorf	...	Guy Who Lays Down
Ivan Albertson	...	Stephen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nathan Adloff	...	Friend at Party (uncredited)

Directed by
Joe Swanberg

Writing credits
Joe Swanberg		writer and
Greta Gerwig		writer and
Kent Osborne		writer and
Andrew Bujalski		additional material and
Ry Russo-Young		additional material and
Mark Duplass		additional material and
Todd Rohal		additional material and
Kevin Bewersdorf		additional material and
Tipper Newton		additional material and
Kris Swanberg		additional material (as Kris Williams)

Produced by
Anish Savjani	....	producer
Rajen Savjani	....	executive producer
Joe Swanberg	....	producer

Original Music by
Kevin Bewersdorf

Cinematography by
Joe Swanberg

Film Editing by
Joe Swanberg

Production Management
Meg DiGiovanni	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Kevin Bewersdorf	....	sound recordist
Chris James	....	sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Yohance Brown	....	colorist

Editorial Department
Yohance Brown	....	colorist
John Eremic	....	digital intermediate supervisor

Other crew
Frank Ross	....	supplier: additional equipment
Vincent Savino	....	press kit

Thanks
Dan Brown	....	special thanks
Jay Duplass	....	special thanks
Aaron Katz	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Film Science

Distributors

• IFC Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• IFC First Take (2007) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Offhollywood Digital  digital intermediate
• Zacuto  equipment

Runtime:

USA:83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Film Science

Trivia:

Shot without a script.

Movie Connections:

References E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Soundtrack:

1812 for 2006

Does Shot Without A Script Ever Work?

Let's be honest. Your movie could have Tom Cruise, Greta Garbo, Robert DeNiro and many other "stars" in it. It could be a collaborative piece co-directed by Martin Scorsese, Howard Hawks, Jean-Luc Godard. Sven Nykist could be doing the camera work. You could bill it as Robert DeNiro having real on screen sex with Greta Garbo and on and on and on. However, if it doesn't have a script or has just a minimal outline, then it will never be what it could be. Shows like Reno 911 are the exception to the rule. They are both no means the norm.

"Hannah Takes The Stairs" suffers from having no script. It is its glaring weakness and what, in the end, makes it wholly unsatisfying. As a whole, the story wanders around way too much and does not give its viewer a reason to really care for any of its characters. It is the kind of film you watch once and then forget about totally. If you were to ask me, should I see "Hannah Takes The Stairs", I would say, "Definitely. Watch it once but you won't ever want to watch it again."