Manhattan (1979) USA
Manhattan Image Cover
Additional Images
Director:Woody Allen
Studio:MGM (Video & DVD)
Producer:Charles H. Joffe, Jack Rollins, Robert Greenhut
Writer:Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Rating:4.5
Rated:R
Date Added:2006-03-27
ASIN:0792846109
UPC:0027616851154
Price:$14.94
Awards:Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 15 nominations
Genre:Friends
Release:2000-05-07
IMDb:0079522
Duration:96
Picture Format:Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
Sound:Dolby Digital 2.0
Languages:English, Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish, Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles:Spanish, French
Features:Anamorphic
Black & White
Woody Allen  ...  (Director)
Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman  ...  (Writer)
 
Marshall Brickman  ...  
Mariel Hemingway  ...  Tracy
Diane Keaton  ...  Mary Wilkie
Woody Allen  ...  Isaac Davis
Michael Murphy  ...  Yale Pollack
Meryl Streep  ...  Jill Davis
Anne Byrne Hoffman  ...  Emily Pollack (as Anne Byrne)
Karen Ludwig  ...  Connie
Michael O'Donoghue  ...  Party Guest Dennis
Victor Truro  ...  Party Guest
Tisa Farrow  ...  Party Guest
Helen Hanft  ...  Party Guest Helen
Bella Abzug  ...  Guest of Honor
Gary Weis  ...  Television Director
Kenny Vance  ...  Television Producer
Charles Levin  ...  Television Actor #1
Summary: Manhattan, Woody Allen's follow-up to Oscar-winning Annie Hall, is a film of many distinctions: its glorious all-Gershwin score, its breathtakingly elegant black-and-white, widescreen cinematography by Gordon Willis (best-known for shooting the Godfather movies); its deeply shaded performances; its witty screenplay that marked a new level in Allen's artistic maturity; and its catalog of Things that Make Life Worth Living. But Manhattan is also distinguished in the realm of home video as the first motion picture to be released only in a widescreen version. You wouldn't want to see it any other way. Allen's "Rhapsody in Gray" concerns, as his own character puts it, "people in Manhattan who are constantly creating these real, unnecessary, neurotic problems for themselves, because it keeps them from dealing with more unsolvable, terrifying problems about the universe." It's a romantic comedy about infidelity and betrayal, the rules of love and friendship, young girls (a radiant and sweet Mariel Hemingway) and older men (Allen), innocence, and sophistication. (a favorite phrase is used to describe a piece of sculpture at the Guggenheim: "It has a marvelous kind of negative capability.") The movie's themes can be summed up in two key lines: "I can't believe you met somebody you like better than me," and "It's very important to have some kind of personal integrity." OK, so they may not sound like such sparkling snatches of brilliant dialogue, but Manhattan puts those ideas across with such emotion that you feel an ache in your heart. --Jim Emerson