avik-basu1889
Visually, 'Manhattan' is nothing short of a loving, deeply passionate tribute by Woody Allen to his beloved New York and more specifically Manhattan. Manhattan is made to look absolutely beautiful with the help of Gordon Willis' widescreen photography. Allen uses the Black & White visual texture to romanticise New York and make it look like the New York of the movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood. However there lies the deliberate contradiction in the film. Unlike the 'happily ever-after' relationships of Classic Hollywood, in 'Manhattan', in accordance with the running theme in almost every other Woody Allen film, true and long lasting love is almost impossible to find. Similar to his other films, the characters here belong to the intellectual upper/upper-middle class and they are shown to be completely immersed in narcissism. They are lonely, but they choose to hide behind their armour of intellectualism. They want company, but they lose patience and get afflicted with doubt and boredom as soon as the hint of a potentially lasting relationship raises its head. Allen adds to the meta-element in the film by making fun of his own self constantly as the real life Woody Allen too is a part of the intellectual class that he is making fun of in 'Manhattan' and some of the comedic taunts directed at the character of Isaac seem like direct jabs at his own self. The film's ending is pitch perfect as it underlines(without seeming didactic) the need for hopefulness instead of pseudo-intellectual cynicism, a need for a little more faith in romance and a little more faith in humanity, so that the romanticised visuals of New York get to complement instead of contradict the sensibilities of its residents.
oOoBarracuda
Does anyone open a film better than Woody Allen? Whether it be a brilliant opening scene giving the viewer an idea of what is to follow or a fantastic opening monologue, Woody Allen has the ability to bring me into his films in their opening seconds like no other filmmaker can. Manhattan opens with that signature perfect voice- over narration that I am starting to associate with Woody Allen. Manhattan was my 6th outing with the auteur and one that I am immeasurably thankful for. There was a time in my life before I saw Manhattan and the time of my life after I saw Manhattan; the line distinguishing those two points in my life is becoming quite clear. There's nothing I like more than watching a film and knowing immediately it is going to have a profound impact on your life as a cinephile. I rarely have that experience with most films making themselves known as turning points in my life long after their credits roll. Manhattan was the 1979 installment of prolific director Woody Allen's film-a-year career. Detailing the feelings of love's uncertainty in a remarkably down to earth way, Manhattan is beautiful in no small part to its simplicity.Isaac (Woody Allen) is a forty-something writer who has a better romantic relationship with his hometown of Manhattan than he ever has with a woman in his life. Isaac is currently carrying on a relationship with a 17-year old girl that he is only half invested in because he sees the relationship as doomed to fail due to their age difference. His partner Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), however, is fully invested in their romance and realizes that she is falling in love with Isaac. After dealing with an ex-wife who divorced Isaac after realizing she was a lesbian deciding to write a book about their marriage, quitting his job as a writer for a television comedy, and believing he may be romantically interested in the woman his best friend is having an affair with, Isaac ends his relationship with Tracy in hopes of a revelation through self- discovery and a relationship with a woman his age. Isaac soon realizes that there does not exist one universal formula for a successful life, and even if there did, he probably wouldn't be satisfied with it.Woody Allen is one of my favorite filmmakers. The way he can weave a story through a theme of the uncertainty of the self and the meaning of life has always pleased this existentialist. Woody Allen manages to bring these issues to every film I've seen of his thus far in a new and innovative way which has inspired me to work my way through his entire filmography. What I was not prepared for before I watched Manhattan was how beautiful of a film Woody Allen is capable of. There are certain themes one conjures up when considering Woody Allen, among them, neurotic Jewish characters, self-aware nervous individuals, death, and bitingly quick film writing. I was pleasantly surprised just how gorgeous Manhattan was. Making the decision to shoot the film in black and white and providing subtly brilliant shots shows Allen's prowess as a director. Certain shots have stayed with me since I finished the film two days ago, for instance, the lighting in the planetarium scene when Isaac is trying to decide how he feels about his new muse, the shot through the blinds when Isaac is on the phone, Tracy sitting on the couch in the left corner of the screen as Isaac descends a set of stairs from the right corner of the screen, the shot of the couple on Isaac's television show seen arguing through wires from the ceiling, and of course the iconic shot of the Queensboro Bridge which adorns the film's poster, are all images that are beautiful in what they convey in each moment of the film--and images I can't forget. Woody Allen asks a serious question in Manhattan--"What makes life worth living", well, part of my answer is: Woody Allen films.
Parker Lewis
I love Manhattan. Seriously, this is far better than Annie Hall (okay, not everyone may agree) and it's a movie I can watch regularly. Sure, some are critical of it being in black and white, but that gives it the necessary charm to be a classic. Manhattan is timeless.If you're a devotee of Fast and the Furious, then this movie isn't for you so please move on.The way Woody Allen explores the interweaving relationships is revealing and even entertaining. The Gershwin soundtrack gives it the necessary sweeping emotional landscape. For those who like Manhattan, you have to see Manhattan Murder Mystery, you won't be disappointed.
sharky_55
Midnight In Paris takes its opening from Manhattan, and both are loving odes to great cities, but here additionally we have the smooth jazz saxophone of Gershin, and the voice-over of a certain neurotic trying to find the perfect opening lines to his book. There are some truths and some lies. The biggest truth is Isaac's love for the city, something that even passing time cannot erode - he intends to immortalise it in Willis' stunning black and white photography that captures a distant past, a nostalgic version of the skyscrapers, the ferries, the butcheries, the snowy parks, and of course the iconic shot of the Queensboro Bridge twinkling and silhouetting what seems to be a lovestruck pair. And then he is exaggerating in some instances; he maintains that he and will still have the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat even in his 70s, and remarks if there is anyone that he models himself after it is god. However when it comes time to break up with the 17 year-old Tracy, he subtly deflects the doe-eyed interrogation of love into an act for her own good - now he is 42, miserable, and his hair is falling out. He is self-righteous, but not on the same level of pretentiousness as Yale or Mary, who pride themselves in their 'Academy of Overrated' and disparage great artists from all areas. Watch how they and Isaac spar - well not spar, they laugh and snicker, while Isaac adamantly refuses their every suggestion. But one line from his ex-wife's memoir of their disastrous marriage seems to suggest he is not so different (and the group laugh out loud at this reading, but as ElMaruecan82 points out, Tracy would never have done so, and I agree); as much as he seems to despise these pseudo-intellectual New Yorkers, he chases eagerly after one and only succeeds in doing so on account of being one himself. He is disillusioned with his successful comedy show, so he quits without really thinking just how much of a downgrade he will have to suffer in his lifestyle - what is more important, his integrity, or the colour of his tap water? He complains at length about it, and in the next scene the cameras tracks him as he walks over to hand a crystal clear glass of water to Mary, but we already knew that it was her. He adjusts his personality depending on who he is trying to woo. He is also hypocritical. Watch how two grown men argue and bicker over a grown women like she is a toy. Yale spits out that he saw her first. Isaac is clearly bitter about being cheated on despite doing the same to Tracy. Yale childishly retaliates later and lies to his wife, solely pushing the blame on his dear friend. Earlier, they unexpectedly bump into Mary's ex-husband, and Isaac is pushed swiftly out of the frame, but it matters not, because Wallace Shawn as Jeremiah is his spitting image, middle-aged, balding, short (it's even suggested he used to be overweight). Isaac marvels that a man that looks like that could ever be a dominating, devastating sexual partner - but of course, he's assigned these roles to himself.Mariel Hemingway is Tracy, the 17 year old girlfriend, and hers is perhaps the best performance of them of all, quiet, assured, straight faced. It is a testament to her ability that I find myself with troubling thoughts, never once wondering about her attraction to the older Isaac, but questioning over and over how he managed to get her. This is the mindset of Isaac, who manages to convince himself and her that she is youthful beyond her pretty face, that she is inexperienced and precocious, that she has many lovers ahead, and that she does not yet know what love is. In short, that she is uncorrupted. Watch his little sly smile as Tracy answers "I go to high school", clearly out of her element, and he loves this about her. He is babying her, but indulging in it at the same time. Willis frames the two close yet far apart in the stylish apartment, distant, as he once again lectures her on how to approach this relationship that seems a dying cause. She makes a joke about how little he thinks of her knowledge of the arts, and we cut away before he can respond, but we know it is a dismissive one. They take a horse drawn carriage through the glittering nightime skyline, and Isaac dubs the experience corny, saying he's done it all before as a kid, but deep down he treasures this little memory, and thinks himself lucky to be able to do it again with such a beautiful girl. He finally comes to his senses in the final scene. Once again we start with a voice-over, which quickly turns into something more immediate and genuine - he is not attempting to wittily open his biography, but quietly recording himself musing over life's wonders. Music (most of all Gershin, who serenades throughout), cinema, good food, and then he fixates on Tracy's face. He runs her down, perhaps one of the first instances of this romantic comedy type confession. But here, although it is sincere (the most he has been the entire movie), it is also selfish, and he is sabotaging all his previous arguments and insistence on her naivety and youthfulness and boundless opportunities, but if he can have her again, it does not matter. He pleads for her to not get corrupted, while she insists it is just a few months. Who is the kid here?
