Manhattan (1979)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writers:

Woody Allen (written by) and
Marshall Brickman (written by)

Release Date:

25 April 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Woody Allen's New Comedy Hit

Plot:

A divorced New Yorker currently dating a high-schooler brings himself to look for love in the mistress of his best friend instead.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Writing | Writer | Lolita | Break Up

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Woody Allen	...	Isaac
Diane Keaton	...	Mary
Michael Murphy	...	Yale
Mariel Hemingway	...	Tracy
Meryl Streep	...	Jill
Anne Byrne Hoffman	...	Emily (as Anne Byrne)
Karen Ludwig	...	Connie
Michael O'Donoghue	...	Dennis
Victor Truro	...	Party Guest
Tisa Farrow	...	Party Guest
Helen Hanft	...	Party Guest
Bella Abzug	...	Guest of Honor
Gary Weis	...	Television Director
Kenny Vance	...	Television Producer
Charles Levin	...	Television Actor #1
Karen Allen	...	Television Actor #2
David Rasche	...	Television Actor #3
Damion Scheller	...	Isaac's Son
Wallace Shawn	...	Jeremiah
Mark Linn-Baker	...	Shakespearean Actor (as Mary Linn Baker)
Frances Conroy	...	Shakespearean Actress
Bill Anthony	...	Porsche Owner #1
John Doumanian	...	Porsche Owner #2
Raymond Serra	...	Pizzeria Waiter (as Ray Serra)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Llewellyn Lafford	...	Broadway Pedestrian (uncredited)

Directed by
Woody Allen

Writing credits
Woody Allen		(written by) and
Marshall Brickman		(written by)

Produced by
Robert Greenhut	....	executive producer
Charles H. Joffe	....	producer
Jack Rollins	....	producer

Cinematography by
Gordon Willis		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Susan E. Morse

Casting by
Juliet Taylor

Production Design by
Mel Bourne

Set Decoration by
Robert Drumheller

Costume Design by
Albert Wolsky

Makeup Department
Fern Buchner	....	makeup artist
Romaine Greene	....	hair stylist
Craig Lyman	....	additional makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Martin Danzig	....	production manager
Michael Peyser	....	unit supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frederic B. Blankfein	....	assistant director
Lewis Gould	....	dga trainee (as Lewis H. Gould)
Joan Van Horn	....	second assistant director (as Joan Spiegel Feinstein)

Art Department
Joseph Badalucco Jr.	....	carpenter (as Joseph Badaluco)
Leslie Bloom	....	property master
Justin Scoppa Jr.	....	set dresser
Cosmo Sorice	....	scenic artist
James Sorice	....	scenic artist
Morris Weinman	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Jack Higgins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Vito L. Ilardi	....	boom man (as Vito Ilardi)
Lowell Mate	....	assistant sound editor
James Sabat	....	sound mixer
Dan Sable	....	sound editor
Leslie Gaulin	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Victoria Vanderkloot	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Brian Hamill	....	still photographer
Jim Hovey	....	assistant cameraman (as James Hovey)
Fred Schuler	....	camera operator
Dusty Wallace	....	gaffer
Robert Ward	....	key grip
Douglas C. Hart	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (uncredited)
Robert Paone	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Howard Feuer	....	casting associate
Jeremy Ritzer	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Clifford Capone	....	costumer
C.J. Donnelly	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Michael R. Miller	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Bud Graham	....	music recording engineer
Andrew Kazdin	....	audio producer: New York Philharmonic
Ray Moore	....	music recording engineer
Tom Pierson	....	music adaptor
Tom Pierson	....	music arranger
Don Rose	....	music arranger: Buffalo Philharmonic

Transportation Department
James Fanning	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Kay Chapin	....	script supervisor
Cheryl Hill	....	production assistant
Scott MacDonough	....	unit publicist
Kathleen McGill	....	location auditor
Jennifer Ogden	....	production office coordinator
Gail Sicilia	....	assistant: Mr. Allen
Robert E. Warren	....	production assistant
Charles Zalben	....	production assistant
Dennis Kear	....	stand-in: Woody Allen (uncredited)

Thanks
Paul Glanzman	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as Lieutenant Paul Glanzman)
Ed Koch	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as Mayor Ed Koch)
Nancy Littlefield	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of

Production Companies

• Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions (as A Jack Rollins-Charles H. Joffe Production)

Distributors

• United Artists (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• New Star (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Park Circus (2006) (UK) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• United Artists (1980) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1979) (France) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1980) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (198?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Blu Shine (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Nordisk Film (2000) (Sweden) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Ralph Lauren  Mr. Allen's wardrobe by
• Aaron Beckwith Casting  extras casting
• Bernstein and Freedman P.C.  production accountants (as Bernstein and Freedman)
• Dawn Animal Agency  animal trainer: "Waffles" trained by
• City of New York, The  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Museum of Modern Art, The (MoMA)  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as Museum of Modern Art)
• The American Museum of Natural History  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of: Hayden Planetarium
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• New York Shakespeare Festival  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Hunter College  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• New York University (NYU)  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Warner Bros. Music  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• New World Music  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Chappell Music  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 (original rating) | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Ireland:18 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | UK:12A (re-rating) (2006) | Netherlands:AL | Brazil:12 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Peru:14 | Netherlands:AL (orginal rating)

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions

Trivia:

Director's Trademark (Woody Allen): [writer] Jill is a novelist.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Mary (Diane Keaton) is supposed to be an intellectual, but when she says the name Diane Arbus, she mispronounces it, saying "Diane" the same way you would say Diane Keaton. Diane Arbus' first name is pronounced "Dee-Ann".

Quotes:

[first lines]
[music: the opening of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Voiceover]
Isaac Davis:Chapter One. He adored New York City. He idolized it all out of proportion. Eh uh, no, make that he, he romanticized it all out of proportion. Better. To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gershwin. Uh, no, let me start this over.
Isaac Davis:Chapter One: He was too romantic about Manhattan, as he was about everything else. He thrived on the hustle bustle of the crowds and the traffic. To him, New York meant beautiful women and street smart guys who seemed to know all the angles. Ah, corny, too corny for, you know, my taste. Let me, let me try and make it more profound.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blind Chance (1987)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No.40 in G minor, K.550: First Movement (Molto allegro)

A love song to Manhattan disguised as romantic comedy

I won't rework the thorough comments which preceded mine here, because all the accolades I would give this film are stated quite eloquently. It is his best film; it does contain brilliant insights into human nature; it is visually breathtaking. I just want to mention a few aspects from my point of view.

It has been on my list of the five best movies ever made ever since I saw it in 1979, chiefly for its realistic dialogue and probing commentary on the desperate nature of human beings in search of love, but I had never seen New York with my own eyes, so I could only try to accept but not fully understand Woody's love for Manhattan, which is firmly stated in the introductory narration.

After my recent 4 day trip there, I have a new perspective - the city itself is so charmingly and compactly laid out, so full of history and culture and everything famous, that you can't go to New York without falling in love with it. After only 3 days I felt I wanted to live there. It is the city of not only Woody Allen but Bob Dylan, Tennessee Williams, Edgar Allan Poe, George Washington, Paul Newman, Jacqueline Onassis, and hundreds of other illustrious and creative people of the past and present. The tour guides can't possibly squeeze in the whole story of every district and every building; the air just vibrates with this knowledge that you are in the greatest city in the world.

The beauty of Manhattan that Woody conveys so perfectly in every camera shot and through the music of Gershwin has new meaning for me because I was there. It's not so much a physical beauty but a feeling that all is right with the city, that this is what a city is supposed to be. It puts other cities to shame.

All I can say is he fully succeeded in conveying what New York City is like. Not to mention that I now understand the obsession with delis; they have the best food in the world.

I would also like to add my new perspective on the story itself - a very 70's plot of several people switching romantic partners back and forth at the drop of a hat. Diane Keaton's Mary remains the most perfect of the characterizations as the neurotic free spirit who despite her total self-absorption inspires our sympathy and affection. The 17 year old played by Mariel Hemingway is more irritating with the passage of 20 years, not because Woody's real-life obsession with young girls came to light, but because Mariel is a truly vapid non-actress with no ability to convey any depth or feeling. The constant commentary about her stunning beauty falls flat because she merely has a strikingly angular face, no personality and really possesses nothing except the bloom of youth and shiny hair. Mary rightly tells Isaac that his first wife becoming a lesbian "explains the little girl."

The denouement seems more unsatisfactory now than in previous viewings, and I want to shake the characters awake. But it was the seventies, and this is how people acted. It captures the times perfectly. I can't discuss who ends up with whom without spoiling the end for those who haven't seen it, but the problem for me is that the characters seem to live for the moment and if they can't have the one they want, they simply change partners without much strain.

This attitude does not play quite so charmingly at the end of the 90's when fidelity is valued more highly than it was in the 70's.

Nevertheless the beauty of the city stands alone no matter what the characters' desperate machinations.

And as a hilarious commentary on the human instinct to find someone to love no matter what the consequences, there is nothing finer. Though I might not approve of Isaac's final choice, his almost religious experience which brings him to that conclusion is a stunning climax to the film. Whether he changes his mind about who is the right one for him, he has learned something crucial about what really is important to him in life.

The true stars of the movie are Manhattan, never more beautiful, and Diane Keaton, never more brilliant.