The life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.

Director:

Woody Allen
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Popularity
4,515 ( 66)
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 22 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Victor Truro ... Party Guest
Tisa Farrow ... Party Guest
Helen Hanft ... Party Guest
Bella Abzug ... Guest of Honor
Gary Weis Gary Weis ... Television Director
Kenny Vance Kenny Vance ... Television Producer
Charles Levin ... Television Actor #1
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Storyline

Forty-two year old Isaac Davis has a romanticized view of his hometown, New York City, most specifically Manhattan, as channeled through the lead character in the first book he is writing, despite his own Manhattan-based life being more of a tragicomedy. He has just quit his job as a hack writer for a bad television comedy, he, beyond the ten second rush of endorphins during the actual act of quitting, now regretting the decision, especially as he isn't sure he can live off his book writing career. He is paying two alimonies, his second ex-wife, Jill Davis, a lesbian, who is writing her own tell-all book of their acrimonious split. The one somewhat positive aspect of his life is that he is dating a young woman named Tracy, although she is only seventeen and still in high school. Largely because of their differences a big part of which is due to their ages, he does not see a long term future with her. His life has the potential to be even more tragicomical when he meets journalist Mary... Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Woody Allen's New Comedy Hit

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the book that Jill (Meryl Streep) wrote was "Marriage, Divorce and Selfhood". See more »

Goofs

It seems inconceivable that both Jill and her editor did not know that writing about her and Isaac's marriage in her book would set herself up for a libel and defamation lawsuit, as Isaac (Woody Allen) was a private citizen and his privacy rights were grossly violated. See more »

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 ...
[...]
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Crazy Credits

One of the very few Woody Allen films to not have traditional opening credits, save the production company bumper (United Artists), and the film title MANHATTAN is seen as a long vertical flashing bright neon sign, located on the side of a New York City building, and is seen for under seven seconds just before Woody Allen narrates his first line. See more »

Connections

Referenced in De slimste mens ter wereld: Episode #5.26 (2015) See more »

Soundtracks

S'Wonderful
(1927)
Music by George Gershwin
Performed by New York Philharmonic (as The New York Philharmonic)
Music director: Zubin Mehta
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User Reviews

Movement
12 January 2004 | by tedgSee all my reviews

Woody does two kinds of films: those in which he experiments by creating bold essays in exploration of a single idea, and those where he relaxes and employs his whole palette.

This is one of his essays. In 'Annie Hall' the project was all about coordinated levels of narratives, trying to outdo 'Citizen Kane' in the variety an overlay of narrative types. In fact, there were dozens of types and a whole storyline that were cut to make the thing somewhat comprehendable.

Here, he focuses on finely managed vision, the Eisensteinian overlay of images to build and build a fabric. That fabric is orchestrated from Gershwin, the fabric of the city and a remarkable framing of intimate scenes in a larger context. It is worth seeing on those terms alone. Framed movement.

Everything is subservient to this essay, which is competent and original. But the story -- such as it is -- is there only as something to hold the space, a simple placeholder about seekers of warmth and shared breath.

But even so, that story is completely captured by the remarkable Murial Hemingway. Everyone else acts, and their characters appear to be finding themselves. They fumble around with who they are. Muriel is true, so much so we suspect she is not acting at all, or at least not in the sense the others do.

It is 25 years later, and that time has deepened this film, in part because few filmmakers since have used the anamorphic ratio for intimate purposes. The display of films on TeeVee screens has made that unfeasible.

But there is something else. Watching Muriel, we know that this moment will be her fullest, her only connection with the transcendent. Forces of the city, not entirely unlike Woody's character, would disassemble and destroy her. That last, punctuated moment in the lobby would her movement into an abyss beyond the innocent purity she plays, and the visual approach to the material Woody underscores.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 1979 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Manhattan See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$485,734, 29 April 1979

Gross USA:

$39,946,780

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$40,194,067
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1
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