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 | Harmonica | Museum

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 16 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

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 (1979) (France) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1980) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• 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:

"Manhattan" - Argentina, Mexico (imdb display title), Peru, Uruguay
"Manhattan" - Austria, West Germany
"Manhattan" - Brazil, Portugal (imdb display title)
"Manhattan" - France
"Manhattan" - Greece
"Manhattan" - Denmark
"Manhattan" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Manhattan" - Poland
"Manhattan" - Spain (Catalan title)
"Manhattan" - Finland
"Menhetn" - Serbia (imdb display title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | UK:12A (re-rating) (2006) | Netherlands:AL | Brazil:12 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Peru:14 | 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

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:

Factual errors: Mark Linn-Baker appears to be credited as Mary Linn-Baker.

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 "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Million Dollar Movie Week 2 (#8.117)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

But Not for Me

The Portrait of Immature Middle-Aged People in Touristy New York City

There is no doubt that Woody Allen wholeheartedly loves New York City, but his attempt to illustrate the city in a Fellini-like fashion results in making the city look touristy. Seemingly the film has influenced the younger generation of New York based filmmakers and even they have made homage to this film (i.e., Jim Jarmusch's Stranger than Paradise similarly consists of well-composed medium shots and has a resembling scene of four persons sitting in a theatre. Also, Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It features analogous landscape montages and has an akin scene of the protagonist running to meet his lover). Ironically, these youngsters present the city in more genuine manners and give Allen's Manhattan an obsolete look.

Though the portrait of immature middle-aged people who can't deal with their relationships might be real, who wants to see that? Especially, Isaac Davis (Woody Allen) soliciting his former 17-year-old lover Tracy (Mariel Hemingway) not to leave for London, after discovering his other relationship doesn't work, is unbearable to watch. All central characters, maybe except 17-year-old Tracy, have the same typical-Allen-like personas in their ways of thinking and behaving--Allen might have a dictatorship as a director and it causes the lack of the characters' diversity. The screenplay contains many cliches (i.e., Allen's voiceover monologue on the opening montage to depict the city as a book's Chapter One, several pseudo-intellectual lines such as Isaac's describing his friends as "pseudo-intellectual garbage" talking about "existential reality," Isaac's line "Trouble is my middle name" after his prospective lover says she's troublesome, and so on). Cinematography by Gordon Willis is inappropriately beautiful; the gap between the aesthetic visual and the half-grown content generates an uncompelling, halfway style.