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Released by: MGM
Released on: January 24, 2012.
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway
Year: 1979
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The Movie:
Directed by Woody Allen and co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman (with whom he had recently co-written Annie Hall), 1979's Manhattan was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (for Mariel Hemingway's performance) and remains one the director's most respected films. For good reason - it holds up very well more than three decades after it was made and if the city that it is set in has changed a lot since then, the people who populate it remain, in many ways, so similar.
The film follows a TV writer named Isaac Davis (Allen), a quirky man in his early forties who is unsatisfied with his career and who spends his time obsessing over things that may or may not give him cancer. When we meet him, he's dating a beautiful seventeen year old student named Tracey (Mariel Hemingway), having recently just divorced from his wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), who left him for another woman and who has custody of their son. As Jill sets out to write a 'tell all' book about the end of their marriage, Isaac meets and quickly falls for Mary (Diane Keaton), the woman that his best friend, Yale (Michael Murphy), is having an extra-marital affair with. Isaac eventually quits his job to work on his novel and breaks up with Tracey to be able to date Mary, but soon finds that finding love in the big city isn't quite as simple as pulling the trigger on some difficult decisions.
Beautifully shot in stark and sometimes almost noir-ish black and white by Gordon Willis (who also shot Annie Hall) and filmed entirely on location in New York City, Manhattan is a beautiful looking film that not only celebrates live in America's most populated area but which also pulls back the layers of a few of its denizens. The script pays the utmost attention to characterizations here, with Allen more or less playing himself and surrounding himself with a cast talented enough to let him do it. There' real depth here, the kind that makes the people in this film easy to know, even when we're well aware that they're making one series of mistakes after another. Despite the fact that Isaac is neurotic and a bit of a cradle robber, his love for Tracey is quite sincere, even if he's in denial about it and spends far too much time trying to talk her out of falling in love with him. Mary and Yale's affair is obviously happening (more or less) behind Yale's wife's back but at the same time has interesting parallel's to the relationship that exists between Isaac and Tracey.
The fairly simple script is delivered by way of excellent performances from all involved and with the kind of dialogue that Allen's made a name for himself with, the kind that's funny to listen to but also completely believable, never too scripted feeling. Ultimately it's a fairly fascinating character study that attempts to explain the mysteries of love and human emotion. Of course, love and human emotion being what they are, it can't succeed but here Allen gets an A for effort.
Video/Audio/Extras:
MGM's AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer presents Manhattan in its proper 2.35.1 widescreen aspect ratio and by and large it looks very good. The black and white image shows pretty much perfect contrast and plenty of nice, natural film grain but this all works in the film's favor, it helps create that atmosphere that it's known for and presents the New York City backdrop in surprisingly impressive clarity. Black levels are nice and strong and detail is strong throughout - there are no issues with any noise reduction or edge enhancement, and just overall looking very much like film, just the way that it should be.
The main audio track on this disc is an English language DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track, though Dolby Digital Mono tracks are available in Spanish and French with optional subtitles available in English SDH, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, German and Polish. The audio here is fine. This isn't a particularly complex track but the dialogue is always crystal clear and balanced nicely against the Gerswhin score, which sounds really good here. The mix, for an older mono track, sounds quite full.
Extras are slim (not surprisingly given Allan's dislike of extra features and commentary tracks), all that's here, aside from chapter stops and basic menus, is the film's theatrical trailer.
The Final Word:
Manhattan is pretty much a masterpiece. Say what you will about Woody Allen's career and personal life but they guy has made some great movies and this is definitely one of them. It's as emotionally involving as it is frequently hilarious and at the same time it manages to give audiences a really unique look at life, love and relationships in the big city.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
