Manhattan (1979)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

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:

Writing | Manhattan | Writer | Ex Wife | Lolita

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 15 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)

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

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	....	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
The Buffalo Philharmonic	....	performers: "But Not for Me"
George Gershwin	....	music by
Bud Graham	....	music recording engineer
Andrew Kazdin	....	audio producer: New York Philharmonic
Ray Moore	....	music recording engineer
Tom Pierson	....	music adapted by
Tom Pierson	....	music arranged by
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)
Edward I. 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)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• New Star (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Park Circus (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• 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 (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

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:18 | 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:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Isaac asks Tracy how old he will be when she is thirty-six, she says "sixty-three," and he agrees. Earlier Isaac says that she is seventeen and he is forty-two, which means he is 25 years older than her, and would therefore be sixty-one, not sixty-three.

Quotes:

Isaac Davis: I think that, under my personal vibrations, I could put her life in some kind of good order.
Yale: Yeah, that's what you said about Jill, and under your personal vibrations she went from bisexuality to homosexuality.
Isaac Davis: Yeah, but I gave her the old college try.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Free Enterprise (1998)

Soundtrack:

Someone to Watch Over Me

Allen's best

'Manhattan' looks beautiful in black and white. It is definitely Woody Allen's best. Two years after 'Annie Hall' we have Woody Allen and Diane Keaton together again. Allen plays Isaac who is dating the 17-year old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway). He has a friend, the married Yale (Michael Murphy), who is having an affair with Mary (Diane Keaton). Isaac falls in love with Mary and stops seeing Tracy to start things with Mary. In a sub-plot we have the ex-wife of Isaac publishing a book about their sex-life. Now she is living with a woman. The ex-wife Jill is played by Meryl Streep. Her appearances are short and not very often but she is more than great in her scenes.

'Manhattan' is even better than the great 'Annie Hall'. The black and white cinematograpy, done with a good reason, gives a little extra to the movie. Like I said Streep is terrific and so are Allen, Keaton and especially Hemingway (she was nominated for an Oscar). The monologues Allen had in 'Annie Hall' are still present, smart, interesting and funny. A great story, very intelligent, of course written (and directed) by Woody Allen himself.