movies 100 theaters

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

miércoles, 9 de febrero de 2011

656. MANHATTAN (1979)

Posted on 12:54 by Unknown
Running Time: 96 minutes
Directed By: Woody Allen
Written By: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Main Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep

WOODY ALLEN WEEK: ACT THREE

Let me start out with one simple sentence...I love this film. Last night, I was able to give it another watch, for "1001" purposes and when I finished I had a thousand and one thoughts swirling through my head, regarding this movie. I only hope I can get it all straight and lay it down for you here.

This time around Woody Allen is Isaac Davis, an aspiring book writer, who is currently "wasting his life" writing, what his best friend calls "crap", for a comedic television show. He's involved in a relationship with Tracy (Hemingway), a girl twenty-five years his junior and his best friend is Yale (Murphy), whom he shares everything with. During a night out at dinner, Yale confesses to Isaac that he has been seeing someone else, a woman named Mary (Keaton), whom he claims to be very serious about. A few days later, while at an art gallery with Tracy, Isaac runs into Yale and Mary and after meeting Mary, decides that he despises her, mainly because she seems to have entirely different interests than him and because she mispronounces Vincent Von Gogh's name. Later in the film, they meet again and this time hit it off, walking through the streets of New York until the sun comes up and commencing underneath the 59th Street Bridge to watch the sunrise. Now Issac is in love with Mary, still has Tracy, whom he admittedly has a great time with, just feels guilty for even being with a seventeen year old and has a best friend who is also in love with the woman he's in love with. It's probably Allen's most serious film and one of my all-time favorites.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

This film has, maybe, one of my favorite opening sequences of any film ever. The film starts with Isaac reading chapter one of his book. He keeps re-starting finding something wrong with the previous recital. He eventually finds the words he's looking for and fireworks explode over Manhattan as George Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue blares in the background. Then we get into the meat and potatoes of the film and to me this is the most serious film Allen has ever done. There is comedy strung in there, but it's never used as the focal point of a scene and is the type of everyday humor that you would hear in day to day conversation. Speaking of day to day conversations, I love the dialogue here and here more than any other film, you can really pick up on Allen's knack for writing dialogue. It flows so naturally out of the mouths of these uptown New York intellectuals, that I felt like I was peering in on the lives of these people. When I watch "Manhattan" I feel like I shouldn't be getting this movie, like it's out of my league and these people are having such intelligent conversations, that I should be scratching my head. But, despite the fact that some of the references are lost on me, I do get the film for the most part and Allen makes me, so much, want to live in New York City, so that I can interact with people like this, even though they're not the most balanced people in the world.

I love how Allen examines relationships here, especially Isaac's. We see Isaac having such a great time with Tracy, a girl who is seventeen years old. They lie in bed together and eat Chinese food while watching old movies. They go for horse drawn carriage rides through Central Park and Isaac romances her, telling her that she's "God's answer to Job". But, despite all that, Isaac just can't comfortably commit to a girl twenty-five years younger than him, and thus pushes her away and breaks her heart. Instead, he decides to commit to Mary, a woman he met because she was his best friend's mistress and a woman he hated when he first met. He ultimately gets his heart stomped on by Mary and goes back to the woman who's heart he stomped in Tracy. And speaking of that, what a heartbreaking scene, when Isaac and Tracy break-up. I think Tracy was the character in the film that I could identify most with because I've been 17 years old and I know how attached you get to things at that age, especially in relationships. I nearly cried when Tracy started crying, because in a way, I could feel her pain.

I love that Allen went the black & white route with this film, as it gives us an old time feel in a very modern world and I honestly can't imagine this film being in color. The shots of New York City are sublime and watching this film makes me feel like I've visited NYC and been back to tell about it. Woody really takes you right into the heart of the city and busts open the psyche of some of it's characters, for us to muse at and be entertained by. Love this movie!

RATING: 10/10 Believe it or not folks, this isn't even my favorite Woody Allen film...but it is a damn good one and one that I recommend to anyone...even though I'm sure it won't be for everyone.

MOVIES WATCHED: 208
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 793

February 9, 2011 12:54pm

Enviar por correo electrónicoEscribe un blogCompartir en XCompartir con Facebook
Posted in Woody Allen | No comments
Entrada más reciente Entrada antigua Inicio

0 comentarios:

Publicar un comentario

Suscribirse a: Enviar comentarios (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • 411. Khaneh siah ast/The House is Black (1963)
    Running Time: 22 minutes Directed By: Forugh Farrokhzad Written By: Forugh Farrokhzad Main Cast: (narration): Ebrahim Golestan, Forugh F...
  • From 30's to 40's
    I've spent a considerable amount of time getting to know the scope of cinema that was the 1930s. It was a colorful decade, full of lots ...

Categories

  • Aditya Chopra
  • Agnes Varda
  • Albert Brooks
  • Alejandro Jodorowsky
  • Aleksandr Dovzhenko
  • Alexander Mackendrick
  • Alexander Payne
  • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Amy Heckerling
  • Anatole Litvak
  • Andre Delvaux
  • Ang Lee
  • Arthur Penn
  • Barbet Schroeder
  • Ben Sharpsteen
  • Blake Edwards
  • Bob Clark
  • Bob Fosse
  • Bong Joon-ho
  • Busby Berkeley
  • Carl Reiner
  • Carl Theodor Dreyer
  • Carlos Saura
  • Carol Reed
  • Chantal Akerman
  • Charles Chaplin
  • Charles Crichton
  • Charles Vidor
  • Chris Marker
  • Christopher Nolan
  • Claude Chabrol
  • Curtis Hanson
  • Daniel Myrick
  • Danis Tanovic
  • Dario Argento
  • Dariush Mehrjui
  • David Cronenberg
  • David Hand
  • David Lean
  • David Zucker
  • Derek Jarman
  • Don Siegel
  • Dorothy Arzner
  • Douglas Sirk
  • Edgar G. Ulmer
  • Eduardo Sanchez
  • Edward Dmytryk
  • Edward F. Cline
  • Edward Yang
  • Elaine May
  • Elia Kazan
  • Elmar Klos
  • Emeric Pressburger
  • Emile de Antonio
  • Eric Rohmer
  • Ernest B. Schoedsack
  • Ernst Lubitsch
  • Errol Morris
  • F.W. Murnau
  • Federico Fellini
  • Fei Mu
  • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
  • Forugh Farrokhzad
  • Franco E. Prosperi
  • Francois Girard
  • Frank Capra
  • Frank Darabont
  • Frank Lloyd
  • Franklin J. Schaffner
  • Fred Schepisi
  • Fred Zinnemann
  • Fritz Lang
  • Garry Marshall
  • Gaspar Noe
  • Gene Kelly
  • George A. Romero
  • George Cukor
  • George Marshall
  • George Roy Hill
  • George Stevens
  • George Waggner
  • Georges Franju
  • Gillo Pontecorvo
  • Gregory La Cava
  • Gualtiero Jacopetti
  • Guy Hamilton
  • Hal Ashby
  • Hal Hartley
  • Hamilton Luske
  • Hans Petter Moland
  • Harold Ramis
  • Hayao Miyazaki
  • Hector Babenco
  • Hideo Nakata
  • Hiroshi Teshigahara
  • Howard Hawks
  • Humphrey Jennings
  • Ingmar Bergman
  • Ivan Reitman
  • Jacques Tourneur
  • James Foley
  • James L. Brooks
  • James Whale
  • Jan Kadar
  • Jan Svankmajer
  • Jane Campion
  • Jay Roach
  • Jean Renoir
  • Jean Vigo
  • Jean-Luc Godard
  • Jean-Pierre Jeunet
  • Jean-Pierre Melville
  • Jerome Robbins
  • Jerry Lewis
  • Jim McBride
  • Jim Sharman
  • Jim Sheridan
  • Jiri Menzel
  • Joe Wright
  • Joel Coen
  • John Boorman
  • John Carney
  • John Carpenter
  • John Ford
  • John Frankenheimer
  • John G. Avildsen
  • John Hughes
  • John Huston
  • John Landis
  • John Lasseter
  • John McTiernan
  • John Schlesinger
  • Jonathan Dayton
  • Jonathan Demme
  • Josef von Sternberg
  • Joseph L. Mankiewicz
  • Joseph Losey
  • Julien Duvivier
  • Karel Reisz
  • Ken Loach
  • Kenji Mizoguchi
  • Kenneth Anger
  • Kevin Costner
  • Kevin Smith
  • Kim Ki-duk
  • King Hu
  • King Vidor
  • Larry Charles
  • Lars von Trier
  • Lawrence Kasdan
  • Leni Riefenstahl
  • Leo McCarey
  • Lewis Milestone
  • Lindsay Anderson
  • Lloyd Bacon
  • Lowell Sherman
  • Luis Bunuel
  • Ma-Xu Weibang
  • Marcel Carne
  • Mark Sandrich
  • Marlon Brando
  • Martin Ritt
  • Mel Brooks
  • Mel Stuart
  • Merian C. Cooper
  • Mervyn LeRoy
  • Michael Curtiz
  • Michael Haneke
  • Michael Moore
  • Michael Powell
  • Michael Snow
  • Michelangelo Antonioni
  • Mike Hodges
  • Mike Nichols
  • Miklos Jancso
  • Nelson Pereira dos Santos
  • Norman Jewison
  • Norman Z. McLeod
  • Olivier Dahan
  • Orson Welles
  • Otto Preminger
  • Paolo Cavara
  • Park Chan-wook
  • Paul Haggis
  • Paul Thomas Anderson
  • Penny Marshall
  • Peter Bogdanovich
  • Peter Greenaway
  • Peter Jackson
  • Peter Watkins
  • Peter Weir
  • Phillip Noyce
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini
  • Preston Sturges
  • Quentin Tarantino
  • Randa Haines
  • Raoul Walsh
  • Ray Lawrence
  • Rene Clair
  • Richard Attenborough
  • Richard Lester
  • Richard Linklater
  • Rob Reiner
  • Robert Aldrich
  • Robert Benton
  • Robert J. Flaherty
  • Robert Mulligan
  • Robert Redford
  • Robert Rossen
  • Robert Wise
  • Roger Corman
  • Roman Polanski
  • Rouben Mamoulian
  • Sacha Guitry
  • Sam Mendes
  • Sam Raimi
  • Sam Wood
  • Sergei Parajanov
  • Sergei Yutkevich
  • Sergio Leone
  • Sidney Lumet
  • Stan Brakhage
  • Stanley Donen
  • Stephen Frears
  • Steve James
  • Steven Soderbergh
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Stuart Rosenberg
  • Takashi Miike
  • Tay Garnett
  • Terence Fisher
  • Theo Angelopoulos
  • Thomas Vinterberg
  • Tim Burton
  • Tod Browning
  • Valerie Faris
  • Vera Chytilova
  • Victor Fleming
  • W.S. Van Dyke
  • Wes Craven
  • William A. Seiter
  • William A. Wellman
  • William Cameron Menzies
  • William Dieterle
  • William Friedkin
  • William Keighley
  • William Wyler
  • Wim Wenders
  • Wojciech Has
  • Wolfgang Reitherman
  • Woody Allen

Blog Archive

  • ►  2012 (81)
    • ►  mayo (10)
    • ►  abril (20)
    • ►  marzo (11)
    • ►  febrero (1)
    • ►  enero (39)
  • ▼  2011 (216)
    • ►  diciembre (30)
    • ►  noviembre (19)
    • ►  octubre (17)
    • ►  septiembre (2)
    • ►  agosto (23)
    • ►  julio (47)
    • ►  junio (9)
    • ►  mayo (1)
    • ►  abril (25)
    • ►  marzo (20)
    • ▼  febrero (22)
      • 542. The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
      • 83rd Annual Academy Awards - Random Thoughts
      • 943. American Beauty (1999)
      • 496. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
      • 689. GANDHI (1982)
      • 256. From Here to Eternity (1953)
      • 998. No Country for Old Men (2007)
      • 270. On the Waterfront (1954)
      • 240. A Place in the Sun (1951)
      • 558. The Sting (1973)
      • 799. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
      • 740. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
      • 495. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
      • Coming Soon: The Foreseeable Future
      • 726. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
      • 491. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
      • 656. MANHATTAN (1979)
      • 922. Funny Games (1997)
      • 620. Annie Hall (1977)
      • 569. SLEEPER (1973)
      • 716. Ghost Busters (1984)
      • 855. Groundhog Day (1993)
    • ►  enero (1)
  • ►  2010 (190)
    • ►  diciembre (2)
    • ►  noviembre (32)
    • ►  octubre (32)
    • ►  septiembre (27)
    • ►  julio (8)
    • ►  junio (4)
    • ►  mayo (1)
    • ►  marzo (25)
    • ►  febrero (34)
    • ►  enero (25)
  • ►  2009 (12)
    • ►  diciembre (12)
Con la tecnología de Blogger.

Datos personales

Unknown
Ver todo mi perfil