Manhattan (1979)
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, (more)
- Director(s):
- Woody Allen
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
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On the heels of Annie Hall, the Oscar-winning romantic comedy that rocketed Woody Allen to the front ranks of American filmmakers, Manhattan continued Allen's romantic obsessions in a slightly darker, more pessimistic vein. Allen stars as Isaac Davis, a TV comedy writer sick of the pap he is forced to churn out and harboring dreams of being the great American novelist. His love life is in barbed-wire territory: he is tormented by his second ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep), a lesbian who has written a tell-all book about their marriage, and he is dating teenager Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), to whom he refuses to commit, and keeps hinting that a breakup may be imminent. Isaac's disillusioned (and married) best friend Yale (Michael Murphy) has begun an affair with the cerebral writer Mary Wilke (Diane Keaton). While Isaac makes a last minute, sink-or-swim decision to quit his job and devote all of his time to book writing, and neurotically moans about what the lack of a full time job will do to him ("My parents won't have as good of a seat in the synagogue," he moans. "They'll be far away from God... away from the action") Yale is crippled by his lack of resolve, as indicated by his inability to leave his wife Emily (Anne Byrne). Meanwhile, Isaac and {%Mary) begin to fall for one another. Tracy then tells Isaac the basic truth that none of his hung-up friends and past lovers fully realizes: "You have to have a little more faith in people." Manhattan is both a seriocomic dissection of perpetually dissatisfied New Yorkers and an ode to the city itself, filmed in glorious black-and-white by ace cinematographer Gordon Willis, and set to a score of rhapsodic George Gershwin music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 96 mins
Complete Cast:
- Woody Allen - Isaac Davis
- Michael Murphy - Yale
- Meryl Streep - Jill
- Karen Ludwig - Connie
- Victor Truro - Party Guest
- Helen Hanft - Party Guest
- Kenny Vance - Television Producer
- David Rasche - TV Actor No. 3
- Wallace Shawn - Jeremiah
- Bill Anthony - Porsche Owner
- Ray Serra - Pizzeria Waiter
- Gary Weis - Television Director
- Diane Keaton - Mary Wilke
- Mariel Hemingway - Tracy
- Anne Byrne - Emily
- Michael O'Donoghue - Dennis
- Tisa Farrow - Party Guest
- Bella Abzug - Guest of Honor
- Charles Levin - TV Actor No. 1
- Damion Sheller - Isaac's Son, Willie
- Frances Conroy - Shakespearean Actor
- John Doumanian - Porsche Owner
- Karen Allen - TV Actor No. 2
- Mark Linn-Baker - Shakespearean Actor
- Director(s):
- Woody Allen
- Writer(s):
- Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
- Producer(s):
- Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Adult Language, Adult Situations, Sexual Situations, Adult Humor)
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1979 - Manhattan - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Picture
- 1979 - Manhattan - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Screenplay
- 1979 - Manhattan - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Screenplay
- 1979 - Manhattan - French Academy of Cinema - Best Foreign Film
- 2001 - Manhattan - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
- 1979 - Manhattan - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Supporting Actress
- 1979 - Manhattan - National Board of Review - Best Supporting Actress
- 1979 - Manhattan - National Board of Review - Best Picture
- 1979 - Manhattan - National Society of Film Critics - Best Director
- 1979 - Manhattan - National Society of Film Critics - Best Supporting Actress
- 1979 - Manhattan - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Director
