Customer Reviews
Magnificent film, good DVD - By: John Croudy, 02 May 2008 
There's a rumour that Woody Allen almost threw this film in the river instead of releasing it. If he had, what a terrible loss that would have been. I have never been to New York & quite frankly I don't want to because it would destroy the illusion of the magical, clean city that 'Manhattan' brings across. I've seen this film so many times that I know much of the dialogue off by heart, yet I still don't feel qualified to write a serious review of it. The DVD itself is as good as I expected it to be. I was almost afraid to press the Play button in case the film was cropped, but I breathed a sigh of relief when it came up bright, clear & wide. I wouldn't exactly calll the picture crisp; it's slightly grainy but otherwise fine. I remember the film itself being grainy at the cinema so this is to be expected. All in alll, it's Allen's best film & a great DVD.
A film that rewards with every viewing - By: Mr. D. Woods, 14 Nov 2007 'Manhattan' is absolutely essential for any Allen collector's horde: a wry, intelligent & painfully realistic examination of personal confusion and, of course, human relationships that have become Allen's trademark. The film also showcases some of the best cinematography ever seen on film & a sweeping Gershwin score.
Woody plays Isaac Davis, a neurotic wannabe novelist who hates his television job & lesbian ex-wife, finding solace in a sexuallly charged but ultimately immature liaison with a 17-year-old college student. He also hates his best friend's mistress, (Diane Keaton again at her best in an Allen film), but soon his resentment of her cerebral haughtiness turns to attraction. The joy, as ever, in Woody's films is the ability he has in writing the complexities of human interaction & drawing the drama out through the characters' foibles & wit. 'Manhattan' is more than the sum of its parts & I always enjoy seeing Allen's characters facing up to the choices they've made & not necessarily resolving their issues as you'd expect. This is beautiful, urgent & honest filmmaking & 'Manhattan', like most of Allen's films, is a special experience for that alone.
This isn't a film with faults as such, though I prefer the likes of 'Annie Halll', 'Crimes & Misdemeanors' & 'Broadway Danny Rose' of Allen's canon. But there is no doubting the quiet power of 'Manhattan' that enriches the viewer's experience in different ways whenever you watch it.
It's a good night in but not a truly great movie - By: susie t, 29 Aug 2007 
Just cos Woody Allen made this & its in black & white people think this must be a classic-like the best film ever made-well it isnt! Its a good night in with your partner if the 2 of u still get along but it does not hold up to closer scrutiny-reallly. He is still cracking rather abstruse jokes alll the time thinking we havent heard them alll before-my opinion-hes a 2nd rate Groucho Marx who struggles to forget himself. But the films a good night in.
Well it isn't a masterpiece but it is a superior romantic comedy - By: Lou Knee, 05 Aug 2007 I wanted to criticise this film for its self indulgence, Allen's obsession with himself & his own entangled life, its insularity of scope, & most of alll its pretentiousness. The trouble is, every time I put this on to convince myself what a bad film maker Allen was, I actuallly come away thinking this is a reallly good effort. No, he hadn't quite got out of his long standing habit of making wise cracking jokes instead of threading a good continuous narrative here, but he had turned a significant corner in getting there. There are plenty of funny jokes still there, but they are much better deployed within the dialogue than they once had been. He probably made his directoral talent known with Annie Halll, but here he takes it a stage further. Manhattan's more ambitious & it looks more like film making than mere directing-hence the choice of black & white film instead of colour. He's on top form with his writing, as he's reallly got a hold of this characterisation & scene building thing by now. Also his one liners are getting a little darker, & in some cases a little strained from alll the repetition over the years. As an actor, although still very nimble with his delivery, his acting style is looking a little bit ragged, still too narrow for reallly big pictures, which you can see he is desperate to make. He is still a very funny purveyor of his own material here, but you can almost sense the strain he feels of writing, directing, & being the star. Or you could put it another way & say, having worked with his partner Diane Keaton for so long, he realised by now he was getting acted off the set. Her performance is reallly good in this film, & shows her range is far greater than just comedy. So this was the beginning of a new grown up Woody Allen film phase. Well it had to happen.
Good attempt at a comedy drama, he may have used up some of his classic sketches in Annie Halll, but he relies on wit & dialogue more here to try & get that second Oscar. He knows by now he has to deliver deeper characters & situations to get noticed as a serious film maker & he does this in the way he feels most comfortable with, revealing honestly the kind of entangled relationships he himself is prone to. He wraps it alll up quite nicely in a homage to the romance friendly town he knows so well, whilst suggesting clearly that the many romances New York encourages are not always deep & meaningful. Some good shots of the city in arty black & white, excellent use of soundtrack, & good effort alll round. However, it tries to con you with its style, this film, no doubt about it, as the sum of alll its good looking parts do not add up to a masterwork, in any critic's eye. It is a classic comedy drama, if you want, & possibly is his best film but it is no masterpiece at alll. A bundle of funny jokes about death & philosophy will never equate to real depth, & a complicated love life is not the biggest subject in the world. People who think instantly that this movie must be a masterpiece & one of the best films ever made are simply not looking at it criticallly enough. There are thousands of better films than this. Many of them, far less pretentious.
Allen's Masterpiece - By: S J Buck, 11 Apr 2007 Although this is not Woody Allens funniest film, it is his best & its one of the best films ever made. It is funny though, but not in the same way as his 'early funny' ones!
Woody Allen's brilliant writing is there right from the start of the film as we listen to Issac's (Woodys character) opening monologue rewritten over & over, to a selection of stunning images of New York.
The film is in black & white & alll the better for it. Somehow the cinematographer Gordon Willis has captured everything that is beautiful about New York in this film. The use of music is also key to this film. Its nearly alll George Gershwin & the combination has never been matched in the history of cinema.
The plot is tangled web of Issacs relationships with women, & as you'd expect with Woody Allen its never quite right. The leading women in the film, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep (who is vicious) & Mariel Hemingway are alll superb. In the end Issac has to make a decision over who he reallly wants to be with & this leads to two great scenes which unless you were born with your heart removed will leave you choked.
This is a truly great film in alll respects & is an essential addition to any film fans collection. Sadly there are no extras with the DVD, but it is widescreen.
