Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Sight & Sound Challenge: Manhattan (1979)

Film: Manhattan (47/250) 
Critics Poll: 202nd 
Directors Poll: 107th 
First Time/Rewatch: Rewatch

Black and white photography. George Gershwin's music. Woody Allen's dialogue. Woody and Diane. It's just the best combination, isn't it? I could listen to Woody Allen's movie characters talk about their neuroses and their self-absorbed ramblings all day long. There's just something so appealing about it. Okay, the fact that he's dating a seventeen year old in this film is a little icky for me, but I guess teens dating older guys isn't completely unheard of. And Mariel Hemingway's character is compelling in her own way, as is every character. I love Meryl Streep as Allen's ex-wife, Diane Keaton of course is wonderful, and even the little appearances (Wallace Shawn!) are great. But what I love most is the style of Allen's films. The music, the dialogue...he's contributed so much to the world of cinema. Just look at that shot above...sigh!

2 comments:

  1. Hopped over here from Letterboxd and saw the famous Queensboro Bridge shot. I'm not sure how tangential your interests run when it comes to things like this, but Abel Ferrara plays with this shot in his exploitation film "Ms. 45". His is a grim depiction of NYC and he uses his Queensboro Bridge shot as a subtle refutation of Woody Allen's consistently romanticized version of New York. I personally think "Ms. 45" is much more than a simple exploitation film but I'm not sure if you would like it... haven't really stalked your Letterboxd, yet!

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    1. As this is a blog run by two cinephiles with letterboxd accounts we aren't really sure which profile sent you here but are certainly glad you found us. 'Becca'lise (who wrote this post) can be found on letterboxd under the user name "beccalise". Craig can be found under the username "cduffy". Feel free to follow both of us. Though this is a Monday through Friday blog, we update letterboxd almost daily. Craig has seen Ms. 45 and very much agrees with your comments on it.

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