Manhattan Movie Review 1979

Successful TV writer Isaac Davis (Allen) yearns to be a serious writer. He struggles through a series of ill-fated romances, including one with high school senior Tracy (Hemingway) and another with Mary (Keaton), who's also having an on-again, off-again affair with Yale (Murphy), Isaac's best friend. Streep does very well with her role of Jill, Isaac's ex-wife who's come out as a lesbian and written a withering (and successful) account of their marriage. Scathingly serious and comic view of modern relationships in urban America and of the modern intellectual neuroses. Shot in black-and-white to capture the mood of Manhattan and mated with an excellent Gershwin soundtrack.

Distribution

MGM Home Entertainment, 2500 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90404-6061, Phone: (310)449-3000, Fax: (310)449-3100, URL: http://www.mgmhomevideo.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 96 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Romantic Comedy, War Between the Sexes, New York, New York, Screen Teams: Allen & Keaton, 4 Bones

Screenplay

Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman

Cast

Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Mariel Hemingway, Michael Murphy, Wallace Shawn, Anne Byrne, Tisa Farrow, Mark Linn-Baker, David Rasche, Karen Allen

Cinematography

Gordon Willis

Director

Woody Allen

Music

George Gershwin

Producer

Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe

Awards

British Acad. 1979: Film, Screenplay; Cesar 1980: Foreign Film; L.A. Film Critics 1979: Support. Actress (Streep), Natl. Film Reg. 2001;; N.Y. Film Critics 1979: Director (Allen), Support. Actress (Streep); Natl. Soc. Film Critics 1979: Director (Allen), Support. Actress (Streep).