tellurikwaves Blog : CINEMA :Les blessures narcissiques d'une vie par procuration

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p14

04/08/2013 06:03 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p14

04/08/2013 06:03 par tellurikwaves

Neurotic in NYC

Author: brocksilvey from United States

4 February 2008

Woody Allen has been churning out mediocre films for so long now that it's easy to forget how good some of his older films were."Manhattan" is the product of Allen's"mature" 1970s phase, the phase that also produced "Annie Hall" and "Interiors," and it's a wonderful film. It's not the plot that makes it singular -it's typical upper-crust New York Allen,full of neurotic people in therapy cheating on one another and making mistake after mistake in their pursuit of what they think will make them happy. No, what makes "Manhattan" so effective is its style.

Filmed in black and white (because, as Allen's character says in an opening voice over, New York is a city that has always and will always exist in black and white), the film is a love letter to NYC, and it suggests that the neuroses that fill its denizens are as much a part of the city's character as its architecture, culture and diversity. I would instantly be annoyed by the people that populate Allen's films if I met them in any other context. As it is, I can't imagine any Allen film (at least not one set in New York) without them.Grade: A

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p13

04/08/2013 05:57 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p13

04/08/2013 05:57 par tellurikwaves

A love song to Manhattan disguised as romantic comedy

Author: (suze12@yahoo.com) from Vancouver

14 May 1999

I won't rework the thorough comments which preceded mine here, because all the accolades I would give this film are stated quite eloquently. It is his best film; it does contain brilliant insights into human nature; it is visually breathtaking. I just want to mention a few aspects from my point of view.

It has been on my list of the five best movies ever made ever since I saw it in 1979, chiefly for its realistic dialogue and probing commentary on the desperate nature of human beings in search of love, but I had never seen New York with my own eyes, so I could only try to accept but not fully understand Woody's love for Manhattan, which is firmly stated in the introductory narration.

After my recent 4 day trip there, I have a new perspective - the city itself is so charmingly and compactly laid out, so full of history and culture and everything famous, that you can't go to New York without falling in love with it. After only 3 days I felt I wanted to live there. It is the city of not only Woody Allen but Bob Dylan, Tennessee Williams, Edgar Allan Poe, George Washington, Paul Newman, Jacqueline Onassis, and hundreds of other illustrious and creative people of the past and present. The tour guides can't possibly squeeze in the whole story of every district and every building; the air just vibrates with this knowledge that you are in the greatest city in the world.

The beauty of Manhattan that Woody conveys so perfectly in every camera shot and through the music of Gershwin has new meaning for me because I was there. It's not so much a physical beauty but a feeling that all is right with the city, that this is what a city is supposed to be. It puts other cities to shame.All I can say is he fully succeeded in conveying what New York City is like. Not to mention that I now understand the obsession with delis; they have the best food in the world.

I would also like to add my new perspective on the story itself - a very 70's plot of several people switching romantic partners back and forth at the drop of a hat. Diane Keaton's Mary remains the most perfect of the characterizations as the neurotic free spirit who despite her total self-absorption inspires our sympathy and affection. The 17 year old played by Mariel Hemingway is more irritating with the passage of 20 years, not because Woody's real-life obsession with young girls came to light, but because Mariel is a truly vapid non-actress with no ability to convey any depth or feeling. The constant commentary about her stunning beauty falls flat because she merely has a strikingly angular face, no personality and really possesses nothing except the bloom of youth and shiny hair.

Mary rightly tells Isaac that his first wife becoming a lesbian "explains the little girl."The denouement seems more unsatisfactory now than in previous viewings, and I want to shake the characters awake. But it was the seventies, and this is how people acted. It captures the times perfectly. I can't discuss who ends up with whom without spoiling the end for those who haven't seen it, but the problem for me is that the characters seem to live for the moment and if they can't have the one they want, they simply change partners without much strain.

This attitude does not play quite so charmingly at the end of the 90's when fidelity is valued more highly than it was in the 70's.Nevertheless the beauty of the city stands alone no matter what the characters' desperate machinations.And as a hilarious commentary on the human instinct to find someone to love no matter what the consequences, there is nothing finer.

Though I might not approve of Isaac's final choice, his almost religious experience which brings him to that conclusion is a stunning climax to the film. Whether he changes his mind about who is the right one for him, he has learned something crucial about what really is important to him in life.The true stars of the movie are Manhattan, never more beautiful, and Diane Keaton, never more brilliant.

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p12

03/08/2013 17:00 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p12

03/08/2013 17:00 par tellurikwaves

"Chapter One. He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. Beneath his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat."

Author: ackstasis from Australia

11 May 2007

After the phenomenal success of 'Annie Hall,' the hilarious Oscar-winning comedy detailing the romantic exploits of neurotic Jewish comedian Alvey Singer,Woody Allen had become of America's most respected filmmakers. In 1979, he released what is generally accepted as his second great masterpiece, 'Manhattan,' a poignant tribute to the city that Allen loves so dearly. Written by Allen and his 'Annie Hall'-collaborator Marshall Brickman, 'Manhattan' stars Allen as Isaac Davis,a twice-divorced,42-year-old comedy writer who is intimately involved with a 17-year-old high school student, Tracy (an Oscar-nominated Mariel Hemingway).

Meanwhile, Isaac begins to fall for Mary (Diane Keaton), who is the secret mistress of his best friend (Michael Murphy). Adding to all of Isaac's troubles, his former second wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), who had originally left him for another woman, has plans to write a tell-all book on their failed marriage.If this all seems very confusing to you, then you're not alone. Just as in 'Annie Hall,' Allen plays the hopeless romantic who is struggling desperately to understand the maddening complexity of human relationships. Though Tracy is only seventeen years old, she is arguably the most honest and mature of the women in Isaac's life; nonetheless, he doesn't treat her seriously.

In his mind,anything that she says is quite obviously influenced by the naivety and downright ignorance of the young. Their relationship was never meant to be anything more than a brief "fling," and so he feels no guilt for seeing another woman behind his back, an act that makes him livid when it ultimately happens to him.'Manhattan' was shot in beautiful crisp black-and-white by Gordon Willis, who has also worked on, among countless other films, 'Annie Hall' and the three installments of 'The Godfather.'

The cinematography offers New York City a romantic 1940s feel, reminiscent of how Allen claims to remember the city as a child: "Maybe it's a reminiscence from old photographs, films, books and all that. But that's how I remember New York. I always heard Gershwin music with it, too. In 'Manhattan' I really think that we — that's me and cinematographer Gordon Willis — succeeded in showing the city. When you see it there on that big screen it's really decadent."

Mysteriously, this film remains the least-liked by the director himself, though, at the same time, it was also his most commercially successful. As you've no doubt already noticed from this review, 'Manhattan' is often likened to 1977's 'Annie Hall,' perhaps due to the repeated casting of Allen and Keaton (a not uncommon occurrence) or its similar attempt to uncover the elusive secrets behind love and relationships. In terms of film-making style, however, the films are quite dissimilar.

Unlike the highly-energetic 'Annie Hall' – which cut back and forward in time, visited old memories, broke the fourth wall and made conversations with passing extras –'Manhattan boasts a more classical approach– quiet,softly-spoken and accompanied by a wistfully slow jazzy soundtrack, also relying heavily on the works of George Gershwin.

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p11

03/08/2013 16:32 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p11

03/08/2013 16:32 par tellurikwaves

Allen's best

Author: rbverhoef (rbverhoef@hotmail.com) from The Hague, Netherlands

12 April 2003

'Manhattan' looks beautiful in black and white. It is definitely Woody Allen's best. Two years after 'Annie Hall' we have Woody Allen and Diane Keaton together again. Allen plays Isaac who is dating the 17-year old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway). He has a friend, the married Yale (Michael Murphy), who is having an affair with Mary (Diane Keaton).

Isaac falls in love with Mary and stops seeing Tracy to start things with Mary. In a sub-plot we have the ex-wife of Isaac publishing a book about their sex-life. Now she is living with a woman. The ex-wife Jill is played by Meryl Streep. Her appearances are short and not very often but she is more than great in her scenes.

'Manhattan' is even better than the great 'Annie Hall'. The black and white cinematograpy, done with a good reason, gives a little extra to the movie. Like I said Streep is terrific and so are Allen, Keaton and especially Hemingway (she was nominated for an Oscar). The monologues Allen had in 'Annie Hall' are still present, smart, interesting and funny. A great story, very intelligent, of course written (and directed) by Woody Allen himself.

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p10

03/08/2013 16:26 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p10

03/08/2013 16:26 par tellurikwaves

Rhapsody in NYC

Author: tvspace from hiding under my seat

25 January 2003

Manhattan is an exhilarating American romance set against the backdrop of New York of the late 70's: my favorite New York, the New York of painters, poets, punks, and Pauline Kael. Three great, very American talents -- Woody Allen, Gordon Willis, and George Gershwin -- intertwine their respective gifts to create a comedy that manages to satisfy both the brain and the heart, and even, perhaps, the lower regions.

Allen is so brainy and such a nebbish that he can get away with gestures that would be painfully sentimental in the hands of any other director: when he begins the movie with fireworks cut to Gershwin, it isn't to soften you up for a soap opera, but to remind you that however much his neuroses may seem to drive the scenes, its the love of New York that drives the movie.

The entire cast is note perfect: Meryl Streep as his caustic bisexual ex-wife, Diane Keaton as a nervous journalist from Philadelphia,and especially Mariel Hemingway,whose performance as Allen's 17-year old girlfriend is charming, heartbreaking, and wise.Allen's comedy here is at its absolute finest. The fact that it is interwoven with a genuinely moving love story told with a subtlety and indirection that is unheard of in today's mainstream cinema only makes the laughs that much richer.

Gordon Willis' cinematography is good enough for the Museum of Modern Art. Scene after scene leaves a grin on your face as his moving(in both senses)black and white photography floats across the screen.And finally underlying everything is the music of George Gershwin, whose exubertant melodies propel the movie forward at every turn.This is Woody Allen's best movie, a great movie, and an American movie in the best sense. As an homage to the city of New York it will surely remain unsurpassed.

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p9

03/08/2013 09:16 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p9

03/08/2013 09:16 par tellurikwaves

Magical film about the city and those looking for love

Author: j30bell (j30bell@yahoo.co.uk) from London, England

5 January 2005

Woody Allen once said that, whereas Scorsese had generated a host of imitators, he had generated none. This may be true; films like Manhattan certainly come along far too infrequently.That this is such a gorgeous film may strike those following the formulaic, Hollywood approach to cinema as strange and heretical. The story is unexciting (restless male in love triangle), most of the characters are unsympathetic, at least on the surface (particularly Isaac), Allen leaves lose ends lying around all over the place, and there's certainly no action (unless you count the car-chase-without-a-chase-scene involving Diane Keaton, Woody Allen and a VW Beetle).

So why should any self-respecting member of the MTV generation spend time on this film? Well, here are a few reasons.The script is wit of the highest order. This is not gag-a-minute humour like Friends, but an altogether more acute art form stemming from character, some wonderful dialogue and a fair amount of darkness (I love the bit about Isaac trying to run over his ex-wife's lover). Allen is also prepared to turn his biting satire to personal issues, such as being Jewish. Just don't expect someone to look shrug their shoulders, slap their forehead and with mid-rising intonation say d'uh! It's not that kind of comedy.

Then there is the gorgeous cinematography. Woody loves Manhattan and you can certainly tell.If there is one criticism of the film,it is that it leaves a rather picture postcard impression of the city, but I suppose if it's love, then it's love. Much of the film appears to have been shot at either sunrise or sunset to soften the light, and there are spectacular views of the towers, bridges and waterways of America's finest metropolis.

Then, I suppose, there is the fact that Manhattan is probably the archetypal Woody Allen film. Other films may be better, like Annie Hall or Hannah and Her Sisters but, in Manhattan, all the elements of Allen's style are in perfect balance. There's the jazz, the neurotic, unsympathetic lead, the choice between stable and highly-strung women, the self-mocking humour (hilariously done in the opening voice-over), the railing against intellectual snobbery, the deep unease with popular culture.

And there are great performances. Allen is at his most difficult – and in some ways his least likable. As Isaac, he's trying to do the right thing, but is rarely selfless enough to follow through with it. Diane Keaton is great as Mary, the lynchpin between the two love triangles – vain, pretentious and yet you can see why Isaac falls for her. Well, all the actors are great, and very believable, but special mention must go to Meryl Streep, who manages to steal the show with her tiny cameo as Isaac's ex-wife, writing a book about their break-up and living with their son and her lover. She is magnificent.

Of course, the film will also do nothing to dispel the popular rumour that New Yorkers are neurotic, self-obsessed and self-indulgent – at least that narrow social circle Allen so often writes about. If you don't mind that, though (and I'm English, so what do I care) you're in for a treat. As with the city itself, the memories of this film will stay with you forever.

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p8

03/08/2013 08:52 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p8

03/08/2013 08:52 par tellurikwaves

For anyone who's been in love, or anyone who loves New York.

Author: Scorsese-2 from Little Italy
3 January 1999

*
No-one can question Woody Allen's status as one of America's premier film directors, and anyone well-versed with his works should not hesitate before nominating 'Manhattan' as his finest film. This movie is a masterpiece; visually and intellectually, it shows Woody Allen at the absolute peak of his art. Shot in a stylistic black and white widescreen format, the cinematography of 'Manhattan' is breathtaking, and Allen's dialogue and command of situation are even better than usual, if that is possible.

The heartfelt angst and bittersweet hopelessness of the characters are uncamouflaged even by the sleek cinematographic style of the movie. This movie is Woody Allen's valentine to the city he has such a symbiotic relationship with, and nowhere have I seen New York filmed as artistically as here. Mariel Hemmingway and Diane Keaton give inspired performances around Woody's perfectly played character resulting in what can only be considered a modern masterpiece.

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p7

02/08/2013 13:04 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p7

02/08/2013 13:04 par tellurikwaves

La critique de James Berardinelli

There are three kinds of Woody Allen movies: the comedies, the dramas, and the hybrids. Manhattan, which many critics believe to be Allen's most complete motion picture, belongs solidly in the third category - it has plenty of humorous lines (some of which are laugh-aloud funny) to go along with darker, more "real" subject matter. It's not as serious as Crimes and Misdemeanors or Husbands and Wives, nor is it as openly fatuous as Sleeper or Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask. And, while there are similarities between Annie Hall and Manhattan (the films were made one after the other), the latter is not as light and airy as its immediate predecessor.

In addition to being a romantic comedy/social commentary, Manhattan serves as Woody Allen's valentine to the city he calls home. The opening montage - a sequence of shots of Manhattan set to the stirring strains of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" - paints a portrait that is both ordinary and sublime: life in the big city. And, because the images are in black-and-white, there's a timeless quality to the impressions the evoke. Allen peppers his film with these inserts, showing the Manhattan skyline or depicting the minutia of everyday life on the city streets, as a way to remind us of how small the troubles of a group of people are. As the familiar refrain goes, "There are six million stories in the naked city..." Of all the ones Allen has told, this is arguably his most compelling.

Manhattan is set in 1979 - the year it was made - but the Gershwin score and glorious black-and-white cinematography remove it from time and displace it from reality. This isn't a New York that has ever really existed, except in the minds of those who view it from afar. Much like the Paris of Amelie, this is a whitewashed, fictionalized clone of the real Manhattan, but it serves Allen's purposes well. During the film's opening voiceover,Allen speaks the following words(amongst others):"He adored New York. He romanticized it all out of proportion." Those two sentences speak volumes about the director's love of the city, and every frame of Manhattan emphasizes it.

For the film, Allen has assembled a small clique of quirky characters. The protagonist is Isaac, Allen in a crepe paper-thin disguise. Isaac is a twice-divorced, neurotic TV writer who has grown weary of his day job. He longs to write a book, but lacks the courage to give up the financial security of his monthly paycheck. He is dating 17-year old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), a precocious high school student who claims to love him. Isaac feels uncomfortable with her affection, insisting that a relationship between them - a young girl who really hasn't started living and a middle-aged man - has no future.

Isaac's best friend is Yale (Michael Murphy), whose happy marriage is being endangered by an affair he's having with Mary (Diane Keaton). Eventually, Isaac and Mary meet, and they prove to be as incompatible as any two people who have been tossed together by fate. She starts things off by trashing his taste in art, then follows it up by making deprecating statements about his favorite director, Ingmar Bergman. But, like oil and vinegar when shaken up, they complement each other. The initial disdain morphs into friendship, then something more. But Isaac is reluctant to take matters further until Yale decides that he can no longer be unfaithful to his wife and breaks it off with Mary.

Traditional romantic comedies detail the genesis of a relationship, normally climaxing with either the moment in which the two principals confess their love for one another or legitimatize things with a marriage or similar ceremony. Allen's agenda, however, is more ambitious, and this failure to be comfortable with the conventional infuses Manhattan with greater substance. Instead of just showing the "up" side of Isaac and Mary's romance, Allen performs an autopsy (as in Annie Hall), examining it from beginning to ending. By the time Manhattan has closed, Mary has left the picture; the final, bittersweet scene doesn't involve her, but attempts to offer a sense of closure where Isaac's love life is concerned. Only in the concluding moments does he realize what he wants (or so he thinks), but it's the thing he has carelessly tossed aside. This is often the case with real life, but almost never the case with romantic comedies.

The film is filled with the quips and witticisms that have made Allen a favorite of smart movie-goers world-over. It's somewhat astonishing to go back and watch a movie like this after sitting through the scores of dumb comedies that have infiltrated multiplexes in recent years. Sadly, literate comedies are going the way of the dinosaur. Manhattan is funnier than most of today's gutter-oriented endeavors, yet, because there's real substance here, you don't feel like you've just been exposed to the cinematic equivalent of laughing gas. Allen is one of those rare filmmakers who can seamlessly interweave comedy and drama, humor and tragedy. We laugh with the characters, cry with them, and feel with them.

In the wake of Woody Allen's real-life trials and tribulations during the early '90s, it's impossible not to mention the aspect of Manhattan that presents a relationship between Allen and an underage girl. Much has been made of the autobiographical aspects of Allen's films, but, in view of the charges leveled against him by Mia Farrow (and, at least to some degree substantiated by his subsequent marriage), the Isaac/Tracy relationship acquires an eerie, prescient quality. Whether this is a case of life imitating art, or vice versa, it's clear that Allen had issues in this arena as far back as 1979.

As is usually the case, Allen has gathered a group of actors and given them material that plays to their strengths. Allen is the upper-middle class neurotic Jew who is worried about everything from his ex-wife's exposé novel to the brown water in his apartment. Sex and love are big issues, and, as is usually the case with an Allen character, Isaac really doesn't understand his own feelings. Diane Keaton, Allen's off-screen girlfriend at the time, and a regular in his films, is perfect as Mary, a strong-willed woman who's just as screwed up as all the men in Manhattan. Mariel Hemingway, in one of her first roles, is wonderful - Tracy comes across as strong-willed and is arguably the only individual who is in touch with her own feelings. Hemingway was given a Supporting Actress Nomination for her work here. Michael Murphy plays Isaac's friend and Mary's lover, Yale, and Meryl Streep has a small role as Isaac's vindictive ex-wife.

As strong as the performances are, however, the real standout is the work by cinematographer Gordon Willis. Anyone who doubts the effectiveness of black-and-white photography in contemporary stories needs only to spend 90-plus minutes studying Manhattan to be convinced otherwise. Rarely has there been a more compelling statement for the need for monochrome. Imagine, for a moment, Manhattan in color - it would still be brilliant, but the visual magic would be absent. Willis' cinematography gives us memorable images that play with shadow and light: Isaac and Mary sitting in silhouette facing the Hudson River at dawn, the pair of them in the Hayden Planetarium, and the many shots of the city by day and night.

If Manhattan was only a romantic comedy, it would be a very good one, but the fact that the movie has so much more ambition than the "average" entry into the genre makes it an extraordinary example of the fusion of entertainment and art. This is Allen in peak form, deftly mastering and combining the diverse threads of romance, drama, and comedy - and all against a black-and-white backdrop that makes us wonder why color is such a coveted characteristic in modern motion pictures.

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p6

01/08/2013 03:28 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p6

01/08/2013 03:28 par tellurikwaves

Extraits de L'ALLIGATOGRAPHE

...Disons donc que le film est susceptible d'éveiller en vous ce genre de masturbation du cervelet. Woody Allen fait un cinéma introspectif qui laisse difficilement indifférent, il suscite la réflexion. C'est déjà un point sensible qui dénote une certaine habileté à transformer un récit particulier, des personnages distincts et des recherches égocentriques en des moteurs de réflexions accessibles à un grand nombre de personnes, d'une portée universelle en somme.

La malin pourrait facilement livrer une œuvre tout aussi profonde par le biais d'une étude de mœurs ou de longues discussions certes édifiantes mais vite emmerdantes.(l'épouvantable INTERIEURS !!) Or, Allen pare son discours de jolis atours que ce soit sur le plan formel avec un énorme travail sur la photographie mais également sur le cadre. Quant à sa tonalité d'ensemble, elle s'aventure sur un style dont il est définitivement l'un des plus savants artistes, l'humour.Entre beauté des images et saveur des dialogues.

Le film ne peut pas être ennuyeux une seule seconde. Moi qui suis si friand et attentif au travail des chefs-opérateurs, je dois avouer que j'ai souvent pris un sacré panard avec l'incroyable ouvrage de Gordon Willis que ce soit sur les intérieurs ou les extérieurs. Les jeux d'ombres et lumières partagent l'espace entre les individus, les mots s'incrustant dans un lieu approprié à l'intérieur de l'image.Je pense également à cette intelligente faculté à utiliser toute ta capacité du cinémascope.

Là encore quand l'histoire d'amour entre Allen et Keaton commence à péricliter le cinémascope les sépare d'ores et déjà, l'un confiné sur la gauche, l'autre isolée sur la droite, chacun son plan et chacun son espace dans le cadre.La grande ville ne cesse d'accoler des gens séparés qui croient être réunis. Leurs égocentrismes réciproques s'entrechoquent, les séparent aussi sûrement que l'abondance de la ville leur donne l'illusion d'être ensemble. Les personnages ne vivent finalement que pour eux-mêmes et la satisfaction de leurs désirs.

Les atermoiements de Woody Allen apparaissent dès lors plus comme des caprices infantiles. Le plus vieux n'est pas le plus sage. La petite Hemingway du haut de ses 17 printemps peut être à la fois la plus pure dans son attachementet la plus pragmatique à la fin du film. Cet écart vaut bien un dernier sourire de Woody Allen.Cependant le regard posé sur ces personnages n'est jamais empreint d'une quelconque condescendance, ni même n'exprime un jugement de valeur.

Ils sont maladroits, un peu gourds. Leurs discours d'êtres cultivés ne leur servent pas vraiment à grandir mais bien plutôt à cacher leurs lacunes. A ce propos, le scénario ne se moque jamais. Il en ressort beaucoup d'humanité. Loin d'être insupportables, ces gesticulations sont drôles et touchantes.

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p5

01/08/2013 03:20 par tellurikwaves

Š DR -MANHATTAN de Woody Allen -(1979) p5

01/08/2013 03:20 par tellurikwaves