History Film / Manhattan

* {{Letterbox}}: This was Woody Allen's first film using [[WidescreenShot the wide-screen Panavision format]], and he refused to let it be cropped for standard televisions when it was released on home video, making the VHS release one of the first home video releases to be letterboxed.

* {{Letterbox}} This was Woody Allen's first film using [[WidescreenShot the wide-screen Panavision format]], and he refused to let it be cropped for standard televisions when it was released on home video, making the VHS release one of the first home video releases to be letterboxed.

%%* TriangRelations: Where to begin?...
%%** Type 1: Ike (a), Tracy (b) and Mary (c).
%%** Type 3: Mary (a), Ike (b) and Yale (c).
%%** Type 7: for some time, Yale (a), Emily (b) and Mary (c).
%%** Type 9: Mary (a), Yale (b) and Ike (c).
%%** Type 10: Emily (a), Yale (b) and Mary (c).

%%* MayDecemberRomance: Ike and Tracy.

Noted as one of the first films to be released on home video in {{Letterbox}} format, paving the way for future widescreen releases, primarily on {{Laserdisc}}. The letterbox format was actually requested by Allen himself, wanting to preserve as much of Gordon Willis' cinematography as possible.

The plot revolves around a couple of intellectual, semi-bohemian friends living in Manhattan, every one of whom has his own problems, intertwining with those of the others. Isaac "Ike" Davis (Allen) is a [[AuthorAvatar neurotic, self-ironic]], impulsive, middle-aged aspiring writer, whose wife Jill (Creator/MerylStreep), the mother of his son Willie, divorced him after discovering that [[IncompatibleOrientation she's in fact a lesbian]] and now is writing an autobiographical novel about their former relationship. Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), his 17-year-old lover, has to deal with her growing love towards Ike and the age difference between her and the majority of Ike's friends. Ike's friend Yale (Michael Murphy) dreams of becoming a writer, even though his wife Emily (Anne Byrne) strongly suggests that it's time to settle down and have kids; his life changes even more when he meets Mary (Keaton), an extroverted, erudite journalist. Mary quickly becomes infatuated, but it is hard for her to say whether the object of her feelings is Ike or Yale. Also in the mix are Mary's ex-husband Jeremiah (Creator/WallaceShawn) and Jill's new partner Connie (Karen Ludwig). First, HilarityEnsues, then, as usual in Allen's works, things become more complicated.

* TheCameo: Wallace Shawn is Mary's ex-boyfriend. She spent all film hyping his intelligence and sexual prowess, and Ike is astonished to meet what he calls "a humunculous".

* TechnicallyASmile: When Tracy tells Isaac that she's be back in 6 months, and that she'll still love him when he returns ("Not everybody gets corrupted; you have to have a little faith in people"), Isaac returns a smile of encouragement--but it's obvious he doubts it and his heart is breaking.

* TechnicallyASmile: When Tracy tells Isaac that she's be back in 6 months, and that she'll still love him when he returns ("Everybody gets corrupted"), Isaac returns a smile of encouragement - but it's obvious he doubts it and his heart is breaking.

The plot revolves around a couple of intellectual, semi-bohemian friends living in Manhattan, every one of whom has his own problems, intertwining with those of the others. Isaac (Allen) is a [[AuthorAvatar neurotic, self-ironic]], impulsive, middle-aged aspiring writer, whose wife Jill (Creator/MerylStreep), the mother of his son Willie, divorced him after discovering that [[IncompatibleOrientation she's in fact a lesbian]] and now is writing an autobiographical novel about their former relationship. Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), his 17-year-old lover, has to deal with her growing love towards Ike and the age difference between her and the majority of Ike's friends. Ike's friend Yale (Michael Murphy) dreams of becoming a writer, even though his wife Emily (Anne Byrne) strongly suggests that it's time to settle down and have kids; his life changes even more when he meets Mary (Keaton), an extroverted, erudite journalist. Mary quickly becomes infatuated, but it is hard for her to say whether the object of her feelings is Ike or Yale. Also in the mix are Mary's ex-husband Jeremiah (Creator/WallaceShawn) and Jill's new partner Connie (Karen Ludwig). First, HilarityEnsues, then, as usual in Allen's works, things become more complicated.

* BookEnds: The film begins with the sunrise of New York, and ends with the sunset.

* BigAppleSauce: See the title. The opening monologue - set to ''Rhapsody in Blue'' and synced with a montage of New York City at its most beautiful - is routinely quoted by anyone in love with the place.

In many respects it resembles ''Film/AnnieHall'': not only because a female protagonist is played in both films by Diane Keaton but also because it shows that the most important problems associated with relationships simply cannot be solved once and for ever - all this in a typical Allenian sweet-and-sour, self-ironic mood. However, in ''Manhattan'' the distinction between primary and secondary characters is much more fluent, so the movie is more about the particular situations than persons. One of the important subjects is maturity and its relation to the conflict between emotions and reason; however, this being a Woody Allen movie, it is mainly about love, human imperfection and the difficulties which stem from them.

In many respects it resembles ''Film/AnnieHall'': not only because a female protagonist is played in both films by Diane Keaton but also because it shows that the most important problems associated with relationships simply cannot be solved once and for ever - all this in a typical Allenian sweet-and-sour, self-ironic mood. However, in ''Manhattan'' the distinction between primary and secondary characters is much more fluent, so the movie is more about the particular situations than persons. One of the important subjects is maturity and its relation to the conflict between emotions and reason, but, as this is a Creator/WoodyAllen movie, it is mainly about love, human imperfection and the difficulties which stem from them.

The plot revolves around a couple of intellectual, semi-bohemian friends living in Manhattan, every one of whom has his own problems, intertwining with those of the others. Isaac (Ike) is a [[AuthorAvatar neurotic, self-ironic]], impulsive, middle-aged aspiring writer, whose wife Jill, the mother of his son Willie, divorced him after discovering that [[IncompatibleOrientation she's in fact a lesbian]] and now is writing an autobiographical novel about their former relationship. Tracy, his 17-years-old lover, has to deal with her growing love towards Ike and the age difference between her and the majority of Ike's friends. Yale, Ike's friend, dreams of becoming a writer, even though his wife Emily strongly suggests that it's time to settle down and have kids; his life changes even more when he meets Mary, an extroverted, erudite journalist. Mary quickly becomes infatuated, but it is hard for her to say whether the object of her feelings is Ike or Yale. There is also Jeremiah, Mary's ex-husband, and Jill's new partner Connie. First, HilarityEnsues, then, as usual in Allen's works, things become more complicated.

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: ''Rhapsody In New York'' is used brilliantly.

One of Creator/WoodyAllen's best-known films, the 1979 comedy-drama ''Manhattan'' is almost universally beloved by fans and critics and famously loathed by the director himself.

[[quoteright:340:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wamanhattan_6164.png]]
[[caption-width-right:340:"And now look. This is what happens to us."]]

%%* DeliberatelyMonochrome

%%* DirectedByCastmember

* SceneryPorn: In spite of the black'n'white vision. The title says it all.

* CreatorBacklash: Allen disliked the film so much that he offered to make another one for the studio for free if they don't release this one.

* AspectRadio: At Allen's request, this film was ''never'' edited to pan-and-scan for VHS release or television airings.