A brilliantly executed syntheis of the funny (Annie Hall) and serious (Interiors) sides of Woody Allen, Manhattan concentrates on the love life of comedy writer Isaac Davis (Allen) whose wife (Meryl Streep) leaves him for another woman. Isaac proclaims, "I think people should mate for life, like pigeons and Catholics," and embarks on a search for a mate which draws him into affairs first with seventeen year-old aspiring actress Mariel Hemingway, and then with fiercely trendy journalist Diane Keaton. Gordon Willis's gorgeous black and white cinematography paints an unforgettable portrait of Manhattan. "The movie is full of moments that are uproariously funny and others that are sometimes are shattering for the degree to which they evoke civilized isolation." (NY Times) 35mm Cinemascope
1979, b&w, 1 hour 36 minutes, USA