Manhattan

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Manhattan

Manhattan is Woody Allen's love letter to the greatest city in the world, New York City. It means more to him than just a birthplace: New York is where a young man by the name of Allen Stewart Konigsberg, discovered himself through the arts and his inspirational passion for New York, to become the renowned film director, known as   Woody Allen. Released in 1979, Manhattan stars Allen as Isaac Davis, a TV writer unhappy with his job, as well as other issues in his life. His ex-wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), previously left him for another woman, and is plotting to write a book based on their relationship—including their sex life—which he is absolutely objective about. His only sense of warmth is through Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), an intelligent young lady who complements his mellowness. However, Tracy is a 17-year old high school student, and though she's passionately in love Isaac, Isaac doesn't necessarily feel the same about her.
Isaac suddenly falls in love with the mistress of his married best friend, Yale (Michael Murphy). In the same way Tracy complements his maturity, Mary (Diane Keaton) complements his intellectualism and knack of cultural knowledge. In one scene, they argue about "great" artists whom, they feel are overrated—in particular, the film director Ingmar Bergman, whom Isaac felt was "the only genius living in cinema today", while Mary discredits his work. Isaac soon breaks up with a brokenhearted Tracy, and has an affair with Mary that, not only affects everyone involved, but also affects Isaac's moral judgment. Over the course of the film, he has to make a decision of who he's truly in love with: Mary or Tracy.
Allen takes a more dramatic approach to his comedy, this time around. The film is entirely in black and white—Allen's tribute to the nostalgic golden era of films. This effect, by cinematographer Gordon Willis, creates a stunning, atmospheric composition, which makes each frame feel like a moving arc of still, first-rate photographs....
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