Manhattan (film)

Manhattan (film)

Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from his screenplay co-written with Marshall Brickman and produced by Charles H. Joffe. Allen co-stars as a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl (Mariel Hemingway) before eventually falling in love with his best friend's mistress (Diane Keaton). Michael Murphy, Meryl Streep and Anne Byrne also star in the film.

Manhattan was filmed in black-and-white and 2.35:1 widescreen. The decision to shoot in black and white was to give New York City a "great look". The film also features music composed by George Gershwin, including his arguably most famous musical piece, Rhapsody in Blue, which inspired the idea behind the film. Allen described the film as a combination of his previous two films, Annie Hall and Interiors.

The film was met with widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress for Hemingway and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Allen, although it lost both awards. Its North American box office receipts of $39,946,780 are third-best in the director's oeuvre when not adjusted for inflation. Often considered Allen's best film, it ranks 46th on AFI's list of top comedy films and number 63 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies." In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.