In class this Wednesday we watched Woody Allen’s Manhattan. I’ve heard the name Woody Allen many times, but I don’t think I’ve seen any of his other movies. However, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this one. It had a well written story and some great actors, including Woody Allen as the star, along with being the director. It drifted between being serious, comical, romantic, and playful.

1) I noticed that the camera focuses mainly on the characters in the scene, but also almost always shows a bunch of items in the background. If they were in an apartment, househeld items may appear. If out in public, random people are always in site. This helps to capture the essence of Manhattan’s crowded streets and restaurants, and often small apartments. The camera was frequently set back looking on the characters in the scene from a side angle, not always directly aimed at them.

2) When filming scenes with people, the camera acts as almost another being in the scene. The camera was always walking with the people, sometimes backwards, behind, and next to them. It gave the audience a sense of closeness to the characters. I felt like a part of their conversation.

3) The black and white color of the movie makes the story feel like it took place in a different time period. It also seems to help drown out the surrounding environment and just highlight the characters and the plot. I also think it creates a sense of romanticism.

4) The clips in the movie last between two-three minutes each.

5) The dialogue in this film is very sarcastic, witty, humorous, serious, crude, and often frustrating in its hypocrisy. Isaac does the majority of the talking in this movie. His dialogue really gives a sense of what a New Yorker is like. They have a lot of problems, often internal ones, and they love to talk about them with friends and associates.

6) The costumes were mainly just normal city attire. The characters were dressed casually the majority of the movie and their costumes helped them achieve their roles of average citizens with some big problems.

7) There was not too much music throughout the movie, yet there were some scenes in which music was very prominent. The opening scene, for example, features some beautiful, romantic music over images of the New York skyline. It gives a sense of the type of movie you are about to watch. Also when Isaac is playing with his son, the dialogue is drowned out by music. This music does a better job accentuating the playfulness and love shared between the father and son than hearing their dialogue could.

8) The set of the movie is in no place better than Manhattan itself. The city streets and other locations capture the director’s goal of portraying Manhattan and its residents as complex beings that are full of variety and spontaneity.