Top Woody Allen Critic Gives DIRT On "Manhattan" (1979) | ArtiFact 72

Mariel Hemingway dominates "Manhattan" (1979) as she plays the role of Tracy -- Woody Allen's own projection. While "Manhattan" has become a controversial film due to the substantial age gap relationship (Woody Allen's character, Isaac, is 42, while Tracy is 17), this was not the case upon its release. Instead, it was universally praised and further cemented Woody Allen as a master of both drama and comedy.

The world's leading Woody Allen critic, Alex Sheremet, is joined by Irish poet Laura Woods for a discussion of the film's illusions and the changing POVs around it.

You can also watch this discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HTHBvojj-vc

Read Alex Sheremet's essay on "Manhattan": https://www.automachination.com/illusions-woody-allen-manhattan-review/

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Bonus show topics: more controversy surrounding Mariel Hemingway; how Tracy's precociousness fails; the meaning of the great planetarium imagery; more cinematography; Isaac's bout of self-recognition; why Meryl Streep kept Isaac's last name; the "gay son"; the theme of "surprise" divorces; vicarious relationships in real life; Roger Ebert weasels out of praising "Manhattan"; black and white vs. color; Alex goes to Guyana for photography; why Dan Schneider listens to podcasts of himself; why "Annie Hall" is popular among women; Alex previews his Burma/Palestine research; why pre-Christian Jews fought other Abrahamic Jews; how theology adapts to heresy; Israel vs. Judea; AI art; milestones of world poetry; Shakespeare trutherism; Alex's literary run-in with a Mormon missionary; it's much easier to find great photography than great poetry

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Learn about our debut film, "From There To There: Bruce Ario, the Minneapolis Poet": https://www.automachination.com/cityboy-bruce-ario-great-american-novel/

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Read Alex Sheremet's (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

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Timestamps:

0:00 -- Mariel Hemingway dominates Woody Allen's "Manhattan"

0:47 -- the film's illusions

2:27 -- Laura's soft spot for "Manhattan"; drawing the viewer into illusions and delusions

5:16 -- unreliable narrators; Isaac Davis is supposed to be a bad artist

12:22 -- Diane Keaton's anxieties; Woody Allen is merely depicting the artists he's known; how art gets misused by the elites

20:30 -- art is high stakes; not everyone can be a genius!; the artistic character of New York vs. Midwest; Laura on Diane Keaton's great artistic range

26:40 -- Mariel Hemingway dominates the film as an idealized male projection; Mariel Hemingway as a composite of Woody Allen's teen girlfriends; how men show off young women; why "Manhattan" is slightly better than "Annie Hall"

33:23 -- Woody Allen's "fake" vehicular homicide joke; the men in "Manhattan" have a strict moral code meant to miss the big picture; Woody Allen's peculiar use of self-delusion

37:47 -- Mariel Hemingway is the only one who "gets" Diane Keaton; how realistic is Mariel Hemingway's character; Tracy will probably grow out of Woody Allen's character

48:50 -- the DARK ending of "Manhattan"; how Woody Allen plays both sides; reviewers didn't analyze the film's more controversial themes in 1979; UK/Irish perceptions of relationship power dynamics

58:08 -- patron preview

Tags: #woodyallen  #filmpodcast #cinematography