I'm a book cover designer and art director based in New York and New Mexico. I've been blogging about home renovation, interiors, graphic design, DIY, food, cosmetics, dogs, art, music, books, and life in general since 1998. I could really use a cup of coffee right now.
17 Comments
Gotta love Woody !!!!!
Just when I think that I SUPER like you I like you even more. I love Woody Allen, he was my first movie star crush, then I moved on to Steve Martin.
Also, I love the new line below about not saying it here if you couldnt say it to their face.
Love. Love. Love.
Why don’t they make movies like this anymore?
I did an almost identical post to this one, and have to say this clip is one of my favorite parts of any film. There’s something so genuine to his realization that it makes you run through your own list of best-ofs, and come to the same conclusion: that it’s really all about the ones you love.
http://www.nickhaus.com/2010/03/why-is-life-worth-living.html
Though let’s not forget here: there is a questionable side to this (which I also didn’t mention in my own post). We would be remiss in not acknowledging that Woody Allen the man and character was 42 when “Manhattan” was made, while Tracy is 17, right? The themes are universal, but it’s hard to forget the particulars. A little icky.
Well, to quote Woody himself, “the heart knows what it wants”. That motivating theme is what ties together all of his movies, and the result is quite often questionable. I don’t want to see him apologize for that, not ever. He presents reality, and he’s one of the very few American filmmakers who does it in a way that I can relate to and sympathize with. The very fact that Tracy is so young and yet so much more mature than Isaac (and more worldly than Mary) is essential to the story. If she were 19 or 20, we’d be looking at an entirely different movie.
(I should add that Manhattan is my all-time favorite movie, with Annie Hall running a very close second.)
And not to get too redundant, but I’m pretty sure Hannah and Her Sisters is my third-favorite movie ever.
i love this scene, and it’s so funny that you posted this because yesterday i was driving to a meeting and the song “got your money” came on the radio and i thought to myself “ol’ dirty bastard just makes me so happy to be alive.”
and i’m not joking, i really thought that.
and i agree with you: manhattan is the best, but my second favorite is crimes and misdemeanors.
I love, love, LOVE Crimes and Misdemeanors! The casting is phenomenal—Martin Landau is one of my most favorite actors, and his character is so complex and interesting and saddening and compelling and hideous all at once.
Thanks, this is just what I needed this morning. Last week I watched Annie Hall ahh another good one.
So what i needed today!
LOVE this scene. I love the moment when he says “Tracy’s face”. So beautiful and heartbreaking. I watched this for the very first time when I worked at a cinema when I was 17 and had to preview it for an “art-house evening”. I was the only one in the cinema and it was sublime.
I did a post of my own list along with this clip awhile back. Of course Woody is on my list of what makes my life worth living. Manhattan is absolutely my favorite Allen film, but then when I start to fill in the rest it gets confusing. I love “Broadway Danny Rose”, “Purple Rose of Cairo”, “Stardust Memories”, “Crimes & Misdemeanors”, “Radio Days”, and when I need a really good laugh it just doesn’t get better than “Manhattan Murder Mystery”. I really like but have never been head over heels in love with “Annie Hall”. I am however wearing my “Lurve” necklace today. 🙂
Shouldn’t it say “luff”? 😀
Longtime lurker here. I love (lurve) that scene in the movie. I have to say I went out with someone that old when I was 17 and it was hands down one of the best experiences of my life. So the ick factor is just not there for me.
Exactly, Holly. Often what is reality and what is in our hearts is not in line with what we know is “wrong” in our minds. Love is not black and white. That Woody Allen is able to acknowledge that fact and address it cinematically without being crass or sensationalist is what makes him so great.
Weird… I was flipping through Netflix last night and randomly chose this movie to enjoy my pizza with. I’d never seen a Woody Allen movie before this one, and now I understand the cult following.
I love that you did a post about it.
It’s crazy how beautiful Meryl Streep still is.
He is the one and only 🙂