Manhattan Cinematography

A love story about New York has never been better depicted since Manhattan (1979). Manhattan was Woody Allen's romantic and subjective tribute to New York contemporary life in the 1970s. Against the back drop of this vibrant yet troubled megalopolis, the twice divorced 42 year old Isaac was caught up in a love and loss between a much younger high schooler, Tracy and his best friend’s mistress, Mary.

Manhattan was filmed in 2:35.1 anamorphic black and white format which provided a richly layered wide screen experience. In an interview, Allen noted that it was interesting to do an intimate film using an aspect ratio that was used decades earlier for epic war and western pictures. It would present itself with a great pan-optic look of New York, which became a character in the film itself. Moreover, it would also be interesting for Allen to see what creations and problems he would encounter from shooting in a format that was entirely new for him.

Gordon Willis who was responsible for the magnificent cinematography of Manhattan stated that “It’s the same content whether you are framing the images in 2.35:1 (anamorphic) or 1.85:1 (Academy standard). But, the perception is different, because the structure of the imagery becomes stronger in larger and wider formats. It’s knitted together in a tighter form.”

Willis and Allen had always perceived New York as a black and white city. They both decided to use soft velvety black and white tone as a medium for this movie because it produced romantic and nostalgic looks. It was done in a very clever way so much so that Manhattan looked both modern and old fashioned at the same time.

There were three famous pieces of camerawork in the movie Manhattan. My favourite was the opening montage in which iconic city sights such as Central Park, Broadway, 5th Avenue and New York skyline were set to the transcendent tune of Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin. This brilliant sequence was a heartfelt homage that effectively captured the beat and the tempo of the big apple.

The other iconic scene was the shot where Isaac and Mary were sitting on a park bench and looking onto Queensboro Bridge at a foggy dawn. They were talking away but only their backs were seen in a single extreme wide shot. Willis utilised the whole frame and composing it with a grand bridge lit by necklace lights and trivial objects such as a fence, a scrubby tree, and a tow away street sign. The wide shot gave a special atmospheric quality. It embodied the beauty and the poetry of New York.

Furthermore, the sequence in the planetarium in which Willis used underexposed schemes was arguably the best effort to visualise the isolation of their love affair. His peers called Willis “The Prince of Darkness” as he was one of the pioneers in the art of underexposing and applying low-key lights to establish certain moods. Isaac and Mary walked through the planetarium displays with slight silver light that illuminated their silhouettes against imposing planets and at some point, they walked and chatted in complete darkness. It was hard to imagine this sequence in colour or with proper amount of exposure. The scene would not serve the right purpose of juxtaposing their feelings with the void of darkness.

He adored New York City as much as I did. Allen’s romanticising of Manhattan inspired passion in my heart. It appealed to me not only because of the sheer beauty of the post card worthy pictures of Manhattan but also for the fact that the cinematography by Willis was subtly telling a large amount of the story. Black and white communicated less visual information than colour. It might be perceived as a limitation. However, Manhattan still managed to triumphantly shine in melancholy.

Gordon Willis is a man that possesses visual story telling techniques that are legendary. He received a well deserved Academy’s honorary award for lifetime achievement in 2010. Willis and Allen collaborated in 8 movies together; all of them are quintessentially dark and confident. Allen’s maturity in films really began with Willis. Before Willis, Allen’s works were dependent on the mere slapstick jokes in the scenes. Their partnership allowed Allen to be more dimensional and searched for other values. That is how he developed to be one of the most prolific directors/writers of all time.