Movies in Print: Manhattan

Movie posters contribute a great amount of interest in a film. Depending on its design, a movie poster can lead the film all the way to box office hit status if done effectively. Whether the design is graphically outstanding, features images that truly evoke the mood of the film or generate intense interest or emotion, movie posters must do their job well. Some poster prints are really set apart from the rest and unforgettable due to their design and popularity of the film's successful plot. Some movies may have not delivered as well as their posters but all the same, the posters did their job.



One movie poster considered to be outstanding is the poster print of the 1979 film, Manhattan.Directed by Woody Allen and co-written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman, the film is considered to be a Woody Allen classic; with all the elements of his style executed. The film is about a recently divorced man who has an inappropriate affair with a high school girl but ends up falling for the mistress of his best friend instead. In between all of this, Allen adds in all of his signature elements including the love for jazz, the unheroic hero; the neurotic, self-obsessed characters; the inappropriate love triangle; the social commentary; and the mockery of intellectual snobs all set against the backdrop of a city Allen obviously adores, which is Manhattan. He shows this romance through great cinematography of the city's landmarks and skylines.



All the elements of this film were designed to be summed up in the film's poster. Done in classic black and white, a silhouette of a couple overlooking a lighter toned view of the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge is seen in the background. The poster prints is atmospheric and portrays Allen's iconic view of the character of a city unlike any other in the world.