99c Movie Download of the Week -- Rent Manhattan, Starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep
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I haven't blogged about the 99c iTunes movie of the week for quite some time actually, mostly because the movies on offer weren't so good, but a classic Woody Allen movie could not be ignored!
Each week iTunes offer a movie rental for just 99c, this week it's Manhattan, and you can download it from the iTunes Store, to your computer, iPhone, iPod or Apple TV. I've got an Apple TV, so I actually paid an extra $1 to download the 720p HD version of Manhattan, to watch on my Plasma TV.
Manhattan Review: Within the first 4 mins of this film you know 4 things, and if you're a fan of Woody Allen films like I am, they're all good.
- Woody Allen loves New York City (as if you didn't know that already!)
- This is going to be a classic Woody Allen film
- Woody Allen is playing a complete neurotic, again
- You're going to laugh, often
In Manhattan, Woody Allen is Isaac, a divorced 42 year old neurotic writer, whose ex wife Jill (Meryl Streep) left him for another woman. Jill is writing a book about their marriage. Issac is dating a 17 year old student Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), but he becomes interested in Mary (Diane Keaton), who is currently having an affair with Isaac's best friend Yale (Michael Murphy). I'm sure you get the picture by now, and it all gets more complicated and awkward as things go on, with lots of sweet funny moments, confusion, romance, broken hearts, indecision, immaturity, intellectualising, and musical interludes!
Black and white was a great choice for this film, and New York looks wonderfly romantic, especially the iconic scene with Woody Allen and Dianne Keaton sitting on a bench, silhouetted against a backdrop of the Brooklyn bridge. This is also a great example of the way that the camera is kept at a distance from the characters, which makes you feel as if you're eavesdropping in on a private conversation, and in fact you are!
Woody Allen and Dianne Keaton just work so well together, the chemistry between them is great, and they share some wonderful lines. One of my favourite lines in the movie is when Issac tells Mary how he had to restrain himself in the planetarium -- "I had a mad impulse to throw you down on the lunar surface and comit interstellar perversion with you". I love it because it's such a classic Woody Allen comment, and it reminds me of all his other great films, like Annie Hall and Play It Again, Sam
Manhattan is not quite an instant classic like Annie Hall, but it is an excellent whimsical Woody Allen film, and a sweet romantic comedy.
I'll leave you with this quote from the opening monologue to the film, as Isaac attempts to write the first chapter of his hew book -- "He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved, behind his black rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat" "New York was his town, and it always would be"
Instructions: Click on the '99c Movie Rental of the Week' link below to open the movie page in the iTunes Store*. Click to rent and your movie will start downloading. You've got 30 days to watch the movie, and after you click Play you've got 48 hours to finish viewing it. This movie is also available in HD on the Apple TV** for $1.99.
*If you don't have iTunes installed on your computer, you can find out more and download it for free here from the Apple website: Apple iTunes Free Download for Mac and PC
**You can find out more about the Apple TV on the Apple website, what it is, what's on, tech specs and how to buy online: Apple TV HD Media Player. Luke and I are big fans of all things Apple, and we both own an Apple TV -- feel free to contact us if you're interested in buying one and have any questions.
Verified Store Page: iTunes Store
Offer Ends: 11:59 p.m. AEDT Monday 1st March 2010
Time Remaining: this offer has expired.
Special Offer Link: Manhattan (1979) -- iTunes 99c Movie Rental
(Run Time: 1:36:18, 1.07 GB, Format: Widescreen, Rated: M)
