Rediscovered Classic - Manhattan

It's recently become the fashion to describe each new Woody Allen film as his best since Crimes and Misdemeanours. In reality this is just a euphemistic way of saying that he hasn't really made a good film for seventeen years. As a result of that, it can be easy to forget that between the mid '70s and the late '80s, he was a world class filmmaker with several masterpieces to his name. Even though he has openly expressed his distaste for all things Oscar, he has a remarkable twenty-one nominations to his credit, including three wins.

That's why it's an absolute joy to re-visit Manhattan, a film that unquestionably sits in his top three and may, with a good wind, be his very best. Allen plays a 42 year-old writer, divorced and (with eery foresight) involved with a 17 year old girl (Hemingway) whom he tries to keep at a distance because he knows she's too young and shouldn't be throwing away her life experiences on him. When he begins an affair with his best friend's mistress (Keaton), the usual rom-com complications ensue, albeit with a bit more sophistication than most.

Manhattan displays a director at the very top of his game, creating gloriously controlled scenes that appear so naturalistic they could almost be improvised. It features the quintessential Allen screenplay, taking a look at a group of New York neurotics and their messy lives, that alternates between his Groucho-esque one liners and intellectual discussions of art and literature. It's also far and away his most aesthetically pleasing film, with the shimmering black and white photography and rare use of widescreen allowing for some beautifully framed compositions, complemented by the exquisite Gershwin score.

Keaton leaves her kooky Annie Hall far behind with her highly strung Mary, a not especially appealing character who still manages to keep her men falling at her feet. Underrated as an actor, Allen makes for a charming hero, a long way from the bitter, unlikeable types that he aged into, so that we stay riveted to see whether he'll end up with Mary or the delectable Tracy, to whom he says, in typical Allen style, whilst taking a cab: "You look so beautiful, I can hardly keep my eyes on the meter."