Manhatta
Manhatta | |
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Directed by | |
Release date |
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Running time | 10 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent film Englishintertitles |
Manhatta(1921) is a shortdocumentary filmdirected by painterCharles Sheelerand photographerPaul Strand.
Production background
Manhattadocuments the look of early 20th-centuryManhattan.With the city as subject, the film consists of 65 shots sequenced in a loose non-narrative structure, beginning with the Staten Island ferry approaching Manhattan and ending with a sunset view from askyscraper.It is considered by some to be the first Americanavant-garde film.[1]The primary objective of the film is to explore the relationship between photography and film; camera movement is kept to a minimum, as is incidental motion within each shot. Each frame provides a view of the city that has been carefully arranged into abstract compositions.[2]
Manhattawas a collaboration between painter/photographer Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand. Theintertitlesinclude excerpts from the writings ofWalt Whitman.
Preservation status
In 1995 the film was selected for preservation in theNational Film Registryby theLibrary of Congress,being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3][4]Restoration proved difficult, as thenegativewaslost,and only a single heavily damaged 35mm print remained in existence. It was restored for the DVD setUnseen Cinemain October 2005. The film was completely restored in January 2009 by archivist Bruce Posner, working with film restoration companyLowry Digital.[5]Posner spent close to four years returning the film to its original glory. The Museum of Modern Art and Anthology Film Archives also commissioned a new score from New York composer Donald Sosin.[6]
See also
- Rien que les heures(1926)
- Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis(1927)
- Man With a Movie Camera(1929)
References
- ^Gerstner, David (2006).Manly Arts: Masculinity and Nation in Early American Cinema.Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 119–64.ISBN978-0822337638.
- ^"Artists View New York | Explore & Learn | the Metropolitan Museum of Art".Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 2009.RetrievedDecember 29,2009.
- ^"The 25 Films for '95 (February 5, 1996) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin".loc.gov.RetrievedDecember 11,2020.
- ^"Complete National Film Registry Listing".Library of Congress.RetrievedDecember 11,2020.
- ^"Filmography".Lowry Digital.RetrievedJune 28,2009.
- ^Willis, Holly (January 19, 2009)."Proud and Passionate City".Blur + Sharpen.KCET Online / Community Television of Southern California.RetrievedJune 28,2009.
External links
- ManhattaatIMDb
- The short filmManhattais available for free viewing and download at theInternet Archive.
- ManhattaatAllMovie
- Unseen Cinemawebsite
- Manhattaessay by Daniel Eagan in "America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry", Bloomsbury Academic, 2010.ISBN0826429777,pages 76–77.[1]
- 1921 films
- 1922 films
- 1922 documentary films
- 1922 short films
- 1920s American films
- 1920s rediscovered films
- American black-and-white films
- American documentary films
- American silent short films
- Black-and-white documentary films
- Documentary films about New York City
- Films set in Manhattan
- Rediscovered American films
- Surviving American silent films
- United States National Film Registry films