Manhattan Murder Mystery
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| Manhattan Murder Mystery | |
|---|---|
| Image:Manhattanmurderposter.jpg Manhattan Murder Mystery theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Woody Allen |
| Produced by | Robert Greenhut |
| Written by | Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman |
| Starring | Woody Allen Diane Keaton Anjelica Huston Alan Alda |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 18, 1993 (USA) |
| Running time | 104 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13,500,000 (est.) |
| IMDb profile | |
Manhattan Murder Mystery is a 1993 film directed by and starring Woody Allen who plays Manhattanite book editor Larry Lipton. Lipton's wife, played by Diane Keaton, becomes curious about the death of a neighbor in their apartment building and drags her reluctant husband into an amateur criminal investigation. The title was originally a generic working title of the sort Allen uses while shooting most of his films and was never changed. The movie, co-written with Marshall Brickman, features performances by Anjelica Huston and Alan Alda as friends of the couple, who also become involved in the investigation (albeit to a lesser extent).
Shot on location in New York City like most of Allen's movies, Manhattan Murder Mystery adds to the genre of murder mystery with musings on middle age and marriage. The film harks back to Allen's more farcical comedies of the 1970s, rather than his romantic dramas of the 80s and 90s. Allen says he was inspired by The Thin Man series of films.
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[edit] Changes from original script
Diane Keaton's role was originally written for Mia Farrow, who dropped out of the film when she and Allen separated. Entertainment Weekly alleged that further changes were made to the film in what was "definitely a reaction" to Allen's relationship problems, including the casting of Anjelica Huston in the role of what the script had called "a much younger first-time novelist" with whom Allen's character became romantically involved.[1] At the time of the film's shooting, Huston was 41.
The magazine also said that Allen also "retooled" the script to fit Keaton's talents, although when asked later if he re-wrote any of the film, Allen said, "No, I couldn't do that. In a regular script I would have done that upon hiring Diane Keaton. But I couldn't [here] because it's a murder mystery, and it's very tightly plotted, so it's very hard to make big changes....I had written [the part] more to what Mia likes to do. Mia likes to do funny things, but she's not as broad a comedian as Diane is. So Diane made this part funnier than I wrote it."[2]
[edit] Reception
The film received a Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes, scoring 86% of positive reviews from critics and 87% from users of the site [1].
It grossed $11,330,911 in the US box office.[2]
[edit] Nominations
BAFTA Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Anjelica Huston
César Awards: Best Foreign Film
Golden Globe Awards: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Comedy/Musical, Diane Keaton
[edit] Trivia
- Both Double Indemnity and The Lady from Shanghai are seen within the film, whose plot mirrors elements from both films. In fact, the actors recreate the infamous "funhouse mirror" scene from the latter as it plays on a screen behind them.
- Zach Braff made his feature film debut in a one-scene role as the son of Allen and Keaton's characters; Braff later said, "When I look at that scene now, all I can see is the terror in my eyes."[3]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Pop Culture News: Yet Another Woman. Entertainment Weekly. (1992-10-02). Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
- ^ Bjorkman, Stig, ed. Woody Allen on Woody Allen: Revised Edition. London: Faber and Faber, 1995, 2004. p. 257.
- ^ Breakouts: Best Rx. by Bruce Fretts, Entertainment Weekly. (2001-12-21). Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
es:Misterioso asesinato en Manhattan fr:Meurtre mystérieux à Manhattan it:Misterioso omicidio a Manhattan lt:Manhattan Murder Mystery ru:Загадочное убийство в Манхэттэне (фильм)
