tylergee005 This movie had that kind of Allen spirit that you come to expect. I thought it could've been one of his best, but unfortunately there is one thing that ruins the whole picture for me....Diane Keaton. She may be the single worst actor I've ever seen. She says absolutely nonsensical quips, always interrupting, stuttering, looking and acting completely too focused-unnatural. It's quite obvious that she, and everyone, is having to improvise certain parts of their lines, and she just cannot in any way, shape or form pull it off. To such a degree that it's completely distracting and off-putting in every scene she's in. Once you notice just how awkward and unnatural she acts/sounds, you'll never look at it the same. And it single handily ruined the movie for me. Now the plot is also a bit thin which I normally wouldn't fault on it's own, but it instead mainly relied on the back and forth of Allen and Keaton, which as you can imagine, was completely unbearable at times. And the camera work at certain parts (not the zooms, I quite liked those) was a bit odd, again staying far away, relying on the whole group or characters to be in shot while they stumble around trying to get hired at a 3rd rate improve club. But there's still some enjoyment to be had with this picture. Perhaps in Allen wasn't starting in it it'd be a 3, but I'm always so intrigued by him while he's on screen.

mukeshjrao Watched this movie after watching another Woody Allen film - Match Point, which had impressed me so much but this one was disappointing. Woody and Diane are a couple living in uptown Manhattan who love to frequent Oprah's and musicals. The movie begins on an interesting note with the wife of the Woody's neighbor found dead in her apartment and her husband looking like he is least bothered about it. The plot develops making Diane suspicious about the way she died with the couple's friend pitching in looking at possible theories to her death starting from strangling to making the old woman run on the treadmill with speed set at Olympic level. The dialogues between Woody and Diane make the clanging of a bunch of vessels more interesting. Woody's dead pan expression and one liners are not impressive to say the least as Diane plays her role a bit over enthusiastically. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

FilmCriticLalitRao Manhattan Murder Mystery is considered an important film in Woody Allen's long and illustrious cinematographic career as it is an exemplary proof of his faithfulness to Manhattan and people who live over there. As he knows both of them very well, more than a suspense thriller, his film appears as an acute observation of Manhattan people. The viewer is shown what Manhattan is and what type of people inhabit this area which has the reputation of being one of New York city's best known addresses. The film is replete with typically Woody Allen style humor which consists of short and witty remarks about people and their idiosyncrasies. For this reason, director Woody Allen created his own alter ego in the form of Larry Lipton, an intellectual editor who seems to be getting closer to a young woman as his wife is getting much too curious about a death which happened in their neighborhood. Emotional problems between husbands and wives occupy a good deal of screen space in Woody Allen's films. This is also the case with this film as its numerous subplots deal with the emotional turmoil of men and women. Lastly, there is something enigmatic about movie titles as there are times when viewers don't get to see much of what is described in the title. Judging from that yardstick, Manhattan Murder Mystery tries hard to cash on to that obsession and also succeeds. This is probably one reason why it enabled Woody Allen to show his cinematographic preferences in this film by including numerous important scenes from his favorite Hollywood films.

morrison-dylan-fan With having found myself over the last few months unwittingly putting films of Woody Allen right at the back of the line of my "must watch" pile of movies,I decided shortly after finding out that a poll for the best films of 1993 was being held on IMDb's Classic Film board,that I would instantly put Woody Allen's 1993 right at the front,so that I could at last uncover the mysterious Manhattan murder.The plot:Returning to their apartment building after watching a game of hookey, husband and wife Larry and Carol Lipton run into near by residents,and fellow husband and wife,Paul and Lilian House.Making small talk with Paul and Lilian as they find themselves in the building's elevator with them,Larry and Carol are caught by surprise when Paul and Lilian suddenly invite them round for a late night coffee.Ignoring her husbands less then subtle signs of annoyance,Carol accepts the House's kind offer.As Larry gets bored out of existence by Paul showing him all of his stamp collection,Carol finds every minute that she spends with Lilian to be a true joy,who along with having a similar craving that Carol has for French deserts,is also very keen on her at- home gym,which leads to Carol greatly admiring Lilian,due to how amazingly fit and healthy she looks.The next night:Coming back from a night spent at the opera,Carol and Paul's fun night is stopped in its tracks,when they are given the tragic news the earlier that night,Lilian House had died of a heart attack.Feeling shaken over not just the death of her friend,but also the very odd,calm manner that Paul seemed to be in,Carol pushes Larry's reasoning that Paul is just grieving in a "different" manner right to the side,and begins to wonder if the thing that killed Lilian House was really a heart attack,or something much more sinister?...View on the film:Picking up a sub-plot that was originally meant for the duo's 1977 movie Annie Hall that got cut from the script due to feeling out of place with the rest of the plot,the screenplay by Marshall Brickman and co- writer/actor and director auteur Woody Allen impressively keep the movie away from every feeling dusty by cleverly balancing a tightly-coiled, surprisingly thrilling murder-mystery with characters like Carol Lipton,who will go to increasingly insane leginths to prove that their "hunch" is correct.Shooting the film in a "floating", non-shaky Cam style,Allen gives the movie a wonderful fresh atmosphere,with the scenes that Larry and Carol share together having an expert,improve-like feel about them,which helps to give each of Allen's and Brickman's lines (with "I cant listen to that much Wagner ya know.I start to get the urge to invade to conquer Poland!",being a particularly hilarious highlight) a real sharpness.Along with the crisp one-liners,Allen also gives the movie some terrific sly nods to Film Noir,from going to see Double Imdematey at a cinema,to an extremely stylish ending ,that has strong shades of 1947 Orson Welles Film Noir The Lady from Shanghai.Reuniting for the first time since 1979,Woody Allen and Diane Keaton both give strong performance's which set out to prove,that despite not appear on screen together for more than 10 years,neither of them has lost the other ones rhythm.Bounceing off a wonderfully agitated Allen,who would much rather be in bed then going round amateur sleuthing,Keaton shows Carol to be someone with an electrifying,and risky personality,who cant resits keeping away from solving the Manhattan murder mystery.