Manhatta (1921) is a short documentary film directed by painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand.
Production background
Manhatta documents the early 20th-century look of
Manhattan. 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 concludes with a sunset view from a
skyscraper. Often considered by some to be the first American avant-garde film,
its primary objective 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.
Manhatta was a collaboration between painter/photographer Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand. The film features that include excerpts from the writings of Walt Whitman.
Preservation status
In 1995, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Restoration proved difficult, as the negative was
lost film, and only a single, heavily damaged 35mm print remained in existence. It was restored for the DVD set
in October 2005. The film was completely restored in January 2009 by archivist Bruce Posner, in collaboration with film restoration company
Lowry Digital.
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.
See also
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Rien que les heures (1926)
-
(1927)
-
Man With a Movie Camera (1929)
External links
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Unseen Cinema website
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Manhatta essay by Daniel Eagan in "America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry", Bloomsbury Academic, 2010. , pages 76–77. [2]
