Manhatta

One feels the optimism of the Industrial Revolution, the passion of westward expansion, and the awe of American immigrant spirit. The doe-eyed, arguable naivety, the kind that built Rockefeller Center and Empire State, is refreshing - before the reality of the 20th Century came crashing down, the optimism that built it really is infectious, here on full display.

As a historical record this film is valuable, but as a cinematic work it is really mediocre. It's like a slide show of a trip to New York, and nowhere near as interesting as that would be. Even Walt Whitman's poetry and the sometimes quite interesting musical score can't save this one from being a decidedly confused effort.

A very detached and lifeless portrait of NYC.

Watching this again with an exquisite print and a much stronger soundtrack, what had originally struck me as a meandering (banal, even) look at early Manhattan came much closer to its intended point. Although the images themselves are little more than picturesque examinations of the city, what really pulls the film together for me is the pervasiveness of steam and smoke, and the juxtaposition of these encroaching clouds with the emotions expressed through Walt Whitman's interstitial prose.

Some gorgeous images but hasn't aged very well.

Weird little film, not sure if it's pro Manhattan or not but I did feel a Metropolis vibe.

I highly recommend the Henry Wolfe rendition. Much smoother and enjoyable to watch. http://youtu.be/jSLCTI1BTdw

A decent early instance of a type of film that would improve over time with better cinematography. Strand did this because of his experience photographing the same subjects, and it shows: everything's very thoughtfully composed, but rather static--except for all that smoke (though it's unclear if there's any rhetorical point to that or if it's just to be more kinetic). There are some great parts, though: the ferry pulling in, the overhead shots, etc. (Maybe what it really needs is more people.)

Man, I do enjoy a good city symphony. Why don't they make them anymore?

Just a bunch of great images. Interesting to see NYC as it was damn near a century ago.

Yawn. This might as well just be a series of postcards.

Recommending this version over what is in the trailer on this page: https://vimeo.com/29087932

manhattan as oppressive fog. not the most creative city symphony i've ever seen. the intertitles were awful, don't know what the filmmakers were thinking.

Black and white, New York and lots and lots of steam

Interesting avant-garde film from the early 20's that tries to make you wary of the technology boom. Depressing in a weird kind of way.

This film loves steam, smoke, water, clouds. To be able to examine and reexamine instances of chaotic motion is a feature unique to film. At the end we finally see crowds of people, and it's fitting: they're particles, fascinating and unpredictable to watch react to one another and their surroundings. The intertitles from Walt Whitman felt a tad unnecessary. Perhaps the filmmakers felt some highbrow gravitas was needed.

The poetic approach doesn't work as this quite compact portrayal of New York City cityscape by moving images tries to make an artistic impact on the viewer.

http://ninjatune.net/artist/the-cinematic-orchestra

yeah...I don't know, could've been like 7 minutes shorter...:/ seemed kind of distant.