Editing Manhatta

{{Short description|1922 film}}
{{About|the 1921 film|the New York City borough|Manhattan|its early history|Mannahatta (disambiguation){{!}}Mannahatta}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Manhatta
| image          =
| caption        =
| director       = {{ubl|[[Charles Sheeler]]|[[Paul Strand]]}}
| producer       =
| writer         =
| narrator       =
| starring       =
| music          =
| cinematography =
| editing        =
| distributor    =
| released       = {{Film date|1921}}
| runtime        = 10 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = [[Silent film]]<br>[[English language|English]] intertitles
| budget         =
}}
[[File:Manhatta (Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler, 1921).webm|thumb|upright=1.15|thumbtime=5|Full film]]
'''''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 [[Experimental film|avant-garde film]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Manly Arts: Masculinity and Nation in Early American Cinema.|last=Gerstner|first=David|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0822337638|location=Durham|pages=119–64}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/artists_view/manhatta_main.html |title=Artists View New York &#124; Explore & Learn &#124; the Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date=December 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008013735/http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/artists_view/manhatta_main.html |archive-date=October 8, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Manhatta'' was a collaboration between painter/photographer Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand. The film features [[intertitle]]s 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".<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 25 Films for '95 (February 5, 1996) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin|url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9602/nfr2.html|access-date=2020-12-11|website=www.loc.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=2020-12-11|website=Library of Congress}}</ref> Restoration proved difficult, as the [[original camera negative|negative]] was [[lost film|lost]], and only a single, heavily damaged 35mm print remained in existence. It was restored for the DVD set ''[[Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941|Unseen Cinema]]'' in October 2005. The film was completely restored in January 2009 by archivist Bruce Posner, in collaboration with film restoration company [[Lowry Digital]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lowrydigital.com/filmography.html|title=Filmography|publisher=Lowry Digital|accessdate=June 28, 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kcet.org/local/blogs/blur_sharpen/2009/01/proud-and-passionate-city.html|title=Proud and Passionate City|last=Willis|first=Holly|date=January 19, 2009|work=Blur + Sharpen|publisher=KCET Online / Community Television of Southern California|accessdate=June 28, 2009}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Rien que les heures]]'' (1926)
*''[[Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis]]'' (1927)
*''[[Man with a Movie Camera|Man With a Movie Camera]]'' (1929)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikisource}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0131468|title=Manhatta}}
* {{Internet Archive short film|id=Manhatta_1921|name=Manhatta}}
* [http://unseen-cinema.com/ ''Unseen Cinema'' website]
*''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. {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 76–77. [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC]

{{Paul Strand}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1922 films]]
[[Category:1922 documentary films]]
[[Category:1922 short films]]
[[Category:1920s American films]]
[[Category:1920s rediscovered films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:American silent short films]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Black-and-white documentary films]]
[[Category:Documentary films about New York City]]
[[Category:Films set in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Rediscovered American films]]
[[Category:Surviving American silent films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]