Review of Ciao! Manhattan (1973) by Daniel F — 27 Jan 2012

It's been mentioned before, but Edie is the only real draw to this film. She is incandescent (probably because of the massive amounts of speed she was on) in the "flashback" 1967 scenes, and bordering on grotesque in the "modern" 1971 scenes.

Either way, you can't really look away. She is a great and tragic reminder of fame's tendency to chew you up and spit you out, and much like Marilyn in her later films, you just want to give her a big hug and tell her that it will all be okay.

That being said, the rest of the film is somewhat... icky to watch, with all male characters having that greasy STD look about them that was so popular in the 1970's (except the Jesus character, who had beautiful eyes.

) The plot was at best confusing, and not in an entertaining way (at least if you aren't on drugs when watching it.) The constant breasts are obviously exploitative, and the alien/spaceship references are obtuse.

I don't regret watching it, but certainly don't recommend.