Ciao! Manhattan (Widescreen) | 
| Directors: John Palmer, David Weisman
Actors: Paul America, Baby Jane Holzer, Isabel Jewell, Edie Sedgwick, Viva
Studio: Plexifilm
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 32.99
Buy New: CDN$ 18.36
You Save: CDN$ 14.63 (44%)
New (14) Used (2) from CDN$ 18.36
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 1305
Format: Dolby, Ntsc, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Original Language)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 1
UPC: 082354000226
EAN: 0082354000226
ASIN: B000077VQR
Theatrical Release Date: 1972
Release Date: May 6, 2003
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item, factory Sealed. Buy direct from the U.S. and save! We only ship airmail to Canada (7-15 days).Caiman, les prix qu'on aime! Tous nos produits sont neufs. Envoi par avion des Etats-Unis
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| Editorial Reviews:
From Amazon.com
Fact and fiction collide in the cult classic Ciao! Manhattan, which was billed as "the film that wrote itself." The unexpectedly poignant tale is based on the life of "Superstar" Edie Sedgwick, who plays a drugged-out former model named Susan. In Southern California, she lives in her wealthy, pie-obsessed mother's swimming pool and recounts her glory days in Manhattan to a Houston drifter (Wesley Hayes). John Palmer and David Weisman began filming in New York in 1967 and kept shooting for the next five years, even as Sedgwick moved West, grew out her hair, got breast implants, and spent time at a variety of mental institutes. The 1970s present is in color; the 1960s flashbacks are in luminous black and white. John Phillips, Richie Havens, and others provide the period-perfect soundtrack. Confusing at times, but always entertaining, Ciao! Manhattan is a must for fans of Head, Trash, and all things weird, wiggy, and Warhol. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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| Customer Reviews:
 Poor Little Rich Girl. December 17, 2003
F. Gentile (Lake Worth, Florida, United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I remember finding this film fascinating upon its first viewing by me, years ago in New York. I was much younger then, and at that age, ones early demise always seems so glamorous. Now that I am older and wiser, I found this film, upon a recent re-viewing, only depressing and tragic. Though it is a supposed fictional tale about a former star of the "in-crowd", it is for all purposes a docu-bio of its star, Edie Sedgwick. Edie was , for 15 minutes, Andy Warhol's brightest star. He was enamored of her beauty, patrician family roots, and moneyed glamour, she of his very name, and his offer to turn her into an instant superstar. Their collaboration was brief, and she burned out. Though she grew up in the most privileged of families, there was a horrid hidden life of incest, suicides, and betrayals. Her drug use became one long suicide attempt, until the inevitible event finally occured in 1971. This film is an almost obscene documentation of her demise. Though presented in a fictional setting, it's not very hard to see where Edie's character of "Susan" ends, and the real identity of Edie herself begins. Indeed, the flashback scenes are actual clips of Edie herself, mostly in her Warhol years. But as the film progresses, we see the real Edie has turned into a monster, she literally seems to be mutating,, and it is sad to observe. Though beautiful, death is painted on her face, and her hesitent and incoherent ramblings are too real. Ultimately, one is very aware of the feeling of exploitation of a very troubled, damaged human being. That she died not long after its filming will surprise no one. This film, though not a Warhol production, is filmed in the grainy style of his notorious underground films, resplendently amateurish. Though hauntingly presented and scored, it is ultimately a tragic record of wasted life, and very depressing. The creative energy spent by certain parties since her death was an attempt to take a short-cut to the legendary status of a Marilyn Monroe, but this has not happened. Edie has become just a sad footnote to a bygone time, and her handfull of movies, most of which have never and will never be seen by the mainstream, they were not worth the price she paid, though she was arguably doomed long before their making. I would recommend this film only as a fascinating one time view for those who are interested in that crazy time and The Warhol crowd, but anyone other than that will only be bored, perplexed, or saddened by this tale of poor, lost Edie.
 Ciao!Manhattan:A Surreal Movie Experience September 16, 2003
Guten Tag (Texas,USA)
Ciao!Manhattan is avant garde to say the least! Filmed over five years by filmmakers David Wiseman and John Palmer, Ciao! does its best to blur the lines between the ficitonal Susan ("portrayed" by Edie Sedgwick) and the reality of Edie's real life. Shot in both color and black and white, the plot is hopelessly besotted in drugs and conspiracy. Try as they might, the filmmakers could not pull a story together that made any kind of sense. Nonetheless, the DVD is loaded with special features that make it a worthwhile investment. Included are interviews, a still gallery of rarely seen photos of Edie and lost outtake footage with great voiceover commentary from filmmaker David Wiseman. Another feature worth a try is the director's commentary. The stories accompanying the movie itself is eyeopening and educational, to say the least. This movie is a must have for anyone intrested in the 1960s/early 70s underground movie making experience.
The film is what it is, but the special features are great January 25, 2003
Emily (New York, NY)
Before I got Ciao! Manhattan on DVD, I had seen it twice before, once on video (first time) and once at a cinema revival screening of it (second). I was fascinated by the movie upon my first viewing, but managed to make it through the second showing just barely...my unconditional admiration for Edie Sedgwick being what got me through it. I mean, it's a weird, wacky, and wonderful film--full of great images of 1960's glamour and a funny, bizarre plot set in the 70s--but I bought the DVD really just so that I could complete my Edie memorabilia collection.
Anyway, I sat down to watch it the other night and turned on the special features first. They were fantastic! The interviews with David Weisman and Betsey Johnson were incredible; both of these people communicate very well the spirit of the 1960's and what they were experiencing and trying to communicate during the making of the film, not just in terms of the actual production but the way life itself was for these "youthquakers" back then. Weisman also gives some great insight as to why, after all these years, people (and young people in particular) are still so fascinated with Edie and the Warhol crew. And then there's the extra footage, which, despite having no soundtrack, is absolutely mesmerizing. Shots of 1960's kids, New York, Woodstock (I think), and of course outtakes from the film...well, it was just a fantastic bonus. Watching the features first really made me appreciate the film the most I ever had when I saw it the third time...this is a DVD not to be missed (well, admittedly, for a certain audience with an interest in the 1960s).
GREAT EXTRAS! GREAT PACKAGING! November 24, 2002
Scott Coblio (West Hollywood, CA United States)
Finally this film gets the recognition it deserves, struck from a pristine print, with a great cover and inside photos of vintage Edie, a nice booklet, wonderful DVD extras including lots of outtakes from the '67 footage, and insightful commentary from the director and great interviews with co-star Wesley Hayes, designer Betsey Johnson, the author of "EDIE" and more! It doesn't get any better than this for Edie fans.
Strange, hypnotic, and somehow quite affecting November 8, 2002
Ciao! Manhattan is an avant-garde film that makes the films of Jean-Luc Godard seem conventional. That's not to attack Godard, mind you. I'm just comparing the two to express how far out Ciao! Manhattan is. The slight narrative concerns a young Texan hippie traveling the American countryside just because he likes to see things. One night, he sees something quite unexpected: a beautiful young woman with bare breasts hitchhiking. He picks her up (who wouldn't?) and finds that she has a couple of dog tags around her neck with her name, Susan, and address on them. He takes her home. Susan's mother thanks him and offers him a job taking care of her daughter. Susan was a young model in New York, a discovery of artist Andy Warhol. She lived a life of hard partying, and is now paying for it with a severe case of brain damage. Now Susan lives in a drained pool in her mother's back yard, and she spends endless hours drinking hard liquor and rattling off stories about the old days in New York.At first, Ciao! Manhattan just seemed to me an excessively playful experimental film with a bunch of bizarre imagery and editing and stuff. I was laughing, it was fun to see the excesses of that sub-culture which I know so little about. But after a while, the film just started working, and really well. Susan is played by Edie Sedgwick, who really was a protege model of Andy Warhol. The film works a fine balance between reality and fiction. How much of Sedgwick are we seeing? Is any of it fictional. She died three months before the film was released, and, edited into the last moments of the film, there is a shot of a newspaper headline that announces the death. Whether Ciao! Manhattan was meant to be or not, it serves as a dirge, not only to Edie Sedgwick, but to the young generation of the time. I don't know, maybe I loved this film because I grew to adulthood so far after the hippie generation, but I'll tell you one thing: I have seen a ton of the greatest films ever made. It's a rare experience to come upon one that is as unique as this one. Perhaps there were a thousand films like this at the time, but none are available except this. Well, I choose to praise this. 10/10.
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