Blu-ray Review – The Manhattan Project

Marshall Brickman is perhaps best known for his collaborations with Woody Allen, co-scripting efforts such as "Sleeper," "Manhattan," "Manhattan Murder Mystery," and the Academy Award-winning "Annie Hall." It's an impressive resume, but Brickman's directorial output isn't quite as stunning, encountering rough creative seas with 1980's "Simon" and 1983's "Lovesick." 1986's "The Manhattan Project" may not be a towering achievement of cinematic craftsmanship, but it's the best thing Brickman helmed during his career, guiding an exciting and idiosyncratic thriller that played into the nuclear fears of the era (unfortunately, little of that has faded away in our current volatile age) while remaining an effective teen-centric offering, investing in smart characters and complex situations. "The Manhattan Project" isn't above a dramatic manipulation or two, but it carries confidently, trying to explore a real-world scenario of human fallibility and intelligence, with Brickman working to achieve a nail-biting tone to preserve the escapist qualities within this sobering film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com