Product Description

"There are eight million stories in the Naked City" as the narrator immortally states at the close of this breathtakingly vivid film-and this is one of them. Master noir craftsman Jules Dassin and newspaperman-cum-producer Mark Hellinger's dazzling police procedural was shot entirely on location in New York City as influenced by Italian neorealism as American crime fiction. A double Academy Award-winner The Naked City remains a benchmark for naturalism in noir living and breathing in the promises and perils of the Big Apple from its lowest depths to its highest skyscrapers. System Requirements:Running Time: 96 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 715515022927 Manufacturer No: CC1687DDVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13481 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2007-03-20
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
"Ladies and gentlemen, the motion picture you are about to see is called The Naked City." With a helicopter shot slowly closing in on Manhattan, producer Mark Hellinger's staccato narration introduces the film ("It was not photographed in a studio . . .") and continues throughout like a documentary commentator with a literary flair. It's a conceit that serves this police story nicely, giving the patina of realism to this deglamorized look at the work of the homicide squad. Barry Fitzgerald reigns over the film with his jovial good humor as a veteran detective investigating the murder of a high-living model. He has few clues and fewer suspects, until he cracks the story of big-talking Howard Duff and throws some light on his shady past. Jules Dassin, who had just come off the shadowy, expressionist Brute Force, peels away those flourishes to shoot in a straightforward style influenced by the Italian neo-realists and the contemporary American newsreels. The film is rich in supporting performances by soon-to-be-famous character actors--Arthur O'Connell, James Gregory, Paul Ford--but the city itself becomes the film's most vivid character. Shot entirely on location in New York City, the distinctive cityscape looms over practically every shot and injects the film with a defining sense of place (cinematographer William Daniels won an Oscar for his work). You can see the roots of The French Connection in the bustling city scenes and the exciting foot chase finale on an elevated walkway. --Sean Axmaker

On the DVD
Criterion's edition of this 1948 police procedural provides a beautiful digital transfer of a stunning-looking film, plus a handful of supporting materials. The biggest historical value comes from a 40-minute 2004 on-stage interview with director Jules Dassin, who speaks to an audience after an L.A. screening of Rififi. Poor technical quality only marginally detracts from the valuable anecdotes about his career, including stories about The Naked City and Dassin's blacklisting during the anti-Communist era. Also heard from here is screenwriter Malvin Wald, who provides commentary during the film, in which he emphasizes the film's unusual ensemble structure and the pioneering nature of shooting in real locations in New York City. A standout interview comes from architect James Sanders, author of Celluloid Skyline, whose 26-minute talk proves him a more evocative film critic than many film critics. NYU professor Dana Polan gives a half-hour background on the film's style and its prefiguring of TV procedurals such as Dragnet and Law and Order. A booklet has a Luc Sante essay (firmly but gently asserting that the film is very good but not a masterpiece) and a memo from producer Mark Hellinger. One note: the box promises a theatrical trailer, but this is not included, unless it's hidden in the urban jungle. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

The Naked City
Shot entirely on location in 1940s Manhattan, this semi-documentary police procedural offers a day-to-day look at the life of the Big Apple, its varied denizens, and the routine of two cops--old hand Fitzgerald (who quietly steals the film) and the dutiful but still green Taylor--out to catch a killer. Dassin handles the action with matter-of-fact directness, and soon fast-talking Frank Niles (Howard Duff) has raised their interest. But the great achievement of "City" is its verisimilitude of character and place, and a final chase scene on the Williamsburg Bridge that will steal your breath away. There might be "8 million stories in the naked city," but this sinister crime drama was the first--and still the best. Trivia note:this film was said to have inspired "Dragnet".

Did I see the same film?
This has developed a rep as being a landmark movie, but somehow I managed to miss it. Now that I've seen it I don't understand the praise at all. The Irish affected Fitzgerald barely carries the lead, and the rest of the acting is simply putrid, horribly ham handed. I watched the scene with the mother identifying her dead daughter, and all I could think of is that she had another job that afternoon and had to emote quick and flee. The preceding scene where the young cop comes home to handle spanking his kid is completely pointless, and the acting by husband and wife is soap opera quality at best, just awful.

It gets worse, there's a narrative track would embarrass a "Dragnet" episode, syrupy strings in the soundtrack, and dialogue that often wanders off point, making it difficult to follow. All the side bits just waste time, the action doesn't move from scene to scene in a form which builds any sense of continuity. I couldn't even finish watching it, so I guess I'll never know who Mcillicuddy was.

PS: Yes, I know this was 1948. But that's pretty late in the day to make something this inept. There were plenty of decent films being made by that time, no excuse.

The architype of police procedurals - and, film noir to boot
A murder.
The evidence.
The investigation.
Red herrings.
Resolution.

This film's DNA runs through all that followed - from Dragnet to Law & Order.
Buy this film if you love 1948 NYC and Irish detectives - a great film!