The Naked City

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Alain E @AlainE Oct 12 Definitely overrated because it is very uneven trying to decide whether to be a realistic crime story, insert some commentary about the city or even attempt to add some ridiculous comedy with the old lady who comes to advise the police to find the killer using magic tricks. The scene with the dead girl’s parents was very strong. The description of the mundane things the police has to do investigating a crime was close to reality. The final long chase is totally impossible. The police hear a single shot in a city milieu and immediately locate where the suspect is. Photography is indeed excellent but editing of the extraneous elements would have improved the picture. Of course the critics already anointed it with 86% approval rating. Barry Fitzgerald successfully balanced his role of a police officer and a coedic element. See more tucker s @tucker83014 Sep 30 Extremely entertaining, especially considering it was filmed almost 80 years ago. Decades ahead of it's time See more Russ G @RT78760655 03/15/2025 I'd have to rate this as a failed cinematic experiment. It did spawn a TV series, though. See more Insomniac X @RT03001349 03/05/2025 This archetypal procedural drama brought documentary-style presentation to the popular film noir movement of the 1940's. Stunning location photography provides a window into the city's past, while a perfectly cast crew of characters animate a story that is by turns brutal, humorous, and heartbreaking. The pairing of an impulsive rookie with a seasoned but warmhearted veteran has been borrowed by everybody from Kurosawa to Fincher. A must-see for crime genre fans. See more Lane B @RT87124072 08/22/2024 If it weren't for the mediocrity of the acting and dialogue, and the awful narration this could have been a classic film noir masterpiece. If you are at all interested in excellent cinephotography ignore all that and see this film. The cinephotographer William Daniels won an Academy Award for his work and anyone with an eye for photography can see why. Shot on the streets of New York, Daniels delivers one masterful street scene after the other that rivals the best street photography of that era: Helen Levit, William Klein, Robert Frank and Cartier Bresson. Each shot on the street is set up like a revelation of New York street life from foreground to deep background. Night photography is mysterious and detailed, broad daylight is exquisite – everywhere you look there is life and action. I will be showing this film to my college students from this day forward. Don't miss it. See more acsdoug D @acsdoug 08/04/2024 The story is really not too bad of a police procedural. I just thought the excessive and often lame narration detracted too much from the story. See more Read all reviews

The Naked City

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