The Naked City 09/08/20

Jules Dassin’s most popular pre-exile crime thriller is many things: a cracking good police tale, a drama of human struggle and weakness, and an amazing cinematic time machine of New York’s distinctive hustle and bustle circa 1948. Mark Hellinger’s final production bristles with ‘these are the facts’ narration, a voiceover personifying the city ‘with eight million stories.’ The filmed-on-location classic always looked okay, but this new restoration sources better elements for picture and sound, improving the show substantially. Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, Don Taylor and Ted de Corsia. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
09/08/20