The Naked City (1948) directed by Jules Dassin
Back in the day I used to watch Law and Order reruns on TNT basically every day during that lull in TV programming right before NBA action. Everybody likes a good police procedural as evidenced by all the Law and Order, CSI, NCIS, Criminal Mind type shows out there. The Naked City is labeled as a film noir but it is basically a 90 minute episode of one of these shows.
A woman is killed by two men in her apartment. We must figure out who it is and take the step by step process in uncovering the crime. There is minimal side story or extraneous action; it is all about the investigation which feels like how they might have done it back in the day.
The investigation is interesting but nothing out of the ordinary; it's all about exhausting leads and questioning witnesses. It's a slow moving case that picks up steam as more secrets and clues are revealed until the explosive finale where they finally get their man. This final chase is actually quite fantastic and feels almost like a Hitchcock film, a nice reward for the viewer for helping solve the crime. And that is really why these stories are so popular; everyone likes to play cops and killers, thinking they are smart or tough enough to solve the case.
The Naked City is set in New York City and the setting is almost a character in itself. This is thanks to the award winning cinematography of the film which captures the feel of the city. There is also a strange narration to the film which is at times a little off putting. The problem is that the narrator doesn't really have anything insightful to say to add to the film; if anything it detracts from it. Other than that though, I'd have to say that this film is an enjoyable watch and a solid early example of the police procedural that we've all grown accustomed to.
Grade: B-
Back in the day I used to watch Law and Order reruns on TNT basically every day during that lull in TV programming right before NBA action. Everybody likes a good police procedural as evidenced by all the Law and Order, CSI, NCIS, Criminal Mind type shows out there. The Naked City is labeled as a film noir but it is basically a 90 minute episode of one of these shows.
A woman is killed by two men in her apartment. We must figure out who it is and take the step by step process in uncovering the crime. There is minimal side story or extraneous action; it is all about the investigation which feels like how they might have done it back in the day.
The investigation is interesting but nothing out of the ordinary; it's all about exhausting leads and questioning witnesses. It's a slow moving case that picks up steam as more secrets and clues are revealed until the explosive finale where they finally get their man. This final chase is actually quite fantastic and feels almost like a Hitchcock film, a nice reward for the viewer for helping solve the crime. And that is really why these stories are so popular; everyone likes to play cops and killers, thinking they are smart or tough enough to solve the case.
The Naked City is set in New York City and the setting is almost a character in itself. This is thanks to the award winning cinematography of the film which captures the feel of the city. There is also a strange narration to the film which is at times a little off putting. The problem is that the narrator doesn't really have anything insightful to say to add to the film; if anything it detracts from it. Other than that though, I'd have to say that this film is an enjoyable watch and a solid early example of the police procedural that we've all grown accustomed to.
Grade: B-
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