Review of The Naked City (1948) by Ben W — 21 Aug 2007

This is an important film because it borders on several different "categories," if I can use a loathsome term. its almost a noir film but more of a procedural. it shares many common traits with italian neo-realism of the same time period.

but a great deal of its importance in american film lies in its historical context and not so much the style or its explicit intentions. its more interesting to see it as a film that provides us some idea of what the current struggles were.

seeing it as a postwar film causes us to see it differently than we might have otherwise.