SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

crystallogic Well, this is for sure one of the coolest films I discovered in 2017. I was also discovering Gerald Kersh's writing at this time, and I read that there was a film based on his novel of the same name (which I still haven't read, incidentally), that some people considered a classic of noir. I expected good things, but the film in fact surpassed my expectations.Harry Fabian. Wow, you could talk quite a bit about a guy like this, and you probably know someone a bit like him. He's really bad news, yet somehow manages to be strangely, almost, likable despite himself. Maybe much of this is down to Richard Widmark's portrayal, which is manic and infectious, like that of an intense and earnest salesman, one who might surprise you sometimes by bursting into a silly song and hopping around with completely un-self-conscious glee. Apparently the book harry is nastier, but the thing is, when you get to the bottom of Widmark-Harry's schemes, he is really a rotten bastard and you know you should hate him for being such a user of people and an abuser of trust. Yet somehow, I think, you can't quite bring yourself to despise him as much as he obviously deserves, and I think that's interesting. Harry is always looking for the "next big thing", so he can get "in on the deal". He's full of big ideas. Most of them are total bullshit, but a guy like harry might just be able to string people along for long enough to get away with it, right under their noses, so to speak. You have to think, too, that the guy is probably kind of insane. There's that scene where Harry comes breathlessly into Mr. Nosseros's place, saying, "I'll control wrestling!", and Nosseros finds this so deleeriously crazy and amusing that he explodes with laughter right in Harry's face, and can't stop. Harry though -- he just keeps on talking, raising his voice to combat being laughed at, until he's shrieking! It's wild.So Harry is at the centre of all this, but there are actually a whole load of great, memorable characters in this thing. The fat, jovial and fiendish Mr. nosseros, for instance; his scheming, frustrated wife Helen; and, of course, the unforgettable Gregorius, played by real-life wrestling champion Stanislaus Zbyszko. Now, I like to imagine kersh was pleased with this movie (even though they apparently have changed quite a few things), and one of the reasons is Zbyszko's involvement. I like to think, as a fan of wrestling himself, he would have been chuffed that the old guy ended up in one of his stories. Well, Stanislaus Zbyszko supposedly never acted before, but he nailed this, utterly. His character is both tragic and extremely sympathetic; his death absolutely one of the most poignant things about this film, and the moment that marks Harry's going over the line and beyond redemption.Speaking of wrestling ... The Scene. If this kind of film isn't really your thing, I guess this one scene of Gregorius and "The Strangler" having it out is going to be the thing that'll stick in your mind. It's a hell of a scene, really, and goes on for several minutes. It's all done completely without music, and you can hear every grunt and smash, see every detail and almost *feel* the power of the struggle. It's incredibly visceral, I think, for an English/American film of 1950.Another interesting facet of this classic is that there are two versions. The American cut seems better in most respects, but i think the British one has superior music, and it also includes a great early domestic scene between Widmark and Gene Tierney that is rendered a perfunctory nothing in the American cut (actually it's a completely different scene). There's an informative documentary that comes on the DVD which explains a lot of detail about the two versions and how they differ. I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, for some reason.The casting is of course great, and I haven't even mentioned some of the highlights of that aspect of the film. Only trouble is, a few of these people are dreadfully underused. I personally wouldn't have minded if the film were half an hour longer, but that's probably because I appreciate the world and characters of its creation so much. Besides, I can't really think the film would have been drastically improved by giving Gene more to do, for instance. Another thing I have to note is that there are probably a few too many Americans in the cast. Nothing's really wrong with that, of course, but the film is supposed to take place in (and indeed was shot in) England, and the juxtaposition of notable English performers with less-experienced American ones putting on an accent is a bit obvious. Don't worry though; Widmark just talks like Widmark and doesn't try to sound like a Brit.

Ilpo Hirvonen "Night and the city. The city: London. The night is tonight, tomorrow night, any night." This is the opening line from Jules Dassin's "Night and the City" (1950) and, in fact, works as an excellent summary of the film-noir philosophy and the director's desolate yet honest pessimism which shaped the genre. However, as it is an extremely dark film, it's still very nice to look at because it's one of the most stylish film- noirs ever made. It's a perfect place to begin studying the genre since it presents the stylistics of film-noir as seen through a dim glass. The film begins with the protagonist, Harry Fabian, a desperate man who wants to make it big, running in the streets of the night. He is constantly on the run and, as a matter of fact, later on refers to his whole life as "running away" from something. His girlfriend tries to help him to settle down, and his neighbor characterizes him as "an artist without an art." He's a tortured soul who wants to be somebody. Although it seems that Harry ruthlessly exploits other people and is only seeking for a quick way to get rich, one can't blame him for wanting to make it big: since money really is the only form of happiness the world has ever taught him. In such a cold world even love is hard to be accepted as it is. All in all, Harry is in pursuit of a good life -- nothing more.Cynic misanthropy is the word one wants to use to describe Dassin's world view in the film. All the people lie, cheat and only seem to think of their own benefit. This bleak milieu, which is also veritably social, exhales aggressive steam while power -- an abstract force -- strangles its residents in an unforgiving grip. The kings of this world are those who cheat, but not all crooks succeed for one also needs luck. Businessmen sit in their lonely cabinets and don't really differ from common criminals. Nonetheless, they too have their own sorrows to carry: a bored wife or a dying father. Hence, the line between good and evil is never clear to Dassin. In fact, the anti-heroic protagonist isn't really that unpleasant or even bad. He lies to everybody for his own benefit, but we do not hate him. Perhaps Dassin and all of us truly relate to him and his creation of deception which slowly begins to collapse. Perhaps we see that anything that is human can't be completely alien to us.In "Night and the City" Dassin takes the style of his American films to its most perfect and brutal form which emerges to us as an extraordinary combination of strong neo-realism (Visconti) and poetic, dream-like (Hitchcock) atmosphere. The starkly precise composition and the dim lighting create a baroque look which is associated with the film's flamboyant themes of doom, vengeance and deception. Heavy contrasts of light and darkness, reflecting moral ambiguity, are present in each shot relaying a sensation of chaotic chance. How each moment can lead to a disaster; how anyone can turn into a cold-blooded beast at any second. Change is a perpetual flow, but the space remains: circumstances change, but the individual has no power whatsoever. He lies in the hands of others. He can't keep up with the run.

classicsoncall For a 1950 film with a title like "Night and the City", I was really expecting more in the way of the noir genre than what the picture delivers. It has some of those elements to be sure, but the story is set in London, and the idea that it veers off into pro wrestling territory seemed a bit bizarre to me. Since it did however, I was genuinely surprised to see an old time wrestling great featured prominently in the picture, Stanislaus Zbyszko. Zbyszko was a genuine mat star in the pre-TV era and a world champion who's name was highly regarded by fans the world over. He doesn't appear that imposing in the movie, but he was seventy one at the time and could still get pretty physical when he had to, as in the wrestling scene with Mike Mazurki. Pretty cool for that reason alone.The role of confidence man seems made to order for someone like Richard Widmark. He revives that sly Tommy Udo cackle from "Kiss of Death" in his characterization of Harry Fabian, the slick talking self-promoter who never misses a chance to hit up anyone in his vicinity for a quick loan on the way to his next big score. In his wake he leaves pretty girlfriend Mary as a bystander in his schemes, notably absent for most of the picture even though Gene Tierney is second billed right behind Widmark.It's the unintended consequences of Harry's haphazard plan to corner the London wrestling scene that keeps this film anchored with one foot in noir territory. It seems Harry's always on the run from one desperate situation to another, and when he crosses Herbert Lom's Kristo character by manipulating the father (Zbyszko), he sets himself up for a final dangerous confrontation. Through it all, Mary remains loyal, even though she had every reason not to be.Say, stay attentive and you'll catch that neat movie marquee that promotes "Escape Me Never" with Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino and Eleanor Parker. I'd be curious how Twentieth Century Fox managed to plug a Warner Brothers flick in one of their pictures but it was probably inadvertent. I think it's neat to catch stuff like that in old films; it makes watching them even more enjoyable.You know, I had a thought about the casting after this was over. Mike Mazurki did a pretty effective job as the Kristo henchman and pro wrestler Strangler in the picture. Back in Stanislaus Zbyszko's heyday there was another champion grappler by the name of Ed 'Strangler' Lewis. I'm not sure if they ever wrestled each other although it would have been likely since they were contemporaries. It would have been cool to see Zbyszko against the 'real' Strangler here; I wonder if anyone thought of it.

ZachFrances1990 A Film Noir is only as good as its city is corrupt. Night and the City presents the darkest. A Film Noir is only as tender as its women are vicious. A Film Noir is only as poignant as its hero is perilous. Meet Harry Fabian. Many disregard the character as unlikable, but I like to think of him as the most easily accessible protagonist in all of Film Noir. Richard Widmark, in his Kiss Of Death best, gives a bold, honest, engaging and truly sympathetic performance. I think when most watch Film Noir, they forget all about empathy, to truly fall in love with Night and the City, you must first empathize with its hero. Have you ever been so desperate you'd do almost anything? I have. Have you ever been so deep in a hole that it could very well become your grave? I have. Have you ever loved someone so much that you'd do anything to give her world? I have. Have you ever wanted to be somebody. I have. Harry Fabian is the desperate Man immortal. He is the most insecure of all Noir heroes, and the most certain to fail. But we're here, we're with him on his long descent straight to hell. The film's uncanny pacing will make you feel completely helpless, like Fabian ultimately does, and since you are a part of the audience and you are thereby privileged with information kept from Fabian, you become aware of the tragedy that awaits him at the end of his descent, unlike our unfortunate hero, Harry Fabian. Night and the City was directed by the exceptional and overlooked true pioneer of Noir, Jules Dassin. Dassin made a few extremely serene pictures at the very height of Noir, his best was Night and the City. Made shortly before his exile during the Communist Witch Hunts of which he fell victim to in 1952, Night and the City is everything a Film Noir should be, and everything it could have been if the genre's longevity had been harnessed and controlled early on, and if his film wasn't so easily swept aside in its time. And with God as my witness, I profess! Night and the City is better than every movie that has ever been made since then, with the one exception of Alexander Mackendrick's 1957 magnum opus and testament of the cinema Sweet Smell Of Success. Night and the City is one of the greatest films ever made, and also one of the most forgotten. Quite like what we'd expect of Harry Fabian. The way that this film seems lost simply mirrors the themes that made the film so wonderful in the first place, all Harry Fabian wanted to do was to be somebody, to be remembered. Sadly, in both film and history, he never was. And that, that makes Night and the City poetic.