Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

City of God Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 24, 2011

Winner of the Visions Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles' "Cidade de Deus" a.k.a. "City of God" (2002) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include the the documentary film "News From a Personal War" and a conversation with director Fernando Meirelles. In Portuguese, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

In Heaven

Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles’ Cidade de Deus a.k.a. City of God spans three decades -- from the late 1960s to the late 1980s -- and follows a group of characters who live in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. The film is divided into segments and narrated by a young man, Buscape (Alexandre Rodrigues), who dreams of becoming a professional photographer.

The 1960s segment introduces the Tender Trio, a group of young thugs who steal, rob, and kill at will, and one of their admirers, a kid named Dadinho (Douglas Silva). After a supposedly very easy job goes terribly wrong, the Tender Trio are forced to hide in the City of God while Dadinho goes on a killing spree to prove that he is already a man.

The 1970s segment introduces the merciless drug lord Li'l Ze (Leandro Firmino) and his partner Bene (Phellipe Haagensen), who have people working for them all over City of God. Li'l Ze does not get along with Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele), who controls a very small part of City of God, but cannot eliminate him because he is a good friend of Bene. During a wild night out in City of God, Li'l Ze rapes the girlfriend of Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge), a local playboy, who immediately joins Carrot's gang. Meanwhile, Bene is killed, and war breaks out on the streets of City of God. Buscape starts taking pictures.

The final segment in the film is about a lot of different thugs getting killed, and Buscape becoming a professional photographer. In the final third of the film, Buscape's pictures are published in a large local newspaper, and the names of the biggest drug lords in City of God are made public.

Based on Paulo Lins’ novel, Meirelles' City of God is a film that moves at an incredible speed. There are numerous flashbacks in it - most appearing at very unusual places. There is also an enormous amount of hand-held camera footage, which creates a real sense of claustrophobia.

Except for Buscape, none of the main characters in City of God are likable. They feel distant and doomed. Once the violence begins, one gets the feeling that it is only a matter of time before one character is replaced with another.

The visual stylization at times suffocates the narrative. For example, some of the most memorable parts of the film are fractured into little pieces that look like violent video clips. Elsewhere, the hand-held camerawork and fancy cuts and zooms are completely out of control.

The drama in City of God works best when everything is kept simple, from the narration to the visuals. When Buscape quietly explains why people die in City of God, it is easy to believe him. Elsewhere, the fear that one can detect in his voice is a lot more effective than the graphic killings Meirelles’ camera shows.

City of God is not the only film about life in the favelas to gain critical acclaim. In 2008, Jose Padilha’s Tropa de Elite a.k.a Elite Squad won the prestigious Golden Berlin Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film's realistic depiction of police brutality, however, also prompted some well-known critics to dismiss it as a celebration of violence and fascism.

*In 2002, City of God won the Visions Award - Special Citation (Fernando Meirelles) at the Toronto International Film Festival. A year later, the film won six Cinema Brazil Grand Prize awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

City of God Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.84:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fernando Meirelles' City of God arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

If you already have the Canadian Blu-ray release of City of God, there is no need to consider importing the UK Blu-ray release, hoping that the presentation might be stronger. The two releases use different high-definition transfers (look at the aspect ratios), but their basic characteristics are practically identical.

Fine object detail is good, but clarity and contrast fluctuate quite a bit. Obviously, a lot of these fluctuations are intended, but some of the image softness, for instance, clearly has a different origin. Detail and textures are mostly pleasing, particularly during the daylight footage. The nighttime footage, however, looks mostly flat and muted. The color scheme is practically impossible to evaluate, as yellows, blues, grays, and blacks and routinely manipulated. (For what it's worth, the yellows and grays look marginally richer on the Canadian release). Lastly, edge enhancement is not a serious issue of concern. To sum it all up, I like the Canadian release a little bit better because it looks marginally crisper, but the difference is insignificant. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

City of God Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

I am convinced that those of you who have previously seen City of God only on DVD will be very pleased with the Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Not only it boasts a good range of nuanced dynamics, but surround activity is quite effective as well. The dialog is often quite chaotic, but the English subtitles help a lot. For the record, I did not detect any annoying pops, cracks, or dropouts to report in this review.

City of God Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• News From A Personal War - an outstanding documentary film about the favelas, the drug industry in Brazil, and the ongoing war between BOPE and the drug lords. The film contains interviews with various drug traffickers and soldiers. In Portuguese and English, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (57 min, 1080/50i).

• A Conversation With Fernando Meirelles - director Fernando Meirelles explains what inspired him to shoot City of Good. In Portuguese and English, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (11 min, 1080/50i).

City of God Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

English-speaking film collectors residing in Region-B territories finally have a Blu-ray release of Portuguese director Fernando Meirelles's acclaimed City of God, which they can now add to their collections. In terms of quality, the UK Blu-ray release is on par with the Canadian Blu-ray release. RECOMMENDED.