The Naked City Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Naked City Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 25, 2020

Jules Dassin's "The Naked City" (1948) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include archival interview with professor Dana Polan; archival interview with author James Sanders; archival promotional materials; and more. Also included with the release is a14-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Luc Sante, reprinted notes by producer Mark Hellinger, and technical and production credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"Just between ourselves... You never told your fiancée what good friends you and Miss Dexter were, did you?"

When beautiful model Jean Dexter is murdered in her apartment, detectives Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald, Going My Way) and Jimmy Halloran (Don Taylor, Stalag 17) begin asking questions. One of the model’s best friends, Frank Niles (Howard Duff, While the City Sleeps), a handsome playboy who likes to tell lies, becomes their primary suspect.

Niles is questioned by Muldoon, who quickly discovers that he is a seasoned thief. He then exposes some of his lies to his fiancée, Ruth Morrison (Dorothy Hart, Tarzan's Savage Fury), and when she realizes that she never knew the man she was planning to marry, she panics. Around the same time, someone tries to kill Niles.

Embarrassed but determined to prove that he has nothing to do with Dexter's murder, Niles leads Muldoon and Halloran to a well-respected doctor (House Jameson, The Swimmer) who helped him and a second man named Garzah (Ted de Corsia, The Killing) who has targeted and robbed some of his clients. When the detectives attempt to track down the second man, all hell breaks loose.

There are a couple of things that separate Jules Dassin’s The Naked City from other film noirs from the 1940s. First, it is the structure of its story and the manner in which the murder case is described and solved. The film is narrated by producer Mark Hellinger -- the man behind such classic film noirs as Raoul Walsh’s They Drive by Night and Robert Siodmak’s The Killers -- who constantly guides the viewer and points out important details. These casual descriptions infuse the film with a sense of intimacy that forces the viewer to trust the narrator and focus on the mechanics of the investigation process rather than the evolving relationships between the main characters.

The overwhelming majority of the film was also shot on location in New York City, often amidst large crowds of people who were completely unaware that somewhere there was a camera rolling. Unsurprisingly, large portions of it feel as if they were extracted from a documentary feature about life in a booming metropolis that no longer exists. Especially during the second half, where the detectives go after Garzah, the viewer can easily feel its rhythm. (There is a wonderful video piece on this release in which critic and lifelong New Yorker Amy Taubin explains in great detail how drastically her city has changed since Dassin's film).

The acting is somewhat uneven, but this is something that actually works quite well for the type of film The Naked City is. More elegant acting likely would have made the footage mentioned earlier look and feel completely out of sync with the rest of the film.

The Naked City was photographed by William Daniels, whose innovative work won him an Oscar Award for Best Cinematography. Daniels' credits also include such classic films as Dassin's Brute Force, Henry Koster’s Harvey, Richard Brooks’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Lewis Milestone’s Ocean's 11.

The energetic orchestral score was composed by Miklós Rózsa (Ben-Hur, Double Indemnity) and Frank Skinner (Black Angel, Written on the Wind).

The Naked City Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Naked City arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new 4K digital restoration was undertaken by TLEFilms Film Restoration & Preservation Services in Berlin using footage from four separate elements -- primarily a 35mm nitrate fine-grain master positive from the British Film Institute and a safety duplicate negative -- transferred via two film scanners, an IMAGICA Imager XE Advanced Plus and a Scanity HDR. Digital restoration was performed using the Pixel Farm's PFClean 2017 and Foundry's Furnace 4. The soundtrack was remastered primarily from the 35mm nitrate fine-grain variable -density soundtrack, as well as the 35mm original sound negative. TLEFilms performed the sound restoration using iZotope's RX and Ozone.

Restoration supervisor: Torsten Kaiser/TLEFilms Film Restoration & Preservation Services, Berlin.
Colorist: Roland Fliss/PostFactory GmbH, Berlin.
Restoration produced by Master Licensing, Inc.
Producer: Simon Brook.
Executive producers: Andrew Garroni, Lauren Garroni."

Despite the fact that the 4K restoration incorporates footage from multiple sources -- additional details about the project can be seen in the screenshots -- the overall consistency of the visuals is outstanding. Of course the native fluctuations that are part of the original cinematography remain, but the quality of the visuals is very impressive. The grading job is equally impressive. There are excellent ranges of grays, whites, and blacks that enhance the perception of depth. (Viewed in native 4K, the new restoration probably looks gorgeous). Furthermore, the entire film now looks a lot healthier than it does on this Region-B release. It is cleaner and boasting improved stability. There are no encoding anomalies to report in our review. Excellent restoration. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Naked City Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did some comparisons with the lossless track from the Region-B release of the film. The audio sounds slightly more but still noticeably 'opened up', in some areas boasting healthier clarity as well. However, the dynamic intensity remains the same. (It is quite modest too, so do not expect to hear any memorable dynamic contrasts). There are no encoding anomalies to report.

The Naked City Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Jules Dassin at LACMA - presented here is footage from Jules Dassin's appearance at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in April 2004. The director recalls how he was offered to shoot Rififi, his initial impressions of Auguste Le Breton's novel which inspired it, and his discussions with composer Georges Auric during and after the shooting process, and discusses his relationship with producers Mark Hellinger and Darryl F. Zanuck, the shooting of The Naked City in New York City, etc. The footage also appears on Criterion's DVD release. In English, not subtitled. (41 min, 1080i).

• James Sanders - in this archival interview, author James Sanders (Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies), who is the co-writer of Ric Barns' documentary series New York, discusses how Jules Dassin's film has preserved the authentic image of 1940s New York. The interview was conducted in 2006. In English, not subtitled. (27 min, 1080i).

• Dana Polan - in this archival interview, New York University film studies professor Dana Polan discusses the 'blandness and directness' of The Naked City, the 'little eccentricity' of its characters, and the social fabric of the city as depicted in the film. In English, not subtitled. (29 min, 1080i).

• Stills Gallery - presented here is a collection of production stills, posters, and rare behind the scenes photos from the shooting of The Naked City. (6 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary - in this audio commentary, writer Malvin Wald, who wrote the original story that inspired The Naked City and worked on the script for the film, discusses his contribution to it, Jules Dassin's directing style and precisely how various parts of the film were shot in New York City, the social overtones in the film as well as the blacklisting of its director and other cast and crew members, the unique structure of the story, etc. This audio commentary was also included on Criterion's DVD release of The Naked City.

• Booklet - 14-page illustrated booklet featuring "New York Plays Itself" by Luc Sante, "Notes on a Chase Sequence - The Naked City" by producer Mark Hellinger, and technical and production credits.

The Naked City Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is not the murder case or its resolution but the on-location shooting and authentic atmosphere that make Jules Dassin's The Naked City such a unique film. And this is why it is still so fascinating to behold -- it offers a raw glimpse at a booming metropolis that no longer exists. Criterion's upcoming release if sourced from a brand new 4K restoration that was completed by TLEFilms in Berlin. It is the best technical presentation of the film that I have seen to date. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.