Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
La Città si Difende (1951)
Director: Pietro Germi
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Four men steal the takings from a football stadium. They split up, and homegrown neo-realism is crossed with Hollywood-style noir, as one by one they try and fail to break out of the big, unforgiving city. Germi is so determined to forge ahead from one set-piece to the next that his gallery of femmes fatales, predatory underworld figures and grim-faced police barely register as characters, except via little cameos (a cop's look of distaste as he picks up a discarded bra). Visually exciting, but superficial; few will be able to resist mentally replacing the cast with more familiar Hollywood analogues - the Burt Lancaster dumb ox, the Sal Mineo weakling, etc.Author: BBa
Cast & crew
Director: Pietro Germi
Producer: Carlo Civallero
Cast: Renato Baldini, Fausto Tozzi, Paul Müller, Enzo Maggio, Gina Lollobrigida, Tamara Lees full cast
Genre(s): Film Noir
Duration: 85 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'
Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now