Le Mani sulla Città

Rosi on property development rackets and political manoeuvring in the Naples city council is every bit as tough and forthright as Rosi on Sicily (Salvatore Giuliano) and on oil diplomacy (The Mattei Affair). His film follows the irresistible rise of the speculator Nottola (Steiger, excellently cast) as he channels the public building programme on to his own land, shrugs off the collapse of a slum tenement in an area that needs redevelopment, and cold-bloodedly shifts the balance of power in the council to his own advantage. It's not only totally convincing as an analysis of civic corruption, but also one of the very few left wing movies that one can imagine actually reaching the mass audience it's aimed at.