| | | Fight and you'll never survive..... Run and you'll never escape.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), Dolby Surround Sound, Documentary, English, Spanish, French Subtitled
Celebrated with worldwide acclaim, this powerful true story of crime and redemption has won numerous prestigious awards around the globe! The streets of the world's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's City of God, are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go, and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, his brave ambition to become a professional photographer becomes a window into his world...and ultimately his way out!
"Like a bomb exploding in a fireworks factory: It's fierce and shocking and dazzling and wonderful." Megan Lehmann, New York Post
"The film is seductive, disturbing, enthralling--a trip to hell that gives the passengers a great ride." Richard Corliss, Time
Editor's Note
Youth gangs took over the slums of Rio de Janiero during the 1960s and didn't relinquish their stronghold until the mid-1980s. Only a sucker wouldn't have turned to crime and this is exactly how naive teen Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) views himself. His attempts in illegal activity fail as he finds potential victims too friendly. Equally unsuccessful in love, he regularly fails to lose his virginity. Blood spills throughout the streets of the Ciudad de Deus as gang leader Li'l Ze (Leandro Firmino da Hora) is challenged by local druglords and a gang of pre-teens known as the Runts. Rocket shoots all of this action with his weapon of choice, a camera.Director Fernando Meirelles combines visual flashiness with dark history in telling the story of three decades of unrest in underground Rio de Janiero. Technically flawless, the Brazilian film uses a rapid-cutting style to flash back and forth in time. Cinematographer Cesar Charlone shoots with an overexposed glow in a film that may seem numb to violence, but reveres photography. Director Meirelles was assisted by Katia Lund, a filmmaker who had previously shot in the Rio ghettos.
| Features | Interactive Menus | | Widescreen Presentation | | Audio: English, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Buena Vista |
| Release Date: 4/28/2009 |
| Running Time: 130 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 3154503 | | UPC: 00786936223897 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: Portuguese | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], Portuguese | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (2004) | | | Cesar Charlone, Nominee, Best Achievement in Cinematography | | | Fernando Meirelles, Nominee, Best Achievement in Directing | | | Daniel Rezende, Nominee, Best Achievement in Editing | | | Braulio Mantovani , Nominee, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...CITY OF GOD conveys the authenticity of a cinema verite scrapbook..." 01/17/2003 p.E13USA Today
"Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles manages a style simultaneously gritty and slick for CITY OF GOD....Even action fans averse to subtitles might do well to check this one out..." 01/17/2003 p.16D Rolling Stone
"...Meirelles is a world-class talent who illuminates every frame of this fresh, ferocious and indelibly moving film. CITY OF GOD has the scent of a classic..." 02/06/2003 p.68 Entertainment Weekly
"...CITY OF GOD pulses with atmosphere and vibrates with authenticity..." 01/24/2003 p.76 Box Office
"...Uncompromising in its realism....Exhilarating movie-making....It's a remarkable achievement..." 01/01/2003 p.54 Movieline's Hollywood Life
"...We're exhilarated by the sheer filmmaking brio on display here. Mereilles and Lund weave all the strands of the story together with breathtaking ease..." 02/01/2003 p.38-9 Los Angeles Times
"CITY OF GOD is a potent and unexpected mixture of authenticity and flash..." 01/17/2003 p.C1 Premiere
"[A] stunning, powerful drama..." 03/01/2004 p.100-2 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 9 of 10
Despite the grim, serious nature of the subject matter, Meirelles unearths occasional moments of hum
Rolling Stone 10 of 10
Meirelles is a world-class talent who illuminates every frame of this fresh, ferocious and indelibly - Peter Travers
Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
City of God churns with furious energy as it plunges into the story of the slum gangs of Rio - Roger Ebert
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