City of God Blu-ray offers solid video and superb audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
Cidade de Deus (City of God) is a housing project built in the 1960's that--in the early 80's-
-became one of the most dangerous places in Rio de Janeiro. The tale tells the stories of
many characters whose lives sometimes intersect. However, all is seen through the eyes of
a singular narrator: Busca-Pé, a poor black youth too frail and scared to become an outlaw,
but also too smart to be content with underpaid, menial jobs. He grows up in a very violent
environment. The odds are all against him. But Busca-Pé soon discovers that he can see
reality differently than others. His redemption is that he's been given an artist's point of
view as a keen-eyed photographer. As Busca-Pé is not the real protagonist of the film--only
the narrator--he is not the one who makes the decisions that will determine the sequence of
events. Nevertheless, not only his life is attached to what happens in the story, but it is also
through Busca-Pé's perspective of life that one can understand the complicated layers and
humanity of a world, apparently condemned to endless violence.
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 Canadian distributors Alliance. The only supplemental feature on the disc is the documentary film "News From a Personal War". In Portuguese, with imposed English or French subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Li'l Ze's soldiers
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 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.
With the exception of Buscape, none of the main characters in City of God are likeable. 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.
City of God also oozes with style that 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.
City of God works best when everything in it 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.
Note: 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.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer,
Fernando Meirelles' City of God arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Canadian distributors Alliance.
This is a pleasing but somewhat inconsistent high-definition transfer. Generally speaking, fine object detail is good. The close-ups, even the ones during the extremely dark nighttime footage, look very good. Contrast levels fluctuate dramatically from episode to episode, but they reflect the director's intent. The color-scheme is impossible to evaluate as there are a number of different manipulations throughout the entire film - blues, yellows, reds, greens, browns and blacks appear in all sorts of different variations. Some random minor noise corrections have been applied. Most of the early episodes in the film, however, convey a very strong intentional faded look, and many of these noise corrections could be difficult to spot. Mild edge-enhancement occasionally pops up here and there. However, macroblocking, which was a very serious issue of concern with the old Miramax SDVD release of this film, is nowhere to be seen. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. Finally, while viewing the film I noticed a few tiny flecks popping up here and there. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Alliance have provided imposed English and French subtitles for the main feature. This means that the film can be viewed either with imposed English or imposed French subtitles. The film cannot be viewed without selecting one of the two options.
The Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a good enough reason to strongly recommend this Blu-ray disc. Its dynamic amplitude is excellent - the bass is powerful, rich and punchy, the surround channels intelligently used (during the mass shootouts, there are some terrific surround effects), and the high-frequencies not overdone. The dialog could be somewhat chaotic at times, but it is still rather easy to follow. Additionally, there are no serious balance issues with Ed
Cortes and Antonio Pinto's soundtrack. I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.
The Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks is unimpressive. It most certainly does not match the dynamic intensity of the Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track (compare the opening shootout scene where Li'l Ze's thugs chase the chicken).
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, with imposed English subtitles. (57 min, 480/60i).
Fernando Meirelles'City of God has already achieved something of a cult status - but, arguably, for all the wrong reasons. Canadian distributors Alliance have put together a competent package, which should please fans of City of God in North America. RECOMMENDED.
British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment will release on Blu-ray Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles' Cidade de Deus a.k.a City of God (2002). Technical specs and region coding status for this release are unknown at the moment, but the preliminary street ...
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