City Of God DVD

Advantages: Gritty realism, strong acting, and impressive inter-woven narratives
Disadvantages: Subtitled so may put some viewers off

...which is present within the City of God, and is not through a skill which he has learnt through education, but instead one that he has developed throughout his years in the favela. Also, when one of the Tender Trio tries to flee the favela with his girlfriend, he is promptly shot dead on his journey out and although his girlfriend drives into the distance, it is without her hood boyfriend who is left dead as the taxi pulls away with her in tears. ...
...most feared person in the City of God for a considerable number of years, this being L'il Ze, is shot dead by the young group of hoods that call themselves 'The Runts.' This is a group of children that see violence as the norm as they have never seen anything different. They have been brought up with violence all their lives so see this lifestyle as the only life choice that they can make, they see no way out of this role as criminals as is presented ... Read review

Advantages: Superb Brazilian film depicting life for the children of The City Of God.
Disadvantages: It'll get ignored at the Oscars because there's subtitles and you have to think.

...the street. Welcome to the City Of God. City Of God was released in January of 2003, so long ago that the few people who have seen it can’t remember a great deal about it. Despite it being pretty anonymous it has still managed to make most Magazines and Newspapers films of the year list, beating expensive blockbusters like Pirates Of The Caribbean to a pulp. It received rave reviews upon release being referred to in most critiques as a masterpiece, ...
...The plot of City Of God follows the lives of the young inhabitants in the notorious slum from early childhood to early adulthood. Wide reaching in scope, the narrative moves from one character to the next filling in their back- story and relationships. Comparisons to Goodfellas become obvious (if a little lazy) from the outset as the story relies on voiceover and chapter headings to give the film an epic feel. The film was made by Director Fernando ... Read review

Advantages: Gritty, realistic, eye-opening film.
Disadvantages: Extremely violent, subtitles may put some people off.

City of God (Ciodade de Deus) is a Brazilian film with English subtitles. As with any subtitled film, watching is not a relaxing experience, as you need to be alert and you need to pay attention 100% of the time. This may put some people off, but watching this film, by its very nature, was never going to be a relaxing experience. The story begins in the 1960s. Set in Brazil’s “City of God” – the most notorious slum in the world, our narrator is ...
...every day occurrence in the City of God, and even at an early age, the children are used to the sight of hold-ups and shootings. Rocket, however, is not drawn to a life of crime, and instead dreams of becoming a photographer. His older brother is part of a gang of ‘hoods’ (hoodlums): the Tender Trio, three local teenage boys who are some of the most violent, feared and notorious criminals in the area. The younger brother of one of the trio, Li’l ... Read review

Advantages: Great acting, great story
Disadvantages: It is a foreign language film so may not appeal to everyone

...‘City of God’. The City of God is in fact a place in Rio de Janeiro. It is the most run down and crime filled place in Brazil. This is worsened by the press coverage the place gets. It is always talk of the bad aspects and never the plight of the people that live there. Therefore, the setting of the film is based around these slums and the characters that live within them. The central character of the film is called ‘Rocket’. He is a teenage boy ...
...through the streets of the City of God after it. Then, the Police come and poor Rocket ends up stuck in the middle of a slight stand off between the two. At this point, however, the film freezes and a voice over comes in. It is Rocket’s voice and so he is our narrator. He tells the story of the City of God as far as he can remember it or should I say since his early childhood. The first part of the flashback shows us some younger boys playing football, ... Read review

Advantages: Gripping, intense, thought provoking - superb
Disadvantages: May be too disturbing for some

...is the reality of the City of God. Rocket captures scenes of the final battle and other incriminating happenings on film which secures him his job with a newspaper and exit pass from Cidade de Deus. I have given away enough of the plot and anyway I cannot do justice to the way in which the stories are so cleverly interleaved. There are many characters I have not mentioned and many other stories but the number of characters and the complexity of ...
...The horrifying reality of the City of God is that these are ordinairy poor people trying to carve out a life in a madness where children carry guns and are not afraid to use them. Technically the film is brilliantly made. It tells an extremely coherent story with a large cast and a dizzying onrush of scenes. It makes use of dissolves and jump cuts, fast cutting, freeze-frames, and speeded up film to condense events without loss of vividness and ... Read review