Night And The City - Britmovie

Carterh · 23-01-2004, 01:48 AM

Anyone know if 'Night and the City' starring Richard Widmark is available on DVD anywhere?

C

Hackett · 23-01-2004, 03:49 PM

Don't think you can get it on DVD, but it has been on Sky Cinema recently. Maybe someone taped it?, in which case you could ask a real nice chap (like Lance the cook) to do you a copy.

Carterh · 25-01-2004, 01:51 PM

thanks for that. Yes I saw the end of it on Sky at a friends house. I'll ask around. Why are all the good movies never available on DVD, just crap?

C

Hackett · 25-01-2004, 07:46 PM

Why do people always answer a wrong number?. That stupid if you ask me. WHY! do you have to trawl through so much crap released every month to find just one gem?.

Steve Crook · 25-01-2004, 11:57 PM

Blackstar offer a good service where you can set up a watch-list of artists (actors or directors) you're interested in. They then list all the forthcoming releases involving those people.

They don't send you an email alert about them (which would be better), you have to go to the web page every so often.

Once you've got an account set up with them and are logged in, from their main page (or most others) click on the "My Shop" tab and then the "My Watchlist" link.

Steve

Carterh · 26-01-2004, 04:32 PM

Thanks Steve I tried Blackstar, quite useful. I'd never heard about this service before.

C

jimsigs · 09-11-2004, 11:36 PM

Hi All,

An interesting and probably useless information occurence happened to me way back in 1949/50.
I was home on leave from the Army Apprentice School in Harrogate (boy soldiers 15 to 18 years old), and waiting to meet my Uncle in Trafalgar Square. But then I saw Richard Widmark and ran across the road for his autograph. The next thing I heard was a loud voice who shouted out 'CUT - SOMEONE GET THAT BOY OUT OF THE WAY' What I had done was to run across the road during a scene.
I then saw my Uncle and we quickly got lost.
Never did see the film.

Jim

sanndevil · 10-11-2004, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Carterh:
thanks for that. Yes I saw the end of it on Sky at a friends house. I'll ask around. Why are all the good movies never available on DVD, just crap?

C

Hi there - I taped it on to DVD-R, so unless it has rotted (like some of my collection on this so-called wonder technology!) I should be able to copy it for you. I prefer to trade rather than f*rt around with payments, so if you have a list that would be good. Send me a private E-mail and we can sort something out.

Cheers
Nigel

JamesM · 10-11-2004, 12:24 PM

20th Century Fox are considering releasing this film on DVD in the UK. I have written to them to suggest releasing this and Thieves' Highway on DVD, both directed by Jules Dassin. As surviving cast and crew members of both these films reside in Europe (including director Jules Dassin and actress Valentina Cortese), I have made a few audio commentary suggestions.

Paul E · 10-11-2004, 01:17 PM

Off topic slightly but I've always felt it such a pity that a British version of this wonderful book about the demi-monde of late 30s Soho has never been made.

JamesM · 12-11-2004, 09:46 PM

If you are talking of Night and the City, there is a non-British version starring Robert De Niro, but the version we talk of is British in that it is set in London and (apart from Mr Widmark) has a Britsh cast and crew (apart from director Jules Dassin).

DB7 · 17-01-2005, 10:24 AM

Soho noir

Jules Dassin's Night and the City (1950)

Andrew Pulver
Saturday January 15, 2005
The Guardian

Author: Gerald Kersh (1911-68) was born into a large Jewish immigrant family in Teddington, Middlesex, and, after a string of odd jobs, published his first novel, Jews Without Jehovah, in 1934. (Four of his relations subsequently sued him for defamation after claiming he based characters on them.) Night and the City appeared in 1938. Kersh combined prolific short story writing with lucrative freelance journalism, before seeing service during the second world war. After being wounded, he was asked by the War Office to write a propaganda book about basic training; it became the bestselling They Died With Their Boots Clean (1941). After the war, Kersh moved abroad, settling in the US where he continued to write and, despite serious illness, completed Fowler's End (1957), a scabrous account of a London cinema owner. But his commercial successes were well behind him and he died of throat cancer in 1968.
The story: Soho wideboy Harry Fabian is the protagonist of a story set during the run-up to George VI's coronation in 1937. Accoutred with a fake American accent, flashy suits and a prostitute girlfriend, Fabian develops a scheme to promote wrestling, by persuading a retired veteran, Ali the Terrible Turk, to take on the Greek wrestler Kration. He also entices a club hostess, Helen, away from her sculptor boyfriend. But Fabian's wrestling scheme unravels when Ali dies shortly after the bout, and, chronically short of cash, he plans to sell his girl to a "white slaver". Before he can put any more schemes into action, however, Fabian is arrested as part of a pre-coronation clean-up.

Film-makers: Jules Dassin (b1911) started off in a Yiddish workers' theatre in New York, before being hired by MGM as a contract director in 1941. He was fired by Louis B Mayer, however, and as an independent had a huge success with The Naked City (1948). But Dassin ran into problems with the McCarthy-era blacklist, and was sent to Britain to make Night and the City by producer Darryl F Zanuck, who also supplied an American lead: Richard Widmark, then best known for heavies like Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death (1947) and Jefty Robbins in Road House (1948). Dassin's Hollywood career ended in 1952 - his next film would be the French thriller Rififi (1955).

How book and film compare: Kersh's novel is radically refashioned. Fabian is no longer a fake-to-the-core Brit, but an American outsider trying to break in. The wrestling element is retained, presumably for its gritty, noirish value, but it is now made the subject of a revenge plot - the veteran grappler is the father of a rival promoter, and his death the trigger for Fabian's own dramatic killing. At the last minute Dassin wrote in a role for Gene Tierney, star of Laura (1944), and invented a new girlfriend for Fabian, a nightclub singer. Fabian also becomes entangled with the club-owner's wife, played by Googie Withers, who wants to set up her own establishment.

Inspirations and influences: Night and the City is a key entry in the small band of British films noirs, alongside Brighton Rock (1947), They Made Me a Fugitive (1947) and The Third Man (1949). Though it was received poorly by critics (Dilys Powell called it "as British as Sing-Sing"), it remains the genre's most definitive treatment of the London landscape. Kersh's influence extends elsewhere: his 1943 short story The Horrible Dummy inspired the ventriloquist's dummy section in Dead of Night (1945).

rollotomassi · 18-01-2005, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Carterh:
Anyone know if 'Night and the City' starring Richard Widmark is available on DVD anywhere?

C

Night and the City and Thieves Highway are being released to DVD by those wonderful boys at Criterion on Region 1 on 22 February.

Here's the link to the release info...

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=274

Carterh · 09-03-2005, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rollo@Jan 18 2005, 06:56 PM
Night and the City and Thieves Highway are being released to DVD by those wonderful boys at Criterion on Region 1 on 22 February.

Here's the link to the release info...

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=274

Yup, I got the Criterion version. Bloody expensive, but bloody good.

claudia · 13-08-2005, 12:10 AM

Hello everybody !
I am brand new here,and just a huge film fan of both British and American film.

I am looking for the version of Night And The City without the music direction
of Franz Waxman.
My Dvd player can play all codes..

I really want this version badly.
It's a little different with different music styles completly.

Anybody know of how I could get a copy or the real thing ?
Thanks in advance..

Claudia

23-01-2004, 01:48 AM	#1
Carterh has no status. Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Glasgow Posts: 83 Country: iTrader: (0)	'Night and the City' Anyone know if 'Night and the City' starring Richard Widmark is available on DVD anywhere? C

25-01-2004, 11:57 PM	#5
Steve Crook is still cheeky Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: London Posts: 9,630 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (1)	Blackstar offer a good service where you can set up a watch-list of artists (actors or directors) you're interested in. They then list all the forthcoming releases involving those people. They don't send you an email alert about them (which would be better), you have to go to the web page every so often. Once you've got an account set up with them and are logged in, from their main page (or most others) click on the "My Shop" tab and then the "My Watchlist" link. Steve __________________ Steve Crook PaPAS

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23-01-2004, 03:49 PM	#2
Hackett has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: England Posts: 765 Country: iTrader: (0)	Don't think you can get it on DVD, but it has been on Sky Cinema recently. Maybe someone taped it?, in which case you could ask a real nice chap (like Lance the cook) to do you a copy.

25-01-2004, 01:51 PM	#3
Carterh has no status. Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Glasgow Posts: 83 Country: iTrader: (0)	thanks for that. Yes I saw the end of it on Sky at a friends house. I'll ask around. Why are all the good movies never available on DVD, just crap? C

25-01-2004, 07:46 PM	#4
Hackett has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: England Posts: 765 Country: iTrader: (0)	Why do people always answer a wrong number?. That stupid if you ask me. WHY! do you have to trawl through so much crap released every month to find just one gem?.

26-01-2004, 04:32 PM	#6
Carterh has no status. Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Glasgow Posts: 83 Country: iTrader: (0)	Thanks Steve I tried Blackstar, quite useful. I'd never heard about this service before. C

09-11-2004, 11:36 PM	#7
jimsigs has no status. Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 9 iTrader: (0)	Hi All, An interesting and probably useless information occurence happened to me way back in 1949/50. I was home on leave from the Army Apprentice School in Harrogate (boy soldiers 15 to 18 years old), and waiting to meet my Uncle in Trafalgar Square. But then I saw Richard Widmark and ran across the road for his autograph. The next thing I heard was a loud voice who shouted out 'CUT - SOMEONE GET THAT BOY OUT OF THE WAY' What I had done was to run across the road during a scene. I then saw my Uncle and we quickly got lost. Never did see the film. Jim

10-11-2004, 12:24 PM	#9
JamesM has no status. Moderator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: London Posts: 1,413 Country: iTrader: (0)	20th Century Fox are considering releasing this film on DVD in the UK. I have written to them to suggest releasing this and Thieves' Highway on DVD, both directed by Jules Dassin. As surviving cast and crew members of both these films reside in Europe (including director Jules Dassin and actress Valentina Cortese), I have made a few audio commentary suggestions.

10-11-2004, 01:17 PM	#10
Paul E has no status. Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 50 iTrader: (0)	Off topic slightly but I've always felt it such a pity that a British version of this wonderful book about the demi-monde of late 30s Soho has never been made.

12-11-2004, 09:46 PM	#11
JamesM has no status. Moderator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: London Posts: 1,413 Country: iTrader: (0)	If you are talking of Night and the City, there is a non-British version starring Robert De Niro, but the version we talk of is British in that it is set in London and (apart from Mr Widmark) has a Britsh cast and crew (apart from director Jules Dassin).

17-01-2005, 10:24 AM	#12
DB7 is just Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Shrops Posts: 6,053 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (10)	Soho noir Jules Dassin's Night and the City (1950) Andrew Pulver Saturday January 15, 2005 The Guardian Author: Gerald Kersh (1911-68) was born into a large Jewish immigrant family in Teddington, Middlesex, and, after a string of odd jobs, published his first novel, Jews Without Jehovah, in 1934. (Four of his relations subsequently sued him for defamation after claiming he based characters on them.) Night and the City appeared in 1938. Kersh combined prolific short story writing with lucrative freelance journalism, before seeing service during the second world war. After being wounded, he was asked by the War Office to write a propaganda book about basic training; it became the bestselling They Died With Their Boots Clean (1941). After the war, Kersh moved abroad, settling in the US where he continued to write and, despite serious illness, completed Fowler's End (1957), a scabrous account of a London cinema owner. But his commercial successes were well behind him and he died of throat cancer in 1968. The story: Soho wideboy Harry Fabian is the protagonist of a story set during the run-up to George VI's coronation in 1937. Accoutred with a fake American accent, flashy suits and a prostitute girlfriend, Fabian develops a scheme to promote wrestling, by persuading a retired veteran, Ali the Terrible Turk, to take on the Greek wrestler Kration. He also entices a club hostess, Helen, away from her sculptor boyfriend. But Fabian's wrestling scheme unravels when Ali dies shortly after the bout, and, chronically short of cash, he plans to sell his girl to a "white slaver". Before he can put any more schemes into action, however, Fabian is arrested as part of a pre-coronation clean-up. Film-makers: Jules Dassin (b1911) started off in a Yiddish workers' theatre in New York, before being hired by MGM as a contract director in 1941. He was fired by Louis B Mayer, however, and as an independent had a huge success with The Naked City (1948). But Dassin ran into problems with the McCarthy-era blacklist, and was sent to Britain to make Night and the City by producer Darryl F Zanuck, who also supplied an American lead: Richard Widmark, then best known for heavies like Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death (1947) and Jefty Robbins in Road House (1948). Dassin's Hollywood career ended in 1952 - his next film would be the French thriller Rififi (1955). How book and film compare: Kersh's novel is radically refashioned. Fabian is no longer a fake-to-the-core Brit, but an American outsider trying to break in. The wrestling element is retained, presumably for its gritty, noirish value, but it is now made the subject of a revenge plot - the veteran grappler is the father of a rival promoter, and his death the trigger for Fabian's own dramatic killing. At the last minute Dassin wrote in a role for Gene Tierney, star of Laura (1944), and invented a new girlfriend for Fabian, a nightclub singer. Fabian also becomes entangled with the club-owner's wife, played by Googie Withers, who wants to set up her own establishment. Inspirations and influences: Night and the City is a key entry in the small band of British films noirs, alongside Brighton Rock (1947), They Made Me a Fugitive (1947) and The Third Man (1949). Though it was received poorly by critics (Dilys Powell called it "as British as Sing-Sing"), it remains the genre's most definitive treatment of the London landscape. Kersh's influence extends elsewhere: his 1943 short story The Horrible Dummy inspired the ventriloquist's dummy section in Dead of Night (1945).

13-08-2005, 12:10 AM	#15
claudia has no status. Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Oregon USA Posts: 6 Country: iTrader: (0)	Hello everybody ! I am brand new here,and just a huge film fan of both British and American film. I am looking for the version of Night And The City without the music direction of Franz Waxman. My Dvd player can play all codes.. I really want this version badly. It's a little different with different music styles completly. Anybody know of how I could get a copy or the real thing ? Thanks in advance.. Claudia