Hands Over the City (1963)

Prior to a city council election, the collapse of a building leaves a land developer and his political backers defending themselves against a scandal.

Director:

Francesco Rosi

Writers:

Francesco Rosi (idea), Raffaele La Capria (idea)

Stars:

Rod Steiger, Salvo Randone, Guido Alberti

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rod Steiger	...	Edoardo Nottola
Salvo Randone	...	De Angelis
Guido Alberti	...	Maglione
Marcello Cannavale	...	Amico di Nottola
Dante Di Pinto	...	Presidente della Commissione
Alberto Conocchia	...	Amico di Nottola
Carlo Fermariello	...	De Vita
Terenzio Cordova	...	Commissario
Gaetano Grimaldi Filioli	...	Amico di Nottola
Angelo D'Alessandro	...	Balsamo
Vincenzo Metafora	...	Sindaco
Dany París	...	Dany - Amante di Maglione (as Dany Paris)

Storyline

Prior to a city council election, the collapse of a building leaves a land developer and his political backers defending themselves against a scandal.

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Plot Keywords:

poliziottesco | aerial camera shot | scandal | city council | election | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rosi considered realizing a documentary, but fearing the Italian censorship, since many political protagonists he wanted to denounce were still in charge at the time, he chose a fictional story instead. He however added a note by the end of the movie: "The characters and facts narrated here are fictional, but the social and environmental reality that produces them is real".

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Crazy Credits

Western Electric is misspelled ('Elettric').

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Connections

Followed by Diario napoletano (1992)

User Reviews

Anatomy of how a city is run by private interests in corrupting the town council

Rod Steiger as a local city politician in an Italian film by Francesco Rosi makes a virtuoso performance as usual in his younger days and is convincing enough in fluent Italian in one of Francesco Rosi's usual almost documentary panoramic exposures of social life especially in relation with power. Everything appears absolutely natural here, as if you were yourself present at all those turbulernt political meetings with votations and intrigues around the mayor, and the crisis is brought on by a collapsing building of many storeys and flats owned by local leaders of the city government, who choose to fight it out against allegations of corruption, and the council scenes with dramatic quarrels Italian style pounding on in heated passion are the best of the film. It happens in Naples, but the situation could be anywhere in any great city in the world planning to exploit and make money on new suburb constructions of horrible inhuman skyscrapers all looking the same - with new prospects of coming tumbling down.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

7 November 1963 (France)

Also Known As:

As Mãos Sobre a Cidade

Filming Locations:

Via Nuova Marina, Naples, Campania, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galatea Film, Societé Cinématographique Lyre

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1