"City of God" is so much more than just Brazil's answer to "GoodFellas,". One of the most acclaimed Brazilian films of all time, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund's 2001 masterpiece is a portrait of Rio de Janeiro and its reality, the ugly and the beautiful sides of it. Set in the favelas of Rio in the '70s, the film centers on two men, each following a different path they say is forced on them by their Dickensian circumstances. One becomes a photographer documenting the drug-related violence that is rapidly increasing in the neighborhood, while the other becomes an ambitious drug dealer climbing the ladder.
In addition to gathering universal acclaim for its acting, cinematography, writing and portrayal of the favelas, "City of God" also got four nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director. Now, over 20 years after the release of the original, Max has announced a sequel series.
In addition to gathering universal acclaim for its acting, cinematography, writing and portrayal of the favelas, "City of God" also got four nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director. Now, over 20 years after the release of the original, Max has announced a sequel series.
- 5/29/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Fernando Meirelles’ epic crime drama ‘City of God’ is returning to cinemas to mark the movie’s 21st anniversary.Over two decades on from its original release, this visually stunning and gripping reflection of life on the mean streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is back on the big screen – courtesy of Paris-based distributor The Festival Agency partnering with sales company Wild Bunch - for a new generation to experience.The film is an adaptation of Paulo Lins’ 1997 novel of the same name – which is based on real events – that weaves together the compelling stories of a group of kids growing up in the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio from the 1960s to the 1980s. Narrator Rocket – played by Alexandre Rodrigues - tries to avoid being drawn into the spiral of violence and crime to become a photographer and win over the beautiful Angélica (Alicia Braga), whilst gun-toting L’il Zé...
- 1/26/2024
- by Philip Hamilton
- Bang Showbiz
One of my ten favourite movies released in 2002 is City of God, the Brazilian crime drama directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund. The story was adapted by Bráulio Mantovani from the 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins, with a plot loosely based on real events. It depicts the shocking and disturbing, but always compelling look at life in the slums of Cidade de Deus, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li’l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned. City of God is a harsh, visceral experience and an honest look a the spiral of violence that draws kids into a life of crime. Recently, the New York based company Famp Art, chose City of God to kick off its new endeavour,...
- 8/20/2014
- by Kyle Reese
- SoundOnSight
City of God (original title: Cidade de Deus)
Co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund
Screenplay by Bráulio Mantovani, based on the 1997 novel by Paulo Lins
Starring Alexandres Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Seu Jorge and Alice Braga
Brazil, 2002
For modern film fans, 2002’s City of God is a key entry in Brazilian cinema. Based on Paulo Lins’s 1997 semi-autobiographical crime fiction novel, the film adaptation promotes themes of adulthood, survival and pessimism in one of Rio da Janiero’s favelas. City of God follows young aspiring photographer Rocket (Rodrigues) and his childhood and subsequent adolescence in the Cidade de Deus favela. Set between the end of 1960s’ and the beginning of the 1980s’, it documents the growth of organised crime in the Cidade de Deus.
The consistent theme of pessimism is reinforced by the life of crime that is immediately introduced to the film. Within the first ten minutes,...
Co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund
Screenplay by Bráulio Mantovani, based on the 1997 novel by Paulo Lins
Starring Alexandres Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Seu Jorge and Alice Braga
Brazil, 2002
For modern film fans, 2002’s City of God is a key entry in Brazilian cinema. Based on Paulo Lins’s 1997 semi-autobiographical crime fiction novel, the film adaptation promotes themes of adulthood, survival and pessimism in one of Rio da Janiero’s favelas. City of God follows young aspiring photographer Rocket (Rodrigues) and his childhood and subsequent adolescence in the Cidade de Deus favela. Set between the end of 1960s’ and the beginning of the 1980s’, it documents the growth of organised crime in the Cidade de Deus.
The consistent theme of pessimism is reinforced by the life of crime that is immediately introduced to the film. Within the first ten minutes,...
- 7/17/2014
- by Katie Wong
- SoundOnSight
The favela in City of God is so well rendered it becomes a character – cruel, alluring, inescapable. But most of all, it is intensely real
• Read more from our Why I Love ... series
City of God is an exhilarating, fast-paced action film set in the oppressive confines of a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I love the way the movie depicts the slum because it compels viewers not just to confront the desperation, poverty and violence of life there, but to enter that nightmarish world so utterly for the duration of the film that leaving it at the end is a relief, and yet a wrench, making it impossible to forget.
Directed by Fernando Meirelles, the 2002 film portrays life in the City of God, a favela known by the same name for over three decades, starting in the 1960s when it was a new housing project and its main...
• Read more from our Why I Love ... series
City of God is an exhilarating, fast-paced action film set in the oppressive confines of a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I love the way the movie depicts the slum because it compels viewers not just to confront the desperation, poverty and violence of life there, but to enter that nightmarish world so utterly for the duration of the film that leaving it at the end is a relief, and yet a wrench, making it impossible to forget.
Directed by Fernando Meirelles, the 2002 film portrays life in the City of God, a favela known by the same name for over three decades, starting in the 1960s when it was a new housing project and its main...
- 9/25/2013
- by Jo Griffin
- The Guardian - Film News
H/T to the Black Women of Brazil blog for alerting me to this... From writer Paulo Lins, who wrote the novel that the 2002 acclaimed (and everybody's favorite) film, Cidade de Deus (City Of God), was based on, comes a new Brazilian TV series titled Subúrbia, which follows the life of Conceição, a poor young woman who leaves her home in Minas Gerais (a Brazilian state) in search of a new life in Rio de Janeiro. She arrives in Rio and is taken in by a loving suburban family, falls for Cleiton, and gets caught up in the youthful party scene. Here's how Paulo Lins describes the upcoming new series: "It is a drama of love...
- 10/24/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Article by Dan Clark
With the recent release of Lawless it had me thinking about one of my favorite movie genres. I’m not sure what it is but the crime genre has produced some of the greatest films of all time. That made creating this list even more difficult. One thing I did do to ease my pain a little was I didn’t include Westerns. I figured I would save those for their own list. After much frustration I was finally able to break it down to the Top 30 Crime Films of All Time. I’m sure some of the list will surprise you while others choices will be far more obvious.
Here’s the Top 10, and for the rest check out the full Top 30 rundown on Gcrn.
10) No Country for Old Men
Directed By: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Written By: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Cormac McCarthy
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones,...
With the recent release of Lawless it had me thinking about one of my favorite movie genres. I’m not sure what it is but the crime genre has produced some of the greatest films of all time. That made creating this list even more difficult. One thing I did do to ease my pain a little was I didn’t include Westerns. I figured I would save those for their own list. After much frustration I was finally able to break it down to the Top 30 Crime Films of All Time. I’m sure some of the list will surprise you while others choices will be far more obvious.
Here’s the Top 10, and for the rest check out the full Top 30 rundown on Gcrn.
10) No Country for Old Men
Directed By: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Written By: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Cormac McCarthy
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones,...
- 9/12/2012
- by Guest
- Nerdly
To mark the release of City of God on Blu-ray 19th September, Miramax have given us two copies of the movie to give away.
City Of God was adapted by Fernando Meirelles from the 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the ‘60s and the beginning of the ‘80s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li’l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned.
Extras: News from a personal war / A Conversation with Fernando Meirelles
To be in with a chance of winning the movie, simply answer the following question using the form below:
Who directed the movie City of God?
[contact-form]
The small print:
Open to UK residents only Only one entry per household will be counted The competition will close 26th...
City Of God was adapted by Fernando Meirelles from the 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the ‘60s and the beginning of the ‘80s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li’l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned.
Extras: News from a personal war / A Conversation with Fernando Meirelles
To be in with a chance of winning the movie, simply answer the following question using the form below:
Who directed the movie City of God?
[contact-form]
The small print:
Open to UK residents only Only one entry per household will be counted The competition will close 26th...
- 9/9/2011
- by Competitons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
As we enter the eighth week of the IMDb250 Project it’s becoming clear that the experience has completely changed our tastes, our appreciation and our knowledge of movies and movie making in general after only 20 films viewed each so far, that is something truly incredible for us personally and a real positive for attempting this project which could easily have become a chore watching so many movies in such a short period.
If you want to check out the previous weeks 1 – 7 click here for a rundown of our previous progress in the project but for now I bring you my next five films for the project of which three I had never seen before, one I haven’t seen since I was very very young and the final one is such a phenomenal a personal favourite movie of mine that I wish I could watch it again for the...
If you want to check out the previous weeks 1 – 7 click here for a rundown of our previous progress in the project but for now I bring you my next five films for the project of which three I had never seen before, one I haven’t seen since I was very very young and the final one is such a phenomenal a personal favourite movie of mine that I wish I could watch it again for the...
- 3/15/2010
- by Gary Phillips
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
(Director Fernando Mereilles, above. In City Of God, below, Rocket, played by Alexandre Rodrigues, is on the run.)
(This article originally appeared in Venice Magazine and Latin Style Magazine. City Of God was one of my favorite films of the decade, and I regret that I'm just getting this article online now! I recall Mereilles mentioning that he had a dozen offers from the studios, as in "go" projects, at the time. It was a new experience for him, and City Of God was just getting noticed in the States. He would round out the decade with the films The Constant Gardener and Blindness.)
By Terry Keefe
Adapted from the best-selling novel Cidade de Deus by Brazilian author Paulo Lins, Fernando Mereilles' City of God is the story of three decades -- the 60s, 70s, and 80s -- inside the eponymous, impoverished Brazilian housing project (also known as a favela...
(This article originally appeared in Venice Magazine and Latin Style Magazine. City Of God was one of my favorite films of the decade, and I regret that I'm just getting this article online now! I recall Mereilles mentioning that he had a dozen offers from the studios, as in "go" projects, at the time. It was a new experience for him, and City Of God was just getting noticed in the States. He would round out the decade with the films The Constant Gardener and Blindness.)
By Terry Keefe
Adapted from the best-selling novel Cidade de Deus by Brazilian author Paulo Lins, Fernando Mereilles' City of God is the story of three decades -- the 60s, 70s, and 80s -- inside the eponymous, impoverished Brazilian housing project (also known as a favela...
- 1/25/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.