Le mani sulla città (Hands Over the City) (1963)

88% of users liked it
(435 ratings)

A corrupt city councilman seeks a huge profit in a suburban real estate deal. Nottola (Rod Steiger) manipulates corrupt local government officials in the political instability that plagues Italy following World War II. The only councilman who tries to block the shady deals in defense of the people… More A corrupt city councilman seeks a huge profit in a suburban real estate deal. Nottola (Rod Steiger) manipulates corrupt local government officials in the political instability that plagues Italy following World War II. The only councilman who tries to block the shady deals in defense of the people is the lone Communist elected to the board. The only insight on the characters is shown by the political machinations undertaken and the final result of the new zoning laws that followed the tangle of secret deals, bribes and blackmail. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Directed By: Francesco Rosi
Written By: Francesco Rosi, Raffaele La Capria
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Sep 1, 1963 Wide
Studio: Criterion Collection

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
One of cinema's most complex looks at how democracy is corrupted by a system that doesn't work.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
Rosi's primary concern is exposing the true mechanisms of power
James Plath, Reel.com
A strikingly visual black-and-white film that's noisily dialectic, focusing on arguments by both the right-wing pro-development majority and the Communist minority.
Jake Euker, Filmcritic.com
a bracingly muckraking piece of filmmaking
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
The walls of urban corruption come tumbling down under Rosi's muckraking gaze.
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
For the most part, however, the film remains rigorous in its refusal to draw tidy conclusions.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

"Hands over the City" is a compelling look at municipal corruption in Naples that states that while this is an imagined story, the circumstances are very real. The movie starts with a building collapse that claims two lives.(And I am left wondering how they got that shot in… More
"Hands over the City" is a compelling look at municipal corruption in Naples that states that while this is an imagined story, the circumstances are very real. The movie starts with a building collapse that claims two lives.(And I am left wondering how they got that shot in the first place.) In the city council chambers, De Vita(Carlo Fermariello), the leader of the left, calls for an investigation into the accident but is blocked. So, he takes a different tack by investigating the procedures for approving building permits. What they find is not pretty. All roads lead to Edoardo Nottola(Rod Steiger), an ambitious property developer, and crooked as they come. But he is not alone. The others are just better at hiding. For example, one official mentions an approval took three days when it usually takes six to twelve months. His colleague marvels at the efficiency. But the point of democracy is to slow things down enough so that nobody does anything hasty and will regret. Democracy is also about serving the public which the center-right coalition in the film seeks to subvert by taking power for the sake of it and of course the money to be made. At least, the left has the people's interests at heart.

Le mani sulla città (Hands Over the City) (1963)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

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