Search - Naked City - New York to L.A. on DVD

A memorable show

Mr. P. Johnson | England | 03/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In its earlier half-hour series starring James Franciscus "Naked City" was a pretty conventional cop show, but when it was expanded to an hour's length and recast with Paul Burke it became more like an anthology series, with its famous "eight million stories" taking in the ordinary people and eccentric characters of New York City. Gradually it developed a unique tone and style, mixing action with sentiment, humour, and occasional moments of the surreal - how many other cop shows, then or now, would begin an episode with a voice-over meditating on the meaning of the Talmud? These DVDs feature episodes from the hour series, chosen in seemingly random order, a wise move as many of the best episodes came later. Picture quality is excellent, showing the atmospheric New York locations to great advantage. I've bought all the discs released to date and am keenly looking forward to future volumes."

Incredible vintage TV

Claude M. Gruener | Austin, TX United States | 12/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I cannot praise this late 50's, early 60's series too much. This DVD contains four episodes. By far the best is "A Case Study of Two Savages" starring a young Rip Torn and Tuesday Weld as two hillbillies with virtually no ethics. The acting is superb and heart wrenching. Another episode, "The Night the Saints Lost Their Halos," stars Martin Sheen and a pimply Peter Fonda as two young boys who have tried to rob a store and must pay the messy consequences. Two additional powerful episodes make this a must buy for fans of film noir and gritty reality. The real star, of course, in this tough and totally realistic series filmed on location is a black and white New York City with finned cars, stores, snowy streets and a smoggy skyline vastly different from today's. It is an entrancing step back in history for lovers of New York City and reality TV."