Instant Favorite.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

It's a bit unengaging. De Niro phones in a Pupkinesque pastiche of a performance from a lackadaisical, pointless script. Lange is OK, but has precious little material to work with. Ultimately, it's not entertaining to watch. For De Niro completists only.

This is a fullblown Robert de Niro flick, who as a character is running on empty: no money from the ATM, no money from work. What to do? He creates a pipedream and is gonna organize a boxingmatch with no knowledge of it and with no money to back it. That spells trouble. Night and the City has it's other star in the name of Jessica Lange. Both Lange and de Niro make "Night and the City" a joy to watch. It is a light drama although the feelgood factor is at such a high that you could also call it a feelgood drama.You just gotta love the character de Niro plays, he fails at everything but gets away with it and has another even bigger project destined to fail lined up right after the earlier misfortunes. He is truly the great pretender, but feelin' good at it!If you like de Niro's work you should definitely see this lighter drama, because he dances a tightrope between a comedy and a drama and does so very convincing. The dialogues are funky and full of wit. The story is simple but connivingly great and has a great dynamic. It has a nice throwaway feel to it, but however lighthearted it is, the story deals with heinous deceit. "Night and the City" has become so dear to me over the years, because the characters are so sympathetic: while failing at everything they still hold on to their dreams and on to eachother's love. De Niro and Lange are just to die for in this New York Tale of love and deceit.

Manhattan lawyer Harry Fabian (whose clients are mostly lowlifes and prostitutes) sues a professional boxer on behalf of a schnook who got popped and is now in a neck-brace; that case gets thrown out of court, but no matter: Fabian is bitten by the boxing bug, and rallies all his contacts to raise enough cash to promote his own boxing event--much to the dismay of "Boom Boom" Grossman, the promotional kingpin of New York City . Based on Gerald Kersh's novel and the 1950 movie-version directed by Jules Dassin (to whom this remake is dedicated), "Night and the City" gives us yet another colorful character portrait from actor Robert De Niro. Chatting away like a man possessed, De Niro is playing not just a dreamer but a DESPERATE, determined dreamer. Harry is too naïve to understand that some people never get their shot, never get their piece of the American dream. He wants to be successful, he wants his friends to celebrate with him, and he wants to have fun climbing up the ladder. His semi-reluctant partner, a faded boxing legend (Jack Warden, in a smashing performance) happens to be "Boom Boom"'s brother, while Jessica Lange is the abused wife of Harry's main financier. She's also having an affair with Harry, in a subplot that never quite irons itself out. Several issues, in fact, are left unresolved, and the picture is assembled rather sloppily. Still, De Niro's live-wire performance is something to see; he claws and begs and punches right through this too-glossy milieu, actually making something substantial out of it. Harry Fabian finds himself backed into a corner, and his final plea is marvelously well-played. It's an acting workout for De Niro in a picture that just misses the bull's-eye. **1/2 from ****

OK, so we all agree that Robert DeNiro and Jessica Lange are among the greatest stars of their generations. Well, even they can play mildly confusing roles. "Night and the City" is an example. DeNiro plays a lawyer who seeks to get into boxing...but what might this lead to? This is one of those movies whose plot might become a blur after you see it. I actually thought that the movie's most interesting aspect was the contrast between Jessica Lange and Jack Warden, and maybe I'm the only one who even saw that. I mean, he's got the look of an acerbic old man, and she still has an aura of her "King Kong" role. But otherwise, I didn't see too much else. I guess that the movie's worth seeing, if only once. Also starring Cliff Gorman, Alan King and Eli Wallach.