Everyone loves a great gangster flick. There’s something special about watching hardcore criminals in action that gets the adrenaline pumping. We get immersed in a life of crime we can never have and experience the thrills and danger of the badass on-screen characters we wish we could be.
We’ve all seen Michael Corleone’s rise in The Godfather and Tommy Shelby’s last stand in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, and you can’t call yourself a true gangster movie connoisseur until you’ve watched the gritty Brazilian epic, City of God.
The story of City of God spans three decades as we watch the rise and fall of generations of criminals in Rio de Janeiro’s slums. It takes us on a brutal journey, showing how young children turn into monsters and how even those with the best intentions can be corrupted, becoming no better than the evil they’re trying to vanquish.
City of God is told through the eyes of Rocket, a young man trying to navigate life in the favela and follow his dreams of becoming a photographer. It isn’t easy when everyone around him is working their way up the criminal ladder, and violence can explode at any time. He must keep his head down and try to survive the gang war between violent thug, Li’l Zé, who runs a drug empire in the area, and former boxer, Knockout Ned, who’s sworn revenge and will stop at nothing to take him down.
This 2002 movie is directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund and is adapted from Paulo Lin’s 1997 novel of the same name, which is based on real events. It received widespread critical and commercial acclaim, making over $30 million on a $3.3 million budget, and received four Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
City of God is now available for free on YouTube
You can also see it without ads on other platforms
YouTube refreshes its catalog monthly, and you should catch City of God while it’s still available for free with ads. You can also buy or rent it without ads on Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV. If you prefer physical media, City of God is available on Blu-ray on Amazon.
- notable shows
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Kitchen Nightmares, Merlin
- notable movies
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Clueless, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, How to Train Your Dragon, Mean Girls, Star Trek
- Premium Subscription
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Yes, $13.99 per month
- Originals
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No
- Live TV
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No
Other free movies available on YouTube
More free crime movies
If you like City of God, you can find other classic crime movies for free on YouTube. End of Watch features Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña and depicts the everyday lives of LAPD officers and the dangers they face. The Usual Suspects is often regarded as one of the best crime thrillers of all time. It stars an ensemble cast including Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, Benicio del Toro, and Gabriel Byrne, as a team of crooks who are forced into doing a heist that might not have happened.
- Release Date
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February 13, 2004
- Runtime
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129 minutes
- Director
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Fernando Meirelles
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Alexandre Rodrigues
Buscapé – Rocket
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Leandro Firmino
Zé Pequeno – Li’l Zé
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Phellipe Haagensen
Bené – Benny
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Douglas Silva
Dadinho – Li’l Dice
