Throughout his career Francesco Rosi has been attracted to themes of corruption. Later works, like Salvatore Giuliano, Hands Over the City and The Mattei Affair, dealt with political and criminal machinations in a topical, aggressive form. Lucky Luciano, made in 1973, combined Rosi's interest with corruption and his life-long fascination with the American gangster film. Rosi's first solo outing, The Challenge is based on a real event in the protection racket controlling the Naples fruit and vegetable market. This is Rosi's native city, so he knows the terrain well. The film shifts the focus away from the woman, Assunta, who killed her lover's murderer, and concentrates instead on Vito who rebels against the Neopolitan racketeers. Like Lucky Luciano, The Challenge was inspired by American gangster films and has that rough-and-tumble feel played out on the shadowy streets of Naples. Rosi used the narrative mainly to depict a world of corruption, sacrificing complexity of character to the intricate depiction of villainy.