Post by Erik Rupp on Sept 26, 2009 17:50:05 GMT -5
The Big Heat - (1953) DVD
Fritz Lang is one of the best known directors of Film Noir, and one of the most respected. With good reason. His films, such as Metropolis, M, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, House by the River, Clash by Night, etc, are considered to be among the best of that era.
The Big Heat is one of Lang's better movies, thanks to an outstanding script, great performances from the cast (Glenn Ford gives another understated, but powerful performance; Lee Marvin is excellent as the menacing thug; and Gloria Grahame is, well, Gloria Grahame in a part you'd think was written for her), and, of course, the movie is also darned good due to the great direction of Fritz Lang himself.
This is a more straightforward detective/crime thriller than many of Lang's other movies, but he handles it extremely well. Ford is homicide detective Dan Bannion, who is assigned to investigate the suicide of a fellow officer. After he uncovers indications that this wasn't just a bout of depression, Bannion stumbles into a case that some of his superiors want immeidately closed as a suicide and nothing more. With so much pressure from above to just let the whole thing go, Bannion forges ahead, getting into trouble along the way - trouble that would have tragic consequences for him.
The Big Heat delivers on all counts, and while not quite as noir as many Films Noir (it would fit in the Police Procedural category of Film Noir), it still fits squarely in that genre with many dark twists and turns - and some fairly brutal scenes.
Lang handles both the cast and the photography with style and flair. This may not be his most visually stunning film, but it looks quite good nonetheless.
The DVD itself looks just fine for a movie of it's age. In fact, it looks better than many DVD releases of films of this vintage. The picture is clean and relatively crisp, and while film grain is appropriately shown it isn't overpowering. The sound quality on the DVD is more than acceptable, making this quite a successful release by Sony.
The Big Heat is definitely a, "Must Have," movie for all Film Noir buffs, and for most fans of classic films in general. Highly recommended.
4/5
Fritz Lang is one of the best known directors of Film Noir, and one of the most respected. With good reason. His films, such as Metropolis, M, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, House by the River, Clash by Night, etc, are considered to be among the best of that era.
The Big Heat is one of Lang's better movies, thanks to an outstanding script, great performances from the cast (Glenn Ford gives another understated, but powerful performance; Lee Marvin is excellent as the menacing thug; and Gloria Grahame is, well, Gloria Grahame in a part you'd think was written for her), and, of course, the movie is also darned good due to the great direction of Fritz Lang himself.
This is a more straightforward detective/crime thriller than many of Lang's other movies, but he handles it extremely well. Ford is homicide detective Dan Bannion, who is assigned to investigate the suicide of a fellow officer. After he uncovers indications that this wasn't just a bout of depression, Bannion stumbles into a case that some of his superiors want immeidately closed as a suicide and nothing more. With so much pressure from above to just let the whole thing go, Bannion forges ahead, getting into trouble along the way - trouble that would have tragic consequences for him.
The Big Heat delivers on all counts, and while not quite as noir as many Films Noir (it would fit in the Police Procedural category of Film Noir), it still fits squarely in that genre with many dark twists and turns - and some fairly brutal scenes.
Lang handles both the cast and the photography with style and flair. This may not be his most visually stunning film, but it looks quite good nonetheless.
The DVD itself looks just fine for a movie of it's age. In fact, it looks better than many DVD releases of films of this vintage. The picture is clean and relatively crisp, and while film grain is appropriately shown it isn't overpowering. The sound quality on the DVD is more than acceptable, making this quite a successful release by Sony.
The Big Heat is definitely a, "Must Have," movie for all Film Noir buffs, and for most fans of classic films in general. Highly recommended.
4/5