Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. 1 [5 Discs]

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 5
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen), 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Black and White, Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • cc
  • Martin Scorsese on Murder by Contract, The Sniper and The Big Heat
  • Michael Mann on The Big Heat
  • The influence of Noir with Christopher Nolan (The Lineup)
  • Commentary with authors Eddie Muller and James Ellroy on The Lineup
  • Commentary with author Eddie Muller on The Sniper

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Story - 1952 (Edna Anhalt, Edward Anhalt)

• Edgar Allan Poe Awards

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1953 (Sydney Boehm)

• London Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2006

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Vince Edwards - Claude
       Glenn Ford - Dave Bannion
       Guy Madison - Al Mercer
       Adolphe Menjou - Lieutenant Kafka
       Eli Wallach - Dancer
       Arthur Franz - Eddie Miller
       Gloria Grahame - Debby Marsh
       Robert Keith - Julian
       Kim Novak - Kay Greylek
       Phillip Pine - Marc
       Warner Anderson - Insp. Guthrie
       Herschel Bernardi - George
       Jocelyn Brando - Katie Bannion
       Brian Keith - Brick
       Gerald Mohr - Sgt. Ferris
       Richard Jaeckel - Sandy McLain
       Alvy Moore - Roy
       Alexander Scourby - Mike Lagana
       Caprice Toriel - Billie Williams
       Marie Windsor - Jean Darr
       William Conrad - Eric Berg
       Frank Faylen - Inspector Anderson
       Michael Granger - Moon
       Mary Laroche - Dorothy Bradshaw
       Lee Marvin - Vince Stone

• Director:

  Edward Dmytryk, Phil Karlson, Fritz Lang, Irving Lerner, Don Siegel

• Producer:

  Robert Arthur, Leon Chooluck, Stanley Kramer, Stirling Silliphant

• Screenwriter:

  Edna Anhalt, Edward Anhalt, John Barnwell, Sydney Boehm, William Bowers, Harry Brown, Stirling Silliphant, Benjamin Simcoe

• Cinematographer:

  Lucien Ballard, Burnett Guffey, Charles B. Lang, Hal Mohr, Lester White

• Composer (Music Score):

  Daniele Amfitheatrof, George Antheil, Mischa Bakaleinikoff, Perry Botkin, George Duning

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Mischa Bakaleinikoff, Morris W. Stoloff

• Editor:

  Al Clark, Harry Gerstad, Carlos Lodato, Charles Nelson, Aaron Stell, Jerome Thoms

• Production Designer:

  Rudolph Sternad

• Art Director:

  Ross Bellah, Walter Holscher, Robert A. Peterson, John S. Poplin

REVIEWS:

• One of the later examples of American film noir, The Big Heat is also one of the genre's most underrated films. Director Fritz Lang utilized many of the elements typical to his other films: unseen yet gruesome violence, relentless pacing, and a hardboiled view of justice and revenge. The sad, realist film has an oppressive feeling of malignity. Glenn Ford is a perfect everyman cop, out for revenge against criminals as well as other cops. In this way, The Big Heat marks a significant transition between the crime movies of two different eras. Prior to the early 1970s, police dramas tended to pit police in very clear opposition to the men in the black hats, with the notable exceptions of On Dangerous Ground or The Big Combo. After the culture shock of the late 1960s and early 1970s, however, films like Dirty Harry, The French Connection and Serpico began an obsession with the ambivalent emotions that make a policeman and his department tick. In many ways, The Big Heat was a precursor for these films, both in theme and tone. The film has drawn ire from some viewers who point out that the its female characters exist, in large part, to be brutally antagonized. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
• An offbeat thriller, almost cheerful at times despite its moments of violence and some vivid, documentary-style shooting by cinematographer Lucien Ballard, Murder by Contract mostly ended up a showcase for the talents of Vince Edwards, who manages to command every scene he's in -- with or without dialogue -- as an articulate, coldly dedicated, and precise contract killer. He manages to hold his own alongside a pair of veterans, Herschel Bernardi and Phillip Pine, and to bring some surprising elements of humanity to a genuinely scary character. But if Edwards' portrayal is an unexpectedly fine balancing act by a relative neophyte, the real triumph is in director Irving Lerner's mixing of moods in the dialogue and the overall production. There's a cheerfully amoral side to the depiction of the action in this movie that separates it from the American cinematic sensibilities that dominate most film noir. The intentionally comic interchanges between the three hoods as they try to understand each other's way of working, and also the relentless guitar score by Perry Botkin (who later provided the background music for The Beverly Hillbillies and utilized one major cue heard here on that series), all seem to run counter to anything that audiences expected in a movie such as this; and coupled with the relatively involved character development, it makes Murder by Contract a surprisingly rewarding, disturbing, and entertaining movie that almost manages to fall in a class by itself among American crime films. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
• By 1958, Don Siegel had developed a serious reputation as a maker of intelligent, thoughtful, and extremely violent crime movies -- enough so that he got the plum assignment of handling the feature-film adaptation of the long-running television series The Lineup, which starred Warner Anderson as Lieutenant Ben Guthrie of the San Francisco Police Department. Like the series, the movie was shot on-location in San Francisco, and Siegel uses the immediacy of the realistic settings and the verisimilitude derived from it to create a brisk, engrossing, and extremely violent movie. In a manner that anticipates his work in Dirty Harry more than a decade later, he weaves the action into the ambience of the city, so that one quickly forgets the fiction and is pulled into the pacing and rhythms of the piece -- this despite the fact that the filmmaker was hemmed in by a fairly low budget and the need to keep the elements of the series in sharp focus. The only flaw is a lag in the script two-thirds of the way through, which not even Siegel could fully overcome -- especially after what has happened up to that point -- that makes for a certain flaccidness in the pacing and tone before the extended denouement, built around a superb chase sequence. The ending of the latter is, to a great extent, the San Francisco equivalent of the denouement of Jules Dassin's The Naked City (1948). And -- just as the latter movie was for postwar New York City -- although it's in black-and-white and not shot anamorphically, The Lineup is a great account of the look of San Francisco at the tail end of the 1950s. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
• A little-known but enjoyable caper film, Five Against the House also has a bit of a film noir feeling to it -- which probably helps to explain why it's not better known. Had it either gone further in the direction of a lighthearted heist film or further in the direction of gritty, psychological noir tale, it may or may not have been a better film, but it would definitely have been easier to peg. Still, its sometimes-uneasy mixture of these genres is part of what gives it a special character. Five takes its time revving up; the first half hour is a lot of exposition, not always as well handled by its trio of screenwriters and director Phil Karlson as might be desired. But once it gets in gear, Five flies by with only a few missteps here and there. And while the caper is the hook, Five also gives enough flesh to its characters to make it an interesting study of some unlikely friends. Kim Novak is the big name here (although she was a nobody at the time of the film's release), and she turns in a fine performance. Guy Madison, Alvy Moore and Kerwin Mathews all are good as well, but it's Brian Keith whose work is the most interesting. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
• An offbeat {\thriller}, almost cheerful at times despite its moments of violence and some vivid, {\documentary}-style shooting by cinematographer {$Lucien Ballard}, {#Murder by Contract} mostly ended up a showcase for the talents of {$Vince Edwards}, who manages to command every scene he's in -- with or without dialogue -- as an articulate, coldly dedicated, and precise contract killer. He manages to hold his own alongside a pair of veterans, {$Herschel Bernardi} and {$Phillip Pine}, and to bring some surprising elements of humanity to a genuinely scary character. But if {$Edwards}' portrayal is an unexpectedly fine balancing act by a relative neophyte, the real triumph is in director {$Irving Lerner}'s mixing of moods in the dialogue and the overall production. There's a cheerfully amoral side to the depiction of the action in this movie that separates it from the American cinematic sensibilities that dominate most {\film noir}. The intentionally comic interchanges between the three hoods as they try to understand each other's way of working, and also the relentless guitar score by {$Perry Botkin} (who later provided the background music for {#The Beverly Hillbillies} and utilized one major cue heard here on that series), all seem to run counter to anything that audiences expected in a movie such as this; and coupled with the relatively involved character development, it makes {#Murder by Contract} a surprisingly rewarding, disturbing, and entertaining movie that almost manages to fall in a class by itself among American {\crime} films. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
• A little-known but enjoyable caper film, {#Five Against the House} also has a bit of a film noir feeling to it -- which probably helps to explain why it's not better known. Had it either gone further in the direction of a lighthearted heist film or further in the direction of gritty, psychological noir tale, it may or may not have been a better film, but it would definitely have been easier to peg. Still, its sometimes-uneasy mixture of these genres is part of what gives it a special character. {#Five} takes its time revving up; the first half hour is a lot of exposition, not always as well handled by its trio of screenwriters and director {$Phil Karlson} as might be desired. But once it gets in gear, {#Five} flies by with only a few missteps here and there. And while the caper is the hook, {#Five} also gives enough flesh to its characters to make it an interesting study of some unlikely friends. {$Kim Novak} is the big name here (although she was a nobody at the time of the film's release), and she turns in a fine performance. {$Guy Madison}, {$Alvy Moore} and {$Kerwin Mathews} all are good as well, but it's {$Brian Keith} whose work is the most interesting. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
• By 1958, {$Don Siegel} had developed a serious reputation as a maker of intelligent, thoughtful, and extremely violent {\crime} movies -- enough so that he got the plum assignment of handling the feature-film adaptation of the long-running television series {#The Lineup}, which starred {$Warner Anderson} as {%Lieutenant Ben Guthrie} of the San Francisco Police Department. Like the series, the movie was shot on-location in San Francisco, and {$Siegel} uses the immediacy of the realistic settings and the verisimilitude derived from it to create a brisk, engrossing, and extremely violent movie. In a manner that anticipates his work in {#Dirty Harry} more than a decade later, he weaves the action into the ambience of the city, so that one quickly forgets the fiction and is pulled into the pacing and rhythms of the piece -- this despite the fact that the filmmaker was hemmed in by a fairly low budget and the need to keep the elements of the series in sharp focus. The only flaw is a lag in the script two-thirds of the way through, which not even {$Siegel} could fully overcome -- especially after what has happened up to that point -- that makes for a certain flaccidness in the pacing and tone before the extended denouement, built around a superb chase sequence. The ending of the latter is, to a great extent, the San Francisco equivalent of the denouement of {$Jules Dassin}'s {#The Naked City} (1948). And -- just as the latter movie was for postwar New York City -- although it's in black-and-white and not shot anamorphically, {#The Lineup} is a great account of the look of San Francisco at the tail end of the 1950s. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

CUSTOMER REVIEWS: