Big Heat, The

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Fritz Lang directed this gritty drama of gangland murder and police corruption, which was considered quite violent in its day. Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is a scrupulously honest police detective who learns that one of his fellow officers has committed suicide. Bannion is told by the officer's wife, Bertha (Jeanette Nolan), that he was severely depressed after being told he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. But the cop's mistress, a barmaid named Lucy (Dorothy Green), has another tale to tell. She claims that he left behind a suicide note detailing a complex trail of corruption in the department, leading to mob boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby), and now Bertha plans to use the note to blackmail Lagana. When Lucy is found dead beside an abandoned road, with her body showing obvious signs of torture, Bannion is convinced that her story was true, and he goes after Lagana. When he threatens to expose Lagana's dealings, the gangster orders Bannion killed. But the car bomb meant to finish Bannion off instead kills his wife Katie (Jocelyn Brando). The police take Bannion off the case, but, convinced his peers are trying to cover their tracks, Bannion follows the case alone, determined to get revenge. Lee Marvin and Gloria Grahame shine in key supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: PCM Mono, 5.1
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: Korean, English, Thai, French, Spanish
• Features:
  • Digitally mastered audio and video
  • Full-screen presentation
  • Audio: English [mono], French
  • Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai
  • Vintage advertising
  • Theatrical trailers
  • Interactive menus
  • Scene selections

AWARDS

• Edgar Allan Poe Awards

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1953 (Sydney Boehm)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Fritz Lang

• Producer:

  Robert Arthur

• Screenwriter:

  Sydney Boehm

• Cinematographer:

  Charles B. Lang

• Composer (Music Score):

  Daniele Amfitheatrof

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Mischa Bakaleinikoff

• Editor:

  Charles Nelson

• Art Director:

  Robert A. Peterson

• Set Designer:

  William Kiernan

• Costume Designer:

  Jean Louis

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  George Cooper

• Short Story Author:

  William P. McGivern

REVIEW:

• 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, Rovi