I love film noir - and this is one of the better ones. Lee Marvin's thug is such a brilliantly drawn character and Glenn Ford is possibly the best hard-nosed cop in the business. Subtle direction and the suggestion of great violence taking place (always off-screen) keep you hooked from start to finish. Highly recommended!
Another incredible Film Noir ive watched this week. This kicked ass and Glenn Ford is a badass. I mean cmon he makes Lee Marvin run like a little girl then kicks his ass! That justifies his badassness.
Marvins great in it too. He throws hot coffee in a beautiful dames face like a true thug!
Tough, gripping revenge noir from Fritz Lang with stand-out performances from Lee Marvin and Gloria Grahame. As ever, Lang is fascinated by obsession and moral ambiguity, making this a tightly-paced, surprisingly brutal classic.
I knew Lang wouldn't let me down. Compared to a lot of noirs of the same period, 'Heat' is downright brutal. The violence, although mainly suggested, is surprising for the time, same goes for the subject matter. Filled with great hard-nosed dialogue, a bit of excessive melodrama but, overall, an honest depiction of crime and revenge.
Fritz Lang directs Glen Ford as an uncompromising cop on the trail of organized criminals and corrupt officers in his own department, and when a car bomb kills his young wife, the gloves definitely come off...One of the toughest early noirs you're going to see, Ford reinforces his tough guy credentials and faces off against a young Lee Marvin as a brutal mobster. The on and off screen violence is some of the most brutally realistic you are going to see in a film of this era; I can't remember an earlier film that featured a car bomb, and as such this can be seen as a direct influence on the modern gangster flick. The sentiment is ladled on a little too thickly in portraying Ford's home life, the other female characters (Gloria Grahame's tart with a heart and woman scorned, and Jeanette Nolan's cynical opportunist) are far more interesting but otherwise, it's close to flawless. Classic noir that's as tough and uncompromising as it's star.
Lee Marvin and Gloria Graham give wonderful performances in this. Lang's direction seems a bit lacking in style compared to some of his other American films, especially Scarlet Street. But the story is quite good, layers upon layers of conspiracies and corruption. No doubt a substantial influence on the more recent L.A. Confidential.
Hits the ground running; just unfortunate the pace dipped for much of the second half of the film. Ford at the centre of it is fantastic as the stand-up cop.
Fairly gritty and low-profile 50s noir with a tough hero whose goodness and integrity is not as assured as usual. Interesting and, I think, raised the bar slightly for on-screen violence.
Essential viewing, directed by the insanely influential Fritz Lang (Metropolis, M), one of the "founders" of film noir as we know it. While I don't often see it discussed, it's still a MUST SEE, especially for anyone that considers him or herself a film buff. Go watch it now.
Tierney: They come and go like flies. Dave Bannion: Only this fly got herself strangled. Tierney: These things, happen, Sergeant.
One of the final film noir films to be made, directed again by one of the most influential noir directors, Fritz Lang.
Here we have Glenn Ford in a great performance as Sgt. Bannion. He starts off as a smug homicide detective, looking to find answers to the suicide of a cop. When he pokes his nose too far, a tragedy occurs, and he becomes a complete bad ass and effortlessly cool.
The dialogue in this film is so fun to listen to and it is accompanied by Lang's great sense of style, camera moves, use of light and shadow, and other little things.
Lee Marvin also shows up in an early role, and proves to also be cool in a more evil way.
This whole movie is so engrossing, entertaining, and well done. The plot moves forward at an amazing pace, keeping you involved in everything that is going on. The performances from the leads are all very good. There are even a few action scenes that are not gratuitous, are well done for the time, and leave the viewer with a sense of satisfaction.
Ford does a great job, as I mentioned, strattling the line between right and wrong, as well as adding further dimensions to the story with certain choices he makes, resulting in certain events.
This is a very good film mixing the noir elements with a revenge plot, cops and thieves.
Vince Stone: Hey, that's nice perfume. Debby Marsh: Something new. It attracts mosquitoes and repels men.
In most film Noir, a relativley innocent man is drawn into a darker world through a combination of murder and femme fatales. Some time he comes out on top, most often he doesn't.This is done now where better, as it's done in The Big Heat. Dave Bannion is an honest detective in a corrupt city. He starts the film off with a lovely wife and a happy daughter. Their relationship is so sweet it could give you a tooth ache. When a difficult case leads to the death of Banion's wife, he becomes the rough, tuff, vengful Noir archatype. I particularily enjoyed Glen Ford's transformation.
MCT:March 31, 2008
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