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The Big Heat
 
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The Big Heat

Glenn Ford (Actor), Gloria Grahame (Actor), Fritz Lang (Director) | Format: DVD
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Amazon.com Essential Video

There's a satisfying sense of closure to the definitive noir kick achieved in The Big Heat: its director, Fritz Lang, had forged early links from German expressionism to the emergence of film noir, so it's entirely logical that the expatriate director would help codify the genre with this brutal 1953 film. Visually, his scenes exemplify the bold contrasts, deep shadows, and heightened compositions that define the look of noir, and he matches that success with the darkly pessimistic themes of this revenge melodrama.

The story coheres around the suicide of a crooked cop, and the subsequent struggle of an honest detective, Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford), to navigate between a corrupt city government and a ruthless mobster to uncover the truth. Initially, the violence here seems almost timid by comparison to the more explicit carnage now commonplace in films, yet the story accelerates as its plot arcs toward Bannion's showdown with kingpin Lagana (Alexander Scourby) and his psychotic henchman, the sadistic Vince Stone, given an indelible nastiness by Lee Marvin. When Bannion's wife is killed by a car bomb intended for the detective, both the hero and the story go ballistic: suspended from the force, he embarks on a crusade of revenge that suggests a template for Charles Bronson's Death Wish films, each step pushing Lagana and Stone toward a showdown. Bodies drop, dominoes tumbled by the escalating war between the obsessed Bannion and his increasingly vicious adversaries.

Lang's disciplined visual design and the performances (especially those of Ford, Marvin, Jeanette Nolan as the dead cop's scheming widow, and Gloria Grahame as Marvin's girlfriend) enable the film to transcend formula, as do several memorable action scenes--when an enraged Marvin hurls scalding coffee at the feisty Debby (Grahame), we're both shattered by the violence of his attack, and aware that he's shifted the balance of power. --Sam Sutherland

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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
5 star:
 (12)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars good strong stuff, Dec 3 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: The Big Heat (DVD)
a real bruiser of a movie. excellent 1950s cops movie with plenty of good performances; especially by Gloria Graham as the doomed Debbie and Lee Marvin as the sadist. pacing of this movie is incredible. good just barely overcomes evil in this movie. highly recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars CLASSIC 50's NOIR....., Oct 16 2002
By 
Mark Norvell (HOUSTON) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Big Heat (DVD)
Awesome 50's detective film noir with Glenn Ford out to bust up a gang that's getting away with murder. He starts snooping around and finds a cover up bigger than he expected. When his wife gets blown up in their car by a bomb meant for him, he's told to take a "leave". So he sets out on his own to get the guys responsible. He hangs out at a club known to be frequented by the thugs and witnesses a party girl (Carolyn Jones) being victimized by hissably slimy Lee Marvin--- who's a key member of the gang. He intervenes and meets another party girl Debby (50's noir babe Gloria Grahame)who tells him to back off for his own good. Ford continues to snoop around and discovers things are even more involved than he thought. Debby proves to be helpful (she likes him) but Marvin scalds her face with boiling coffee when he finds out---a shocking highlight of the film. She goes to Ford, tells all and then takes matters into her own hands. She will be avenged. Tense, exciting story and top notch acting make this a bona-fide classic of the genre and not to be missed. They don't get much better than this. Ford is excellent and Grahame gives the kind of performance that defines a career. She's unforgettable as Debby. A must for DVD collectors who like their film noir pitch black and brutal.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful film noir, Jan 5 2002
By 
Ryan Henderson (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Big Heat (DVD)
A great Fritz Lang movie exploring the depths of big time corruption. Glenn Ford does a wonderful job, depicting a police officer who will stop at nothing to bring down mob boss Lagana and his henchmen. The scene when Gloria Grahame is burned by coffee thrown at her face is an all-time great. Glenn Ford should have been nominated for an Oscar, and I will go as far as saying he should have won one as well.
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› Go to Amazon.com to see all 55 reviews  4.4 out of 5 stars 
 
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