Blast of Silence (The Criterion Collection)
by Allen Baron
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Allen Baron, Danny Meehan, Larry Tucker, Molly McCarthy, Peter H. CluneDirector: Allen Baron
Brand: Image Entertainment
Composer: Meyer Kupferman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 77 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-15
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion Collection
Movie Reviews of Blast of Silence (The Criterion Collection)
Movie Review: A cool 'Blast' from the past.
Summary: 5 Stars
"You were born with hate, and anger built it. Took a slap on the backside to blast out the scream. And then you knew you were alive."
Allen Baron spent most of his career directing television dross like The Dukes of Hazzard and Charlie's Angels--35 years of it, to be exact. (To be fair to Baron, he also directed two series I must confess I liked back in the day, The Brady Bunch and Night Gallery.) But in 1961 he made this one really cool noir film, Blast of Silence, a film that will appeal to anyone who likes the early NYC work of Cassavettes (Shadows) or Scorsese (Who's That Knocking at My Door?). Shot in gritty black and white on the streets of Manhattan, this dark, low-budget crime/thriller tells the story (through a pulp-poetic interior monologue performed by blacklisted Lionel Stander) of a professional hit man, not-so-handsome Frankie Bono (played by Allen Baron himself), suffering from a severe case of existential malaise. With Christmas approaching, he is hired to whack a "second-string syndicate boss" lacking ambition. While plotting the assassination, Bono is recognized by an old friend from the orphanage, whose happily-married domestic existence forces Bono to confront his own solitary life. (His hands sweat in the company of other people.) The 77-minute film has an edgy, ragged, beat quality, with a hip jazz score. The Criterion edition features a newly restored digital transfer, "Requiem for a Killer: The Making of Blast of Silence," on-set Polaroids, and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty and a four-page graphic-novel adaptation of the film by acclaimed artist Sean Phillips (Criminal, Sleeper, Marvel Zombies). I am truly amazed Blast of Silence has not achieved classic cult-film status. Blast of Silence is 77 minutes of time well spent in noir at its best.
G. Merritt
Summary of Blast of Silence (The Criterion Collection)
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