The Asphalt Jungle
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Movie Reviews of The Asphalt Jungle
Movie Review: Noir heist film!
Summary: 4 Stars
John Huston's noir-thriller is also a heist movie. When Doc (Sam Jaffe) gets out of prison, he has a plan for the big heist. He needs financial backing and a crew to help him. Dix (Sterling Hayden) is the muscle, Gus (James Whitmore) the driver, and Emmerich (Louis Calhern) is the financial backer.
Dix is an embittered man whose dream is to buy back the farm his family lost. Doc is a cool customer, genial and intellectual, and always has a plan. Emmerich has a sick wife at home and a hot blonde (Marilyn Monroe) at his cottage by the river. However, crime doesn't pay and each person's vice is their undoing.
This is a fine suspenseful thriller set in gorgeous, highly-contrasted black-and-white. The presence of shadows in each scene and the violent pessimistic script give this film a noir sensibility. Well directed and acted, this film also gives a true flavor of the 1950's.
Movie Review: Crime Noir at its Best
Summary: 4 Stars
Despite the fact that THE ASPHALT JUNGLE was a film noir that came out in 1950, as the noir cycle was beginning to shift focus, this movie is one of the classics of the film noir genre. From the sterling acting (no pun intended) of Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe and the rest of the cast to the superb direction of John Huston, THE ASPHALT JUNGLE is a film noir that portrays criminals who commit a heist as human beings with motivations and flaws, and it is this that gives the film its true sense of tragedy when the final reel finishes rolling.
A terrific movie that provides the audience an early look at one Marilyn Monroe, this film noir about a criminal heist gone wrong is 1950 film noir at its best.
Movie Review: Street smart
Summary: 4 Stars
''You may not admire these people, but I think they'll fascinate you,'' a young John Huston says in a filmed introduction to this caper film. The director, as usual, was right on target. A lot of the credit goes to his cast. The film is full of terrific performances, including those from Sam Jaffe as the mastermind and Sterling Hayden as his muscleman. Echoes from ''Jungle'' can be heard in the many crime procedurals that followed. The disc looks and sounds OK. A weak commentary from academic Drew Casper, who has trouble staying on topic. Co-star James Whitmore looks back in audio clips that don't add much.Movie Review: darkness at the break of noon
Summary: 4 Stars
one of the finest noir films, with a nihilist point of view thru the lens of the great john huston, temporarily relocated at mgm between his days at warners and his longest period as an independent filmmaker. set against a gritty anonymous city, an assortment of failures try to pull off one career-making heist, and of course fail miserably. but thats only the groundwork for some insightful character studies by the likes of sterling hayden and a corps of familiar faces. as good as they come for this genre.
Movie Review: Overrated film noir that never quite clicks
Summary: 3 Stars
The Asphalt Jungle is a classic film noir directed by one of cinema's greatest, John Huston. It's a heist film, but what makes it different from others is that it is more concerned with the consequences of the heist than the actual robbery itself. Unfortunately, the movie failed to meet my expectations, which may have been set too high.
Dr. Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) has just been released from prison, and he's got a plan for jewel thievery that he claims can't miss, and it's worth a lotta dough, see? One million bucks that is. (Remember, this is 1950.) A group of men is assembled, including a safecracker, Louis (Anthony Caruso), a getaway driver, Gus (James Whitmore), and a brute, Dix (Sterling Hayden). The plan is to steal the diamonds, then immediately sell them to a man named Emmerich (Louis Calhern), but he intends otherwise. We end up with two men shot and one man dead, with more to come, and police hot on the trail.
Perhaps it's that I've seen too many of the heist films that were influenced by this before seeing The Asphalt Jungle. I can see how this film would have been a great, innovative one in its day, but after 55 years, it just seems watered down to me. The characters aren't terribly engaging, and the plot wasn't very complex, but because the characters didn't come across well, it seemed as if it was.
With that said, as this is a film noir, I feel the need to discuss its merits on that front. It captures the essence of noir - that people are prone to doing bad things based on greed, sex, and power, and then they are haunted by their vices and get their comeuppance. The cinematography is fantastic, with high contrast black and white schemes and complex frame compositions throughout. There aren't a whole lot of pictures that look like this anymore. In the end, though, The Asphalt Jungle didn't work for me.