Search - Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 1 (The Asphalt Jungle / Gun Crazy / Murder My Sweet / Out of the Past / The Set-Up) on DVD

Great film noir

Kevin Killian | San Francisco, CA United States | 08/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you like film noir, and who doesn't, this collection is worth the money. Out of the Past is the classic film noir and the best picture Jane Greer ever made. Previously the movie, which was filmed dark, suffered from a murky print which made some viewers not sure which woman Jane Greer is (at the opening), but now restored she shines like a steady lighthouse beam through the fog of the plot she's involved in up to her pretty little neck.

The Asphalt Jungle, one of Marilyn Monroe's greatest "serious parts" has never looked better. It was filmed at the end of the noir cycle and shows the signs of a movie from a genre that has seen better days. It is to true film noir what Webster's THE WHITE DEVIL is to Shakespeare, a decadent afterthought, and yet what a delightful one.

Then there is GUN CRAZY, featuring the kittenish UK actress Peggy Cummins in what might be her best part, although she also did great work opposite Dana Andrews in a later Tourneur. GUN CRAZY, it is said, influenced Scorsese and Altman. It looks like a film from the so called "New American Cinema" of the early 70s.

In the extras to THE SET UP, hooray, we hear the master director Robert Wise speak. He is a great raconteur and seems to be able to remember everything. He is a national treasure despite the hideous low quality of his later films like STAR and TWO PEOPLE. This one is a winner, and you will be bouncing off the ropes as the plot and suspense deliver one jab after another.

Finally, there is MURDER MY SWEET with one of Americam's greatest actors DICK POWELL. Often thought of as a sugary sweet tenor from all the Busby Berkeley films he did with Ruby Keeler for Warners in the 30, Powell matured after a terrible personal tragedy and became hard as steel in his later roles. Even in a trifle like SUSAN SLEPT HERE Powell is tougher than anything, he makes John Wayne look like ZaSu Pitts (OK, not really).

A Pandora's box of evil dreams and wishes, open at your own risk!"

A gem of a collection

Eric Christianson | Chester, UK | 09/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is easily the best noir box set available, and as one reviewer has already pointed out, is a fine introduction to the world of noir. I had not seen two of these films (Gun Crazy and The Set-Up) but was wonderfully surprised by both. Gun Crazy is a hugely energetic and inventive road movie that, in the way of story and direction, follows few conventions of the day. The Set-Up is a marvellous slow-boil of a story that has Robert Ryan in a career-best, subtle performance, and again is wonderfully inventive. The other three films are widely acknowledged classics. The dialogue of Murder, My Sweet has to be heard to be believed (Marlowe: "My fingers looked like a bunch of bananas"), but Dick Powell pulls it off with aplomb. The Asphalt Jungle generates unbearable tension and boasts a gorgeous performance from Sterling Hayden, trapped in a noir net he cannot escape from. And Out of the Past? Well, there is no better noir! Mitchum can't help oozing cool from every pore and Jane Greer is a perfect psychotic femme. The photography will leave you breathless and the plot dizzy!

To top it off, there are commentary tracks on each DVD. To hear Robert Wise, the man himself (!), commenting (very charmingly) on his The Set-Up, is simply magical. Also, all of the transfers are terrific, better than anything previously available. So go on, just get it!"