The Asphalt Jungle [VHS] [1950]

---

---

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2009-03-06 rating:
"We all work for our vices."
Once a key part of the mighty battle between Louis B. Mayer and head of production Dore Schary for creative control at MGM, John Huston's classic 1950 heist movie The Asphalt Jungle is good - very good - but at times it feels like it would have benefited from a lower budget and a tighter running time. Even though it was a comparatively low budget picture for the studio there's still a feeling that it's a film about people with no money made by people with rather a lot of it even if it was part of a conscious move by the studio to tackle grittier subject matter to compete with television. But then, with a track record that included Little Caesar, Scarface and High Sierra, the screen rights to W. R. Burnett's novel were never likely to go to one of the more cash-strapped studios that churned out film noir thrillers for their bread-and-butter. br / br /It's that old favorite, the perfect heist that goes wrong, not because of bad luck or any overlooked detail but because of the inherent character flaws of the men carrying it out: for Sam Jaffe's meticulous and brilliant planner Doc Riedenschneider, it's very young girls ("We all work for our vices"), for Louis Calhern's crooked lawyer it's his belief that he can talk his way in and out of anything, for Marc Lawrence's bookie it's his desire to be seen as the equal of more socially `legitimate' criminals and for Sterling Hayden's not-too-bright hooligan it's his exaggerated sense of his own honor. Although executed with skill, most of the film's pleasures come from the performances, not least Jaffe's uncharacteristic Teutonic precision that earned him an Oscar nomination and Louis Calhern's free-spending but bankrupt criminal lawyer who simply regards crime as "a left-handed form of human endeavor" and who gets much of the best dialogue. But the supporting cast is memorable too, from Jean Hagen's hooker in love with Hayden, eager to please but living on her nerves in a performance completely devoid of vanity, Marc Lawrence's sweaty bookie and James Whitmore's cat-loving but tough-as-nails hunchback barkeep to Brad Dexter's unscrupulous private eye trying to cut himself into the deal, while Dorothy Tree's neglected wife puts a lifetime of desperation to recapture old times in her two scenes. Definitely worthwhile, though it doesn't leave as lasting an impression as many a cheaper film noir. Incidentally, someone really should tell whoever wrote the sleeve blurb for WHV's DVD release what `gunsel' really means... br / br /Extras are few on the US NTSC Region 1 DVD - an audio commentary by Drew Casper and James Whitmore, 'virtual' introduction by John Huston constructed from TV archive footage, and original theatrical trailer - but good.

---

review by: date: 2005-10-02 rating:
Postwar classic, showing its age
'The Asphalt Jungle' is a seminal piece of post-war (1950) social realism which harks back to some of the more cosy clichés of the pre-war era. It focuses on the commission of a crime: Doc (Sam Jaffe) is freshly released from prison, a dapper, intelligent, little old bloke, and the man with the plan to carry out an audacious jewel robbery - he needs a team, and he needs finance for the operation. We watch the criminal underworld at work as the plan falls into place, the team assembles, and they set about this major theft, intent on changing their lives.pThis is the stuff that dreams are made of - that one, big payday which will change your life. Only the criminal underworld has no honour, and there are double-crosses to worry about, and while get-rich-quick is the objective, the participants all have their own psychological conflicts and contradictions.pJohn Huston's film presents itself as a naturalistic, almost documentary account. He uses a linear, easy-to-follow narrative - no special effects, no flashbacks, just a simple storyline stripped to the basics. We follow the logic of Doc's plan, enter the lives of the players, understand their hopes and dreams, recognise their flaws. Shot in black and white, Huston employs a film noir style without pushing it to extremes - this is more grimy urban realism than noir. He creates an atmosphere of reality without it ever being truly authentic.pThere are plenty of images of bleak, windswept, city streets - some anonymous urban sprawl of concrete and asphalt which contrasts with the dreams of all the participants. They want out, want sun, sea, rural tranquillity, somewhere they are not just rats in the race.pSignificantly, there are no moral judgements made in the film. The financier of the scheme, Emmerich (Louis Calhern), is a corrupt lawyer with a sickly wife and an expensive mistress (Marilyn Monroe, making her debut). Dix (Sterling Hayden) is a big farm boy who simply wants enough money to get the family farm out of hock, and he has the muscle and gun to make sure nobody stands in his way. Doc (Jaffe received an Oscar nomination) is a nice little old bloke who surely deserves a quiet retirement because, after all, nobody's really going to get hurt in this caper?pAnd the policemen, meanwhile, are evidently quite capable of either blatant corruption or instrumental evasion of the law - they'll happily take bribes, they're unselfconsciously brutal and not averse to planting evidence. The audience is left to decide who are the bad guys and who are the good.pThere is, however, one major moral question suggested without ever being directly posed. This is 1950, and huge sections of the audience will have been caught up in the war effort, either in uniform, in the factories, or waiting for loved ones to return. While British films of this era can make disparaging allusions to the wartime profiteers and black market criminals, 'The Asphalt Jungle' is coy on the subject. Except that Huston makes clear that all the criminals - and probably all the policemen - evaded wartime service because they were in prison, on the run, or unfit for the military.pSeen at the time as a gritty, 'hard-boiled' epic, it can appear a little coy by today's standards. Nevertheless, it presents an America stripped of glamour - Monroe's cameo role is the exception - a post-war society with no obvious direction or values, a city populated by people with obvious, materialistic concerns. This is a world in which the individual is alienated from society, a world where might is right, a world in which people can be allowed occasional acts of decency or humanity, but a world in which the individual is too flawed and too self-centred ever to be guided by moral principles.pThe DVD offers acceptable picture quality - a bit aged and worn in places, a bit dated in others. The soundtrack, while mono, is crisp but unsophisticated. And there are some entertaining extras - a brief piece by Huston, a scholarly commentary, and cast reminiscences.pAn entertaining film, a must-watch for students of the cinema or those fascinated by the crime genre, and a film which, though it will continue to date, has a gripping enough storyline to keep you engaged.


review by: philip.r.thomas@talk21.com date: 2001-04-24 rating:
Both ahead of its time and of it
It is a curious fact that despite the an ever-increasing modern infatuation with the criminal perspective of life, "The Asphalt Jungle", the first heist film from such a view, has languished in obscurity. It represents a major break from the traditional thriller and a key achievement of 50s film-making.pDeliberately episodic in form, the film takes us through the careful planning for the job, the botched attempt, and the frantic getaway. In generating believable and sympathetic criminals, John Huston's confident direction does the difficult job of showing how the violence of these character has not robbed them of their humanity.pOf course, unlike the Westerns, where the dark heroes could ride off into the sunset, this film aimed for the gritty realism of its day and so there could be no rosy future for its villians. Thus the film bears the classic elements of tragedy whereby the protagonists' own shortcomings prompt their fall. And as with all great tragedy, inevitability does not betray the climax of its power.pIn many ways, it is a pity that this film featured the debut of Marilyn Munroe. Her patent beauty is only on the screen for a few minutes and yet has stolen much of the attention that the rest of this film so richly deserved.

---

Similar products

Kiss Me Deadly [DVD] [1955]
Dead Reckoning [DVD] [1947]
The Blue Dahlia [DVD]
Sunset Boulevard [DVD] [1950]
The Big Heat [DVD] [1953]

---

Similar categories

Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Classics . Drama
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Drama
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Crime, Thrillers Mystery . All Crime, Thrillers Mystery
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . VHS
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . PG
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1950 - 1959
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English
Video . VHS . Categories . Classic Films . Actresses . Arthur, Jean
Video . VHS . Categories . Classic Films . Actresses . Monroe, Marylin
Video . VHS . Categories . Classic Films . Drama . 1950s
Video . VHS . Categories . Drama . General
Video . VHS . Categories . Horror Suspense . Thrillers
Video . VHS . Refinements . Condition (condition-type)

---