Thursday, November 11, 2010

THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)

“After all, crime is only left handed form of human endeavor.”

Undoubtedly one of the finest caper film noir ever made by the man who made some of the classic noirs of all time. This is quite lesser known John Huston classic without his loyal company of Bogart but it’s immaterial for an auteur who knows his task damn well. He represents the city burgeoning with crime rate where crime represents secret nexus between professionals and respectable men of the city. It’s a biggest caper plan accompanied by professionals of trade from big fixer to professional on payroll-a planner, a box man, a topnotch driver, a hooligan. We see the topnotch jewel heist execution even while alarm goes on ringing but its aftermath cracking with double cross and messed up that makes it compelling watch. One don’t know the intentions of the man fixed with circumstances and that’s make all the difference.

Huston brilliantly handled plot and treatment where sniffing cops runs parallel to a bunch of professional criminals and kept everything on platter what you expect from great noir- plot, fine ensemble cast and performances by Sterling Hayden, Louise Calhern, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe and others, classic B&W camera work, tense filled moments and a surprising small presence of Marilyn Monroe as mistress. And amid all caper and crime, it’s again individual story of gang members who’re having their pipedreams of hope ended right near to their destinations. Oh yeah and one has to watch the way Huston begins his every film and ends it- this is another classic case of his repertoire.

Must for all noir fans.

Ratings-8.5/10

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