Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 0014381613032 Format: Black & White, NTSC Label: Image Entertainment Manufacturer: Image Entertainment Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Image Entertainment Release Date: February 01, 2000 Running Time: 88 minutes Sales Rank: 6678 Studio: Image Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: February 13, 1955
Description: Raw and violent, steeped in the film noir tradition, this cult classic ventures into the seamy gangster underworld, oozing with seediness and low-life characters. Far ahead of its time, 'The Big Combo' takes a dark, disturbing look at the battle between Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde), a good cop, and Mr. Brown (Richard Conte), a sadistic crime boss--and the cool blonde who gets caught in the middle (Jean Wallace, married to Wilde in real life at the time). With the help of the gangster's ex-girlfriend, Diamond is determined to bring down the cunning gangland kingpin. But the gangsters are ruthless. They savagely pummel Diamond and conduct gut-wrenchingly brutal acts of torture that were unusual on screen at the time of the film's release.
Amazon.com: A prime example of the American film noir style that flourished during the 1940s and '50s, The Big Combo is now highly regarded as a stylistic milestone for its innovative use of deep shadows and harsh, singular light sources to define its visual strategy. This look is largely credited to the rule-breaking brilliance of cinematographer John Alton, who turns a standard plot of the era into a richly atmospheric experiment in visual invention. Ignoring conventional approaches to lighting, Alton defines the screen in terms of blackness, often framing characters as silhouettes cast in ominous grays or thick, roiling fogs. Moving from clarity to abstraction with masterful grades in between, Alton's trend-setting style has been celebrated by cinematographers since the film's release in 1955.
The film's plot keeps brisk pace with the visuals, focusing on the obsessive efforts of a tenacious detective (Cornel Wilde) to destroy a sadistic mobster (Richard Conte) whose vicious influence has nearly ruined the life of the woman (Jean Wallace) he keeps under his dark wing. Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holliman are nicely cast as the villain's toady henchmen, and Brian Donlevy's usual limitations serve him well as the humbled, frustrated kingpin who's been stifled by Conte's ambition. Director Joseph H. Lewis previously demonstrated his raw, stylistic vigor with the earlier cult favorite Gun Crazy, and here he's in peak form with a perfect match of subject and sensibility. The result is hard-boiled entertainment that still packs a punch. --Jeff Shannon
Digital Life Reviews
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Be Sure to Get the DVD by Image
I'm a fan of this movie even though the plot is a little silly at times, and Cornell Wilde isn't the greatest of actors. However the film makes up for it's weaknesses in style. The cinematography and stark lighting are first rate. Plus it has Richard Conte, who is one of my favorite actors.
The Big Combo is in the public domain, and there are several versions available on DVD, so buyer beware. I recommend the one by Image Entertainment. Although the print used in their version has scratches in several scenes, it still has the best picture quality of all the PD DVDs out there. (Avoid the ones by Geneon Entertainment and Alpha Video. The Geneon version is interlaced, too.) Even so, the Image disc is a bare bones affair, with no extras. Maybe one day someone will do a proper restoration of the film and include an audio commentary by a film historian, but until then the Image DVD will have to do.
Rating: - Film Noir At Its Toughest
This is one of the few classic films that was so rough, so hard-edged, I got rid of it after several viewings....but now wish I had it back. One thing for sure: this is film noir at its darkest. I got very uncomfortable watching several scenes, frankly. However, it's interesting and I always appreciate John Alton's photography.
****spoilers**** There is a scene in which a cop (Cornel Wilde) is tortured by the head mob boss (Richard Conte) and his goons. Wilde is given a hearing aid and forced to hear loud music through it, louder and louder piercing his ear drums. Then, they make him drink hair tonic that has 40 percent alcohol in it so that when someone finds him, they will think he's drunk.
You see what I mean? This is one nasty movie.
Conte's character is brutal, killing anyone who poses a threat to him. The female lead, played by Jean Wallace, has a pretty face but that ... Read More
Rating: - A classic New York gangster movie
The female lead here reminds me of Grace Kelly a few years later.
This movie is the post war gangster movie with very good acting
and a good script. The clever gangster seems to have all his bases
covered: even his suicidal girl friend, but the detective dogs every lead
until he gets him cold for murder. This movie has almost all stars (or future stars) in even the bit parts of the hoods.
I like this movie and it shows how a good film should be made.
Rating: - The Big Combo
Lewis's ultra-hard-boiled noir is savage and unstinting in its view of two men, one squarely on the side of the law and the other seemingly above it, locked in a battle of wills that may eventually destroy them both. Conte is particularly repellent as the sadistic Mr. Brown, but he gets excellent support from Brian Donlevy as a stoic, humiliated underling whose hearing aids provide one of the movie's most gruesome plot points. Earl Holliman and Lee Van Cleef are also solid playing Brown's all-too-loyal thugs. Raw and beautifully stylized by John Alton's brilliant use of light, shadow, and slanted angles, "The Big Combo" makes for a bracing night at the movies.
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- Film Noir At Its Toughest
- A classic New York gangster movie
