Film Review
The Asphalt Jungle is the definitive American
film noir and marks a significant turning point in the evolution of the thriller genre.
By the time he came to make this film, John Huston had acquired a reputation for noir
cinema, having directed such classics as
The Maltese
Falcon (1941) and
The Treasure of the Sierra
Madre (1948). With
The Asphalt Jungle,
arguably his greatest film, Huston redefines the gangster movie by bringing a sense of
realism and authenticity to the film by paying as much attention to character as to plot.
Significantly,
The Asphalt Jungle is the
first notable heist movie. Prior to this film, Hollywood had adhered to a self-imposed
moral code not to show the mechanics of a robbery. Here, that code is well and truly
dispensed with and the plot goes into meticulous detail the planning and execution of
a spectacular robbery. Other filmmakers were quick to follow suit, and the crime-thriller
genre found new impetus, largely as a result of this film. Jules Dassin's French
classic
Rififi
(1955) is perhaps the closest and best of
Asphalt
's many imitators.
What most distinguishes
The
Asphalt Jungle from earlier crime thrillers is the care and attention paid to characterisation.
It's as much a study of the psychology of the criminal as it is a film about a jewel robbery.
Each character participating in the crime is given a plausible back story, is shown to
have real emotions, real ambitions, real failings. The lawyer Emmerich still has
feelings for his bed-ridden wife, even though he has a much younger mistress.
Dix Handley may look like a brutish thug, but he is proud of his Irish ancestry and dreams
of owning a horse farm of his own. Doc Riedenschneider is philosophical and practical
minded; if he has to spend time in jail when a crime goes wrong, so be it - it's better
than winding up on a mortuary slab. Shady bookmaker and go-between Cobb only wants
a quite life but finds himself endlessly put upon by crooks and dodgy police officers.
This level of character detail, together with the high contrast black-and-white,
characteristically
noir, cinematography, is what lends
The
Asphalt Jungle its sense of gritty realism and sets it apart from most other thrillers
of its time. Needless-to-say, Huston gets some excellent performances from his skilfully
assembled cast, which includes Marilyn Monroe in a small yet significant part and tough
guy Sterling Hayden in his first major film role.
© James Travers 2006
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next John Huston film:
The African Queen (1951)
Film Synopsis
Within hours of leaving prison, criminal mastermind Doc Riedenschneider is preparing his
next robbery. To clean up on a million dollars' worth of jewels, he recruits a safecracker,
Louis Ciavelli, getaway-driver Gus Minissi and hoodlum Dix Handley. A crooked lawyer
Alonzo Emmerich agrees to put up the money for the heist, but his attempt at a double
cross backfires. Although the crooks manage to pull off the robbery, their good
fortune proves to be short lived. One by one, cruel Fate brings them down…
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.