Category: gangster film
-
‘Pale Flower’: Gambling dens, yakuza and a mysterious woman who lives on the edge
A taste for danger. Saeko (Mariko Kaga), “Pale Flower” (1964). By Paul Parcellin “Pale Flower” (1964) It’s clear from the start that Masahiro Shinoda’s “Pale Flower” isn’t your typical yakuza picture — the kind that’s simmered in the Japanese underworld’s intricate codes of conduct, with a lead character who agonizes over prickly themes such as…
-
‘The Long Good Friday’: A Gangster Noir That Saw the Future
Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, “The Long Good Friday” (1980). Mobster’s World Blown to Bits in an Easter Wave of Terror Contains spoilers By Paul Parcellin ‘The Long Good Friday’ (1980) As Good Friday approaches it’s fitting that we look at one of the slender number of crime films set on the holiest of Christian holy…
-
When Gangsters Collide with the Dark Side: 65 Mobbed Up Films Noir
Jean Hagen, Sterling Hayden, “The Asphalt Jungle” (1950). In Noir, Racketeers Aren’t Like the Ones In Your (Grand)Father’s Mob Pictures By Paul Parcellin Gangster films were already a cinematic staple when a new kind of crime film began to emerge in the early 1940s. Films noir captured the popular imagination for a couple of decades…
-
Amnesia Noir: 30 Films Worth Remembering
Alan Ladd, William Bendix, “The Blue Dahlia” (1946). When Returning War VetsSuffer Memory Blackouts,Murder is Often Afoot By Paul Parcellin Total amnesia, the kind that wipes out memories like a damp sponge on a chalkboard, probably happens more often in movies and television than in real life. Rare as it may be, it’s a frequent…
-
Femmes Fatale Are Deceptively Charming, Dangerous and Often Lethal; But One Among Them Tips the Scales When It Comes to Evil Doings — And She’s Probably Not The One You’re Thinking Of
Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor, “The Killing” (1956). By Paul Parcellin Be forewarned: Many spoilers are included throughout the text below. Sure, Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), the husband liquidating murderess of “Double Indemnity” (1944) might be your go-to gal whenever the term “femme fatale” is mentioned. She’s as coolly detached and methodical as a hangman,…
-
‘L.A. Confidential’: Wounded Cops Take On the System
From left, Det. Ed Exly (Guy Pearce), Det. Bud White (Russell Crowe) and Det. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey). “L.A. Confidential” just had its 25th anniversary and that makes us look anew at the astounding saga of police corruption in the City of Angels, circa 1953. A quarter of a century later the film’s authentic retro look,…
-
British Invasion: Boorman Uncorks Psychedelic Noir
<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in;…
-
This Scarface is in Chicago, Not Miami
Living dangerously, Tony Camonte muscles in on his boss’s girlfriend. “Scarface” (1932) is one of the seminal American gangster films of the 1930s, along with “Little Caesar,” “The Roaring Twenties” and “The Public Enemy.” Each one tells the story of a gangster’s rise in the bootlegging business and his assent to the top of a powerful…
-
Scorsese’s Favorite Gangster Movies
James Cagney, “White Heat” (1949). Director Martin Scorsese revisits crime pictures that most influenced him Here are 15 gangster pictures that had a profound effect on me and the way I thought about crime and how to portray it on film. They excited me, provoked me, and in one way or another, they had the…