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Big Heat | 
| Director: Fritz Lang
Actors: Chris Alcaide, Phil Arnold, Linda Bennett, Willis B. Bouchey, Jocelyn Brando
Studio: Columbia TriStar
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 26.95
Buy New: CDN$ 17.08
You Save: CDN$ 9.87 (37%)
New (15) Used (1) from CDN$ 17.08
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 12438
Format: Black White, Dubbed, Ntsc, Subtitled
Languages: English (Original Language), Chinese (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: COLD06532D
UPC: 043396065321
EAN: 0043396065321
ASIN: B00005RDRL
Theatrical Release Date: October 14, 1953
Release Date: December 18, 2001
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW items direct from the USA. Please allow 8 to 12 business days for delivery. Customs charges may apply.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Essential Video
There's a satisfying sense of closure to the definitive noir kick achieved in IThe Big Heat/I: its director, Fritz Lang, had forged early links from German expressionism to the emergence of film noir, so it's entirely logical that the expatriate director would help codify the genre with this brutal 1953 film. Visually, his scenes exemplify the bold contrasts, deep shadows, and heightened compositions that define the look of noir, and he matches that success with the darkly pessimistic themes of this revenge melodrama. pThe story coheres around the suicide of a crooked cop, and the subsequent struggle of an honest detective, Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford), to navigate between a corrupt city government and a ruthless mobster to uncover the truth. Initially, the violence here seems almost timid by comparison to the more explicit carnage now commonplace in films, yet the story accelerates as its plot arcs toward Bannion's showdown with kingpin Lagana (Alexander Scourby) and his psychotic henchman, the sadistic Vince Stone, given an indelible nastiness by Lee Marvin. When Bannion's wife is killed by a car bomb intended for the detective, both the hero and the story go ballistic: suspended from the force, he embarks on a crusade of revenge that suggests a template for Charles Bronson's IDeath Wish/I films, each step pushing Lagana and Stone toward a showdown. Bodies drop, dominoes tumbled by the escalating war between the obsessed Bannion and his increasingly vicious adversaries. pLang's disciplined visual design and the performances (especially those of Ford, Marvin, Jeanette Nolan as the dead cop's scheming widow, and Gloria Grahame as Marvin's girlfriend) enable the film to transcend formula, as do several memorable action scenes--when an enraged Marvin hurls scalding coffee at the feisty Debby (Grahame), we're both shattered by the violence of his attack, and aware that he's shifted the balance of power. I--Sam Sutherland/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 "The city's being strangled by a gang of thieves" October 29, 2007
Belen (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
"The big heat" (1953) is a classic film noir in black and white, directed by Fritz Lang. This movie is characterized by an intriguing plot, fast pace, and good acting, something that never gets old. br / br /The main character is Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford), an honest cop that due to unforeseen circumstances and his need to do the right thing falls in the middle of a nightmare, losing what is dear to him. As a consequence, nothing will stand in Bannion's way in his new mission: to wreak havoc on those responsible for what destroying his life. All bets are off... br / br /Even though "The big heat" includes some scenes with plenty of violence, this is the kind of movie that I would like to see again, because it is so good that you cannot fully appreciate it the first time around. The main character is extremely well-drawn, and you can identify with him in his quest for vengeance and justice. What is more, there are some secondary actors that do an outstanding job, specially the young woman that plays Debbie Marsh (Gloria Grahame), the beautiful girlfriend of one of the gangsters Bannion is after. br / br /On the whole, I can say that I recommended this splendid movie, as an excellent example of what a great film noir should be like... br / br /Belen Alcat
Gratuitous Violence - it all started with one!, August 18, 2007
Ms. N. P. Dougan (Ravara, Ireland)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Moll Debby, Gloria Grahame's character, is hideously scarred by a pot of boiling coffee thrown by her mobster boyfriend (Lee Marvin.) Censors believed this scene would open the floodgates for movie violence. If you left this scene in the movie, they figured, in years to come, there would be men getting their arms cut off with chainsaws, maybe even torture scenes involving dentistry. On this occasion, the censors were not allowed to control the final version and the scene was left in. But it's okay; the censors were not right: movie violence would remain fleeting and would never be gratuitous, would it...?
I could go through life sideways. May 26, 2004
Found Highways (Las Vegas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Big Heat is similar to some of Fritz Lang's German films, like M and the Doctor Mabuse series. It links crime and politics (or, more accurately, criminals and a politicians), and shows the future as concentration camp, where even those who imagine themselves on the outside of the barbed wire are trapped inside. pBut is Lang retelling the story of what happened in Germany, or is he warning his adopted country what could happen if people didn't challenge authority (here the police department, including the commissioner) that had been corrupted by a criminal leader? Maybe both.pThe Big Heat is violent even compared to today's films and more believable than most. However one thing that jars today is the effeminacy of the crime boss, Mike Lagana, used as shorthand to show his corruption. pWe first see Lagana in bed in silk pajamas with his bodyguard (in his robe) standing over Lagana, handing him the phone, lighting his cigarette. When Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford), the homicide detective who won't follow orders and leave Lagana alone, barges into Lagana's mansion to confront him about a cop's suicide, Lagana is under a huge portrait of his dead mother (We lived together in this house). Even from beyond the grave you can feel the mother's unhealthy influence on her son. Lagana mentions his daughter but never his wife.pFor the most part you can tell the criminals from the decent people because the criminals dress better. Gloria Grahame's Debby Marsh, girlfriend of the vicious killer Vince Stone (Lee Marvin), tells the blackmailing wife of a policeman who was on the take, We're sisters under the mink. pDebby and the cop's wife are just one pair of doubles in the movie. There's also Debby and Katie, Dave Bannion's wife. (Katie playfully suggests Dave tell his friends she's an heiress. Later, trying to explain why she's with Vince, Debby asks Bannion, You think I was born an heiress?) Another set of doubles is Lagana's gang and the group of veterans Bannion's brother-in-law gets to protect Bannion's little girl. One vet (described as a poet by one of his friends) shows Bannion his gun and says anyone who comes through the door for the girl is dead. The poet transformed by war (definitely a non-WASP) says he's seen things you can only see from a tank, and starts to say he was one of the first into - - What? Auschwitz? Vince and the hoods playing poker in his penthouse enjoy violence for its own sake. The vets will only use violence if necessary to protect the innocent. But the vets are playing poker too, and seem to relish the prospect of taking revenge on Bannion's enemies, who haven't done anything to them. Between good and evil there are differences but also similarities. pBannion goes to Victory auto repair, looking for a mechanic, an explosives expert. The owner says he can't help (I got a wife and kids, too) but a crippled woman who works as a secretary tells Bannion what he needs to know. Bannion stands outside the auto yard, talking through the fence. Inside the compound the limping woman is just another of the unfit, the life undeserving of life tortured and exterminated in other camps, and in camps that exist today.pWhen Bannion tells the crooked cop's wife, The city's being strangled by a gang of thieves, she smiles and says, The coming years are going to be just fine. Just the way things looked in the thirties if you weren't one of those inside the camps.pThief is the strongest epithet Bannion uses. Not killer or murderer. The criminals and the politicians who go along with them are stealing his city. Though people don't like hearing what Bannion has to say, they're lucky he won't quit fighting the murderers among us.
 Over-rated. Over-the-top. Cliched. April 18, 2004
Charles Bargerstock (Chevy Chase, MD United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I can't believe anyone would rate this movie highly. The plot is predictable from the start. The writing is cliched to the max. At times I found myself saying, they'd never do that, or say that. Fritz Lang's overuse of melodrama was irritating. The performances by the actors were uneven. pIn my mind, the Maltese Falcon, The Third Man, and Touch of Evil are the standards against which any other noir film should be measured. More recently Memento and Croupier are symbols of great film making in this genre. The story here falls way short of those benchmarks. (I'll spare you a rehash. Read the other reviews.) Glen Ford and Lee Marvin offer some good moments, but when they are bad, they stink the joint out. Same with the rest of the cast.pUnless you enjoy bad films because they are really bad, don't waste your money. Go buy the Touch of Evil, or the others I mentioned, if you want noir that grabs you and pulls you in.
 Hotter than a pot of coffee... November 21, 2003
The Big Heat is an excellent film-noir directed by Fritz Lang with a very fitting title. Lee Marvin steals the show as Vince Stone. He is the scum of the earth in this film, and he does it so well. He's the bad guy you love to hate. Glenn Ford is also very good as detective Dave Bannion. Lang tells a great story of corruption, greed, and violence. You will be on the edge of your seat. Beautifully shot noir. ****1/2 (of *****), too bad Amazon doesn't use half-star intervals, huh?
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