Tom Reagan is the laconic anti-hero of this amoral tale which is also, paradoxically, a look at morals within the criminal underworld of the 1930s. Two rival gangs vie for control of a city where the police are pawns, and the periodic busts of illicit drinking establishments are no more than a way for one gang to get back at the other. Black humour and shocking violence compete for screen time as we question whether or not Tom, right-hand man of the Irish mob leader, really has a heart. –IMDb
Combining thoughtful eccentricity, wry humor, arch irony, and often brutal violence, the films of the Coen brothers have become synonymous with a style of filmmaking that pays tribute to classic American movie genres, especially film noir, while sustaining a firmly postmodern feel. Born in St. Louis Park, MN, in 1954, Joel Coen studied at New York University before moving into filmmaking in the early ‘80s. He and his younger brother began writing screenplays while Joel worked as an assistant editor on good friend Sam Raimi’s 1983 film The Evil Dead. In 1984, they made their debut with Blood Simple. Both of them wrote and edited the film (using the name Roderick Jaynes for the latter duty), while Joel took the directing credit and Ethan billed himself as the producer. It earned considerable critical acclaim and established the brothers as fresh, original talent. Their next major effort (after Crimewave, a 1985 film they wrote that was directed by Raimi), 1987’s Raising Arizona was a… read more
The big brother to which The Untouchables could only dream of being as effectively restrained, and whose fulsome characters, verbal dynamite, sizzling chemistry and period pizzazz place it more fittingly in the time-honoured league of Out of the Past, The Big Sleep. Similarly, Byrne plays such an inhabited moral character as to rival Trintignant’s Conformist. A superb screenplay, and a hell of a swindle.
Ottimo ganster-movie firmato Coen.Scelte registiche notevoli,stupenda messa in scena ed una bellissima fotografia,specie negli esterni,a cui però fà da controaltare un ritmo che stenta troppo ad ingranare e una trama che,specie nella prima parte,risulta troppo ingarbugliata,con una serie di nomi che non hanno neanche una faccia.Bello lo snodo cruciale,che poi dipana tutta la matassa.Non il miglior Coen.3*
Gangster movies don’t come any finer than this and there are very few done so well about the Irish Mob. I cannot find one aspect of the film that I don’t completely love, everything is done to perfection… read review
Let’s get one thing out of the way: the cinematography is amazing! What really stood out to me was the scene in the woods when Gabriel Byrne is about to off John Turturro’s character and he let’s him… read review