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The Big Heat

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 769 ratings
IMDb7.9/10.0

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Additional DVD options Edition Discs
Price
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DVD
1
$10.80
DVD
December 18, 2001
1
$41.99 $12.00
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Genre Drama Classic, Suspense
Format NTSC, Closed-captioned, Multiple Formats, Black & White, Dubbed, Subtitled
Contributor Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Edith Evanson, Michael Granger, Sydney Boehm, Jocelyn Brando, Peter Whitney, Adam Williams, Robert Burton, Chris Alcaide, Ric Roman, Dorothy Green, Dan Seymour, Willis Bouchey, Lee Marvin, William P. McGivern, Howard Wendell, Jeanette Nolan, Fritz Lang, Alexander Scourby, Carolyn Jones See more
Language English
Runtime 1 hour and 30 minutes

Product Description

Ruthless criminals, a dedicated honest cop, sultry women and a gripping plot...all the elements of a classic police action-drama are here in full force. Police Sergeant Bannion (Glenn Ford) is investigating the apparent suicide of a corrupt cop, then is suddenly ordered to stop and THE BIG HEAT is on. Driven to unravel the mystery, Bannion continues probing until an explosion meant for him, killshis wife. He resigns from the force and soon learns that behind it all is the powerful underworld led by Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) and his cold-blooded henchman, Vince Stone (Lee Marvin). When Stone's girl Debby (Gloria Grahame) makes a play for Bannion, Stone disfigures her face. In revenge,she tells all she knows. Ultimately, Bannion and Stone square off in a life-or-death confrontation.

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.57 x 5.44 x 7.55 inches; 4 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ 6532
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Fritz Lang
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Closed-captioned, Multiple Formats, Black & White, Dubbed, Subtitled
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 30 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ December 18, 2001
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby, Lee Marvin
  • Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Thai
  • Language ‏ : ‎ Unqualified
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00005RDRL
  • Writers ‏ : ‎ William P. McGivern, Sydney Boehm
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 769 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
769 global ratings
Woman With a Plan and a Hero You Aren't Sure You Should Root For - Very Good Film Noir!
4 Stars
Woman With a Plan and a Hero You Aren't Sure You Should Root For - Very Good Film Noir!
This atmospheric B&W film is directed by Fritz Lang. His best known early work was "Metropolis" (1927, German). In 1936 he headed to Hollywood. He had 19 American films under his belt before the "The Big Heat" (1953), and I think his film noir credentials are solid. I'm not a film noir collector, but I have a few of the classics, and "The Big Heat" usually makes people's Top 20 Film Noir lists.Opening scene: A man sits at his desk. we see him from behind, he picks up a revolver and shots himself, collapsing onto his desk. Near his lifeless hand is a police badge and a sealed envelope addressed to the District Attorney.Unfortunately, the first person on the scene is his surprisingly unsurprised wife. She opens the envelope and skims the handwritten pages it held. She will eventually call the police, but first she calls Mr. Mike Lagana, mob boss: "Tell him it's Tom Duncan's widow."Sergeant Bannion is the homicide detective on the case. Almost against his will, Bannion has the first inklings of suspicion while questioning the wife, Bertha, at the scene. She says, "Everything Tom ever did was clean and wholesome. That's the kind of man he was."Bannion: "Do you know why he took his life?"Bertha: "Why. It must have been his health. Sometimes, the past few months, he complained about pain in his left side. When I suggested he see the police surgeon, he made excuses."Okaaay. He killed himself for fear of what he didn't know he had?Next oddness, Lucy Chapman calls the police to say that Duncan didn't shoot himself. Since we SAW him shoot himself, what is her angle?Being a film of it's time (and type), women in "The Big Heat" are attachments, but they are not portrayed as dumb and boy, do they have their say. There's a lot of psychology in the show, a little broad brush, perhaps, but there's food for thought. For example, young beautiful Debbie Marsh would be concerned about her scarred face not just in terms of vanity. She makes her living off her face. Her looks are her livelihood, and it's a double whammy when her boyfriend throws a pot of hot coffee in her face.When this film came out, it was considered very violent and Bannion going out for revenge was morally repugnant. We're too desensitized now to be much bothered.On this DVD you get an 89 minute movie, presented in full screen with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Audio is mono. Watch it in English or dubbed in French. You can also get subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Thai.DVD extras are limited:1. Vintage Advertising. "The Big Heat" poster.\2. Theatrical Trailers, for 3 movies:....a. "The Big Heat" --- "I WAS A COP BEFORE HE BUSTED ME... AND THESE FOUR GIRLS WERE ALIVE BEFORE THEY MET HIM."....b. "The Lady From Shanghai" --- with Orson Welles and starring Rita Hayworth as a blonde.....c. "Suddenly, Last Summer" --- "SUDDENLY YOU ARE FACE TO FACE... WITH A NEW EMOTIONAL PEAK IN MOTION PICTURE MAKING". To tell the truth, I don't think I'll ever watch this movie again. It has some striking scenes, all right, but it is depressing and despairing.A recommended movie. Not the very best film noir, but definitely good.Happy Reader
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Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2020
10 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2018
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5.0 out of 5 stars This is about as good as a movie can get
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2018
Glenn Ford is super bad ass in this film . He is 100% convincing as a complex man living in 2 worlds. Family life vs the crime underworld.
There have been so many attempt to make films where the point of the revenge story is to have the audience in a morally acceptable blood lust. What i mean by this is in our society if a member of ones family is killed it is automatically accepted for a family member to seek revenge. 9 out of 10 times this is never pulled off convincingly. Fritz Lang brilliantly does it knowing he is making an American film. Instead of doing the crazy violent ending he makes the whole film super gritty and intense leaving the ending mild so as to make it pass as a major release and to not upset a commercial audience too much.
Glenn Ford steals the show leaving Lee Marvin's role surprisingly underwhelming compared to Ford. Ford is more badass than Dirty Harry or Bogart in this film, seriously.
I am a big fan of the movie Gilda but always did not really like Fords character. This film shows his wide range of acting making this character totally different from the semi creepy character in Gilda. In the club scene they play the theme song from Gilda in the background as a cameo.
The only other element that is better than Ford performance is the dialogue.
The dialogue is 5 stars and i feel it doesn't get any better than this. It is some of the best writing in film noir history. Almost every line is a gem. There are tons of 1 liners. There is one great retro unintentionally funny scene. What i mean by retro unintentionally--i something that can't escape being dated such as the party scene in Sunset Blvd where Holden is waiting for the phone. In this film there is a club that is frequented. During a scene in this club there is a band with like 4 old men that consists of heavy accordion jamming and like a banjo etc- very acoustic instruments. The lady Banon is talking to makes a comment on the band being very loud and can they go in another room-- I am paraphrasing but it is funny that she was emphasizing that the music was intense and loud-- the band is like jamming polka music. I love that scene though and it does not effect the serous tone of the film.
I love this film it is a masterpiece.
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24 people found this helpful
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Tristram Shandy
5.0 out of 5 stars „We’re Sisters Under the Mink.“
Reviewed in Germany on October 4, 2015
3 people found this helpful
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Film Buff
5.0 out of 5 stars A Seminal Fritz Lang Masterpiece
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2013
16 people found this helpful
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David Dias
5.0 out of 5 stars The story of the product and its conditions
Reviewed in Germany on March 6, 2024
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars film noir at it's best
Reviewed in Australia on May 8, 2023
One person found this helpful
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KaleHawkwood
5.0 out of 5 stars Heat is on
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2014
16 people found this helpful
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