One of Fritz Lang's very best films.
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10/01/03
The Big Heat (1953)
100
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Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:26
Rotten:0
Average Rating:8.4/10
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: THE BIG HEAT, Fritz Lang's most celebrated American film, is a chilling and violent tale of corruption, vengeance, and loss. Dave Bannion, played by distinguished Film Noir actor Glenn Ford, is an... [More]
Starring: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Lee Marvin
Director: Fritz Lang
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Reviews for The Big Heat
A scalding face-full of harsh reality, courtesy Fritz Lang.
04/09/08
Lang presents one of the great works of film noir. The acting is first rate, Boehm's script tough and efficient, and the whole affair is photographed with the appropriate expressionist, chiaroscuro lighting.
04/09/08
Mr. Lang can direct a film. He has put his mind to it, in this instance, and he has brought forth a hot one with a sting.
05/20/03
Perfectly suited to film noir fans who like their stories dark, their characters dark, and their heroes decent but morally tested.
01/05/02
No review available.
08/22/03
No review available.
08/31/05
Everything about "The Big Heat" is "hard boiled."
07/25/09
They don't get much better in noir films than this stark and gritty classic.
01/01/00
Brutal, atmospheric, and exciting -- highly recommended.
04/09/08
One of Lang's most accomplished and influential noir crimers, with a top-notch turn from Glenn Ford as the avenging cop-angel, a role that Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry) and Charles Bronson (Death Wish) would develop in their 1970s revenge thrillers.
04/08/07
May be Lang's greatest American film.
03/24/03
Lang at his cruelest.
07/22/06
In many ways, Fritz Lang's The Big Heat, scripted by former crime reporter Sydney Boehm, laid the groundwork not only for "Dirty Harry," but for the whole sub-genre of 'rogue cop' films that began to surface during the Vietnam era.
07/20/02
Top CriticStrong noir thriller from the great Lang in his later years.
11/24/03
Overwhelming crime thriller, with plenty to say and brilliant storytelling
08/13/05
Relentlessly depressing and cynical, and although it was well-made, its cruelty made it an uncomfortable experience.
02/28/02
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06/19/01
The movie's heart is cold and blackened, not only by the tragedies which befall its characters but by an all-consuming fatalism and futility.
11/05/01
No review available.
11/22/02
Latest News for The Big Heat
August 31, 2006:
Actor Glenn Ford Dead at 90
People of my generation (and younger) most likely remember the widely-admired Glenn Ford as "the actor who played Pa Kent" in Richard Donner's classic... More...
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