Genre
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PRINCE OF THE CITY (Dir. Sidney Lumet, 1981, US)
* * * * Lumet’s NY films, which are so many, expressly the one’s rooted in the elements of crime map something venal about a city that few filmmakers have been able to articulate with such detail and intimacy. Prince of the City is often regarded as Lumet’s masterpiece; a sprawling crime epic about Daniel Continue reading
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CIVIL WAR (Dir. Alex Garland, 2024, US)
* * * In arguably Alex Garland’s finest work to date, Civil War transports audiences to a grimly plausible near future where America has devolved into a nightmarish civil conflict. This dystopian political road movie is notable for its perspective, chronicling the harrowing journey of a band of maverick freelance journalists. Their quest for truth Continue reading
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THE LAST RUN (Dir. Richard Fleischer, 1971, US)
* * * I must have TCM’s greatest hits on speed dial. Howard Hawks is probably a major link when it comes Michael Mann’s proletariat time obsessed professionals and potentially Melville’s polar films but George S Scott’s Harry Garmes, an ex-driver for organized crime and modelled on Bogart, seems to be a notable precursor to Continue reading
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THE DON IS DEAD (Dir. Richard Fleischer, 1973, US)
* * Richard Fleischer’s The Don is Dead (1973) may have been one of those projects that was greenlit into existence on the back of the unprecedented box office success of The Godfather. Unlike The Godfather which weaves a narrative about the corporation through family, Fleischer’s instincts are somewhat different, shining a light on arguably Continue reading
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THE ROARING TWENTIES (Dir. Raoul Walsh, 1939, US)
* * * * Arguably a quintessential Warner Bros gangster pic that zips along with so much charm, style and Jimmy Cagney at his smarmy best. Circling back to this one from having seen so many contemporary gangster films it becomes evidently clear the film’s mighty sway on the genre, and that is a given Continue reading
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