The Asphalt Jungle [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Overview

The Asphalt Jungle is a brilliantly conceived and executed anatomy of a crime -- or, as director John Huston and scripter Ben Maddow put it, "a left-handed form of human endeavor." Recently paroled master criminal Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe), with funding from crooked attorney Emmerich (Louis Calhern), gathers several crooks together in Cincinnati for a Big Caper. Among those involved are Dix (Sterling Hayden), an impoverished hood who sees the upcoming jewel heist as a means to finance his dream of owning a horse farm. Hunch-backed cafe owner (James Whitmore) is hired on to be the driver for the heist; professional safecracker Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso) assembles the tools of his trade; and a bookie (Marc Lawrence) acts as Emmerich's go-between. The robbery is pulled off successfully, but an alert night watchman shoots Ciavelli. Corrupt cop (Barry Kelley), angry that his "patsy" (Lawrence) didn't let him in on the caper, beats the bookie into confessing and fingering the other criminals involved. From this point on, the meticulously planned crime falls apart with the inevitability of a Greek tragedy. Way down on the cast list is Marilyn Monroe in her star-making bit as Emmerich's sexy "niece"; whenever The Asphalt Jungle would be reissued, Monroe would figure prominently in the print ads as one of the stars. The Asphalt Jungle was based on a novel by the prolific W.R. Burnett, who also wrote Little Caesar and Saint Johnson (the fictionalized life story of Wyatt Earp).

Product Details

Release Date:	11/15/2016
UPC:	0715515190619
Original Release:	1950
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:52:00
Sales rank:	8,842

Special Features

New 2k digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack; Audio Commentary from 2004 by film historian Drew Casper, featuring archival recordings of actor James Whitmore; Pharos of Chaos, a 1983 documentary about actor Sterling Hayden; New interviews with film noir historian Eddie Muller and Cinematographer John Bailey; Archival footage of Writer-Director John Huston discussing the film; Episode of the television program City Lights from 1979 featuring Huston; Audio excerpts of an archival interview with Huston; Trailer; Plus: An essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sterling Hayden	Dix Handley
Louis Calhern	Alonzo D. Emmerich
Jean Hagen	Doll Conovan
James Whitmore	Gus
Sam Jaffe	Doc Esterhazy
John McIntire	Police Commissioner
Barry Kelley	Lt. Ditrich
Anthony Caruso	Louis Ciavelli
Teresa Celli	Maria Ciavelli
Marilyn Monroe	Angela Phinlay
William Davis	Timmons,Actor,Timmons
Dorothy Tree	May Emmerich
Brad Dexter	Bob Brannon
John Maxwell	Dr. Swanson
James Seay	Janocek
Thomas Browne Henry	James X. Connery
Don Haggerty	Andrews
Helene Stanley	Jeannie
Raymond Roe	Tallboy
Henry Rowland	Franz Schurz
Alex Gerry	Maxwell
Judith Wood	Woman,Man
Ralph Dunn	Policeman
Pat Flaherty	Policeman
Jack Shea	Policeman
John Cliff	Policeman
Ray Teal	Policeman
Frank Cady	Night Clerk
Strother Martin	Karl Anton Smith
Henry Corden	William Doldy
Benny Burt	Driver
Fred Graham	Truck Driver
Bill Washington	Suspect
Kerry O'Day	Girl
Patricia Miller	Girl
Eloise Hardt	Vivian
Alberto Morín	Eddie Donato
Tim Ryan	Jack; Police Clerk
Howard Mitchell	Secretary
Saul Gorss	Policeman
Marc Lawrence	Actor
Miklos Rozsa	Composer

Technical Credits

John Huston

Ben Maddow

John Huston	Director,Screenwriter
Ben Maddow	Screenwriter
Arthur Hornblow Jr.	Producer
Douglas Shearer	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Lust, greed, and corruption lurk around every corner in director John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle, the definitive caper movie. The film distinguishes itself from other examples of the genre not merely through its intricate plotting but in the complex web of relationships it portrays among cops and criminals alike. Depth of characterization is Huston's strong suit, and it shows: Every role is brilliantly cast; every performance a gem. A clear standout, though, is Sam Jaffe, who portrays the scheme's elderly mastermind as a cross between a German psychoanalyst and a Zen master. He's the calm at the center of the storm, but with a taste for life's pleasures, notably young girls. Noteworthy also is Louis Calhern as a high-priced lawyer whose fancy clothes and even fancier manners conceal a young mistress (Marilyn Monroe), an empty bank account, and feet of clay. But the moral center of the story is a low-rent hoodlum played by the inimitable Sterling Hayden. Hayden's screen presence is stunning, and despite his predominantly B-movie career, he must rank among the most compelling American screen actors of the century. His fiery-eyed glare has the intensity of divine judgment here, single-handedly lifting The Asphalt Jungle to the level of classical tragedy. And while there are traces of sentiment in the film, they quickly yield to a more detached observation of characters whose destinies seem to emerge inevitably from their flaws. This, combined with a powerful sense of irony, places the film squarely in the realm of great American cinema.

Barnes & Noble - Gregory Baird

Much imitated, The Asphalt Jungle was one of the first caper films to show a crime and its consequences from the criminals' point of view. It's one of director John Huston's most gritty and suspenseful films, centering on a recently paroled criminal's scheme to make one last big hit. The cast of reliable character actors includes Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore and Sam Jaffe, and a little-known seductress named Marilyn Monroe, who had a small part. Based on a novel by W.R. Burnett, The Asphalt Jungle was innovative for 1950, as Huston told a crime-doesn't-pay story without the usual distancing and moralizing. It is more of a character study than an action film, and countless films that came later, all the way to Pulp Fiction, have paid it homage, some unknowingly. Some of the more direct remakes of the same plot include Cairo, A Cool Breeze, and The Badlanders.

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