Home Cool News Coaxial Reviews Zone Chat Contact Us Sign in

Talkbacks

A Movie A Day: Quint on HELL IS A CITY (1960)
A man doesn't break out of jail to kill a cop. He breaks out to get away

Not that crazy
by Napoleon Park		Aug 9th, 2008
01:37:55 AM
about the paperback potboiler art on the DVD box, but I love the comic book style art on the posters. "Crime noir with British sensibilities" - this sounds terrific. I'd say that I wished there was a TB network carrying stuff like this, but hey, I only get basic cable so for all I know there probably is. Though, if not, there really should be.
Baker would have made a great Bond
by palimpsest		Aug 9th, 2008
02:01:23 AM
Daniel Craig's got some of his acting chops, but not the charisma that Baker could exude. And ZULU is still an astonishing movie that works as both drama and a balls-to-the-wall action pic.
The poster art work alone makes this worth checking out
by Aloy		Aug 9th, 2008
02:39:56 AM
Very cool.
Where it does stand up to classic noir easily
by elab49		Aug 9th, 2008
02:44:05 AM
Is in the evocation of the city as a character - a strong theme and you have to think Dassin's UK trip influenced Guest to a degree. Manchester in all its variation is shown here and is virtually unrecognisable to the modern eye, even taking the changes post-bomb into consideration. My favourite parts are out near the mills and the lovely bits with the all the men arriving for the low rent version of gambling/craps and the camera moving brilliantly amongst the rooftops at the end. I do wish, though, that people would stop assuming every noir needs a femme fatale and shoehorning one in, however weak the attempt. Noir masterpieces could manage pretty well without them, unless your basic knowledge is the 1,2,3 tickboxing from Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. More pertinent in contemporary terms - and a more interesting move next if you hadn't seen it - is Guest's "Day The Earth Caught Fire" from the next year - both films top Quatermass (and even my fondness for Inspector Hornleigh and Alastair Sim). The natural quality to the world created lives in DTECF and it was a major release at the time. Still one of my favourites it is one of the only truly intelligent pieces of SF to stand up from the period. Kael had a rather foolish view of it as her criticism seemed centred on thinking Guest presented a mankind not worth saving. By that criteria she'd probably love the doe-eyed sadsacks in Deep Impact and the like.
BTW Poster Art is Hammer
by elab49		Aug 9th, 2008
02:47:24 AM
The film really isn't.
Great film
by reni		Aug 9th, 2008
03:49:53 AM
Great film, my Dad saw them filming this in Levenshulme. The Criminal is definitely worth a look too.
Ever seen Blast of Silence Quint?
by kungfuhustler84		Aug 9th, 2008
04:07:04 AM
Another great noir film. One of the best in my opinion.
Stanley Baker
by Con Shonnery		Aug 9th, 2008
04:24:26 AM
Another Stanley Baker film worth seening is Robbery which was directed by Peter Yates who went on to direct Bullitt. Baker was a great actor who died way too soon.
Classic
by Primus		Aug 9th, 2008
05:51:37 AM
Great film, great atmosphere. My dad lived in Manchester when they filmed this, he remembers them closing streets down for shooting. And Baker rules.
If you watch Blast of Silence
by elab49		Aug 9th, 2008
05:59:08 AM
You probably want to start looking at the 50s French stuff - run through Melville, back to Dassin with Rififi, etc, to see what it seems to want to reference. Unfortunately, though, your better bet is Cassavettes - which I personally find tends to be tedious. Nice wind though.
I'm really not trying to be a dick here but..
by schnide		Aug 9th, 2008
07:17:01 AM
..why are these reviews listed under Latest News? Because if there's demand for these, can't they go in a separate section?
because believe it or not schnide
by Bloo		Aug 9th, 2008
07:36:13 AM
people do look forward to these reviews, myself included, just because they arne't the "latest" doesn't mean they aren't appciated. This whole site is about not just news but CELEBRATING film, past, present and future
Yeah Bloo, go OLEG on schnide
by Grammaton Cleric Binks		Aug 9th, 2008
07:47:02 AM
Quint you're going to catch a lot of grief in the next week because none of your films were made later than the seventies. You have to show these Bayified young geeks that classics exist, and they need to appreciate the past.
Val Guest is underrated.
by Knuckleduster		Aug 9th, 2008
07:58:47 AM
This guy loved making movies and was damn good at it. Ever seen The Day The Earth Caught Fire? Great movie.
The Big Clock is another noir classic
by Grammaton Cleric Binks		Aug 9th, 2008
08:01:17 AM
It had Ray Milland, Harry Morgan (Col. Potter), and I think it had Charles Laughton, but I could be wrong on that.
This is not cool news. Goodbye America
by Grammaton Cleric Binks		Aug 9th, 2008
10:12:48 AM
I loved his show because he told it like it was, and didn't take crap from the kids like you see in so many sitcoms. RIP Bernie.
Big Clock is a bit random?
by elab49		Aug 9th, 2008
10:15:00 AM
Excellent film but not remotely similar to this in theme or construct. Still - No Way Out evers turns up on this list it can link back to the film based on the same story.
Goodbye Bernie Mac
by Turd Furgeson		Aug 9th, 2008
10:17:29 AM
One of the funniest comics in world, period, and by far the funniest black comic for the last decade. This is really sad stuff.
primus
by reni		Aug 9th, 2008
10:36:33 AM
Shout out to your dad and mine mate! RIP Bernie.
Love this film
by fuldamobil		Aug 9th, 2008
11:26:19 AM
One of the best British noirs. It really stands out for the great location cinematography and very interesting story. There's a key American character and it's neat how he's treated. I actually have the American poster hanging in my living room. Val Guest also directed the Quatermass films as well as the absolute classic, The Day The Earth Caught Fire.
Farewell Bernie Mac
by SpencerTrilby		Aug 9th, 2008
11:31:33 AM
may he rest in peace.
To Bloo and Grammaton Cleric Binks..
by schnide		Aug 9th, 2008
01:46:06 PM
..hey guys, I didn't just ask to fuck your mother's corpse. What I actually said was that the main purpose of this site is for the latest movie news. I appreciate a good classic as much as the next man, but if I want that kind of thing, I'll go to a site - or a section - for it. Fair enough, right?
The road not taken...
by Raymond Shaw		Aug 9th, 2008
02:15:48 PM
Here's how your viewing should've gone at this point: Hell Is a City -> Robbery (link Stanley Baker) -> Friends of Eddie Cyle (link Peter Yates) -> The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (link Dave Grusin did the music)
schinde
by Bloo		Aug 9th, 2008
06:33:00 PM
actually, no, this site ISN'T aobut the latest news, like I said at the end of my post, this site is about celebrating film, weather that be upcoming film (news), present news (reviews) or the past (AMAD, etc)

I remember Harry reviewing Dr Zhavigo years ago because he caught it at a revival theatre or at the Alamo or something, samething with Butt-Numb-A-Thon or the like. that is what this site is about

AICN
by Quint		Aug 9th, 2008
09:24:09 PM
Schnide, I do understand your point, but there isn't another section. As a few others have pointed out the site as a whole is about film, not just shit coming out this weekend or next summer, although that is the main thrust. If we were neglecting that news and only posting columns like AMAD, then you'd be completely in the right, but we have a good balance developing, I think.

Just watched The Pied Piper and am writing up today's column. It's a weird one...
Did I change my name to Uwe Boll..
by schnide		Aug 10th, 2008
06:09:32 AM
..or just make a comment intentionally offending no-one? Cheers for the reasoned feedback Quint. I still fundementally disagree, and would be willing to bet you a week's worth of classic movies that the old reviews get far less traffic than the movie news. That's because this site is called Aint It Cool NEWS. I and many, many others come here specifically because this site is a great place to get that news. If I wanted old movie reviews, I'd go elsewhere - and if one of the knee-jerk reaction talkbackers want to suggest I do that.. don't bother. Nevertheless, this site doesn't belong to me, so if my suggestion is rejected then I appreciate you considering it and I've no doubt I'll continue to read this for many years to come. Now let's all play nice shall we? Come on, group hug!
We'll have to agree to disagree Schnide
by Grammaton Cleric Binks		Aug 10th, 2008
07:33:58 AM
I like this column in its current format, you don't, and want a separate box. Different opinions, fair enough. Although I find Tom Bodet's digs at your expense rather amusing.
elab
by Shoegeezer		Aug 10th, 2008
08:48:13 AM
Good call on Dassin, I watched this and Night And The City over one weekend and they really complimented each other well. Guest was a pretty good director, quite versatile. His espionage movies Assignment K and Where The Spies Are are well worth tracking down. His autobiography is fun too, he drops names at an incredible rate and volume but comes across as a swell guy. They don't make actors like Baker anymore. He could do proper working class tough roles and then be equally as convincing as a sophisticated toff. A real cultured gent in life according to those who met him, very humble and down to earth. That kind of manly presence is sadly out of style these days, current Brit actors like Clive Owen, Jude Law and Daniel Craig just can't cut it like Baker, they really don't compare. This feature of Quint's should stay exactly where it is, if only to provide a rare talkback that isn't full of temper tantrums.
GCB
by schnide		Aug 10th, 2008
09:49:15 AM
You're entitled to bad taste in comedy.
schnide
by schnide		Aug 10th, 2008
06:05:39 PM
"Get over the fact"?! I'm not the ones stressing out here. I'd certainly be interested to see the traffic for stats for news articles versus these reviews. But I'm not losing sleep over it either way. Pleasure talking with you all, see you on other news threads.. sorry, current and non-current movie related information threads.
Click for previous story Talk Back More on this story Click for next story

User login

Quick Talkback

Please login to post talkback.