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''That's a honey of an anklet you're wearing, Mrs. Dietrichson.''
Double Indemnity is the dazzling, quintessential film noir whose enormous popular success and seven Oscar nominations catapulted Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment) into the very top tier of Hollywood's writer-directors. Adapted from a novella by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice), co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye), Double Indemnity remains the hardest-boiled of delectations.
Insurance hawker Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets seduced by some other man's wife: a bored, sex-starved Barbara Stanwyck done up in lorry-grille wig and a pair of lips like wine grapes smashed in candle-wax. She wants to off her better half and collect on his policy, but spitfire claims-adjuster Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) smells a rat - or at least the cheap perfume all over that Dietrichson file.
- Masters of Cinema
- Billy Wilder
- 15
- 1944
- English
- 1
- Masters of Cinema
- B
- Eureka!
''That's a honey of an anklet you're wearing, Mrs. Dietrichson.''
Double Indemnity is the dazzling, quintessential film noir whose enormous popular success and seven Oscar nominations catapulted Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment) into the very top tier of Hollywood's writer-directors. Adapted from a novella by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice), co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye), Double Indemnity remains the hardest-boiled of delectations.
Insurance hawker Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets seduced by some other man's wife: a bored, sex-starved Barbara Stanwyck done up in lorry-grille wig and a pair of lips like wine grapes smashed in candle-wax. She wants to off her better half and collect on his policy, but spitfire claims-adjuster Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) smells a rat - or at least the cheap perfume all over that Dietrichson file.
- Masters of Cinema
- Billy Wilder
- 15
- 1944
- English
- 1
- Masters of Cinema
- B
- Eureka!
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Boy meets girl - noir style
Full disclosure - I'm a big film noir and Raymond Chandler fan so I am biased here. It is a typical boy-meets-girl story with all the noir twists that turns a simple romance into something dark and in the end a morality tale. One of the more approachable films from the noir genre which goes a little easier on the uninitiated; like a lot of noir films made during a slightly more repressive era where anything of a sexual nature was not allowed in films so the film makers relied on the writer and the actors to portray the eroticism, they do it so well in this film that you start thanking the Hay's Code for making them work harder. After years of experiencing film noir as 'old movies' it's a treat to see them as the original audiences did.
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Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles.
Another "Masters of Cinema" title that is really fitting for the movie. Certainly in the top 10 noir films of all time this movie is well acted, expertly directed and looks simply brilliant on Bluray. Im not one to give anything away in reviews, so all I will say is that Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck do brilliant jobs in this intelligent flick and it comes very highly recommended both as a movie and due to its excellent quality on the disc.
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"How could I have known that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?"
When one decides to watch any of these golden Billy Wilder movies, one makes a commitment. Because in Billy Wilder movies, people talk and they talk fast. And boy does it work here! This noir'ish 1944 film shows you how sometimes the plot is not as important as the journey and the story which comes to alive during that journey. The "plot" is slammed and spoiled at your face right at the beginning and the trip to fall in love with these hateful characters can begin. The scan of the film, which I believe was made in co-operation with Universal, looks really good here. The blacks are beautiful and all those different shades of grey are presented in a great way on this blu ray. I haven't seen any of the bonus material yet, but everything seems like they are going to serve this release in a proper way. The booklet gave great insight to the Double Indemnity universe. John Allyn interview with Billy Wilder was really interesting. I'd say that this release makes great justice to the legendary phenomena in cinema history, which we know by the name of: Double Indemnity.
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