Film Pairing – Let’s Rob A Bank, Maybe Two

I’m a fan of heist films. The theft of fine art and jewels from the very rich or money and gold from the banks has always struck me as romantic rather than criminal, especially when no lives are lost in the process. On this double bill, one film is a classic drama, the other a clever puzzle. What makes them special is that they are not just about the heist, but that they offer an original, thought-provoking twist in the story telling.

Dog Day Afternoon — If you are of a certain age and have always loved movies, you’ve seen this one.  If not, see it.  If so, see it again. It is based on a true and unusual story, especially for its time. Sidney Lumet directed this multiple award winning film released in 1975 and based on the news article, “The Boys In The Park” by P.F. Kluge. Though most of the film takes place inside a branch bank in Brooklyn, one gets a great overview of the 70s, culturally and politically. Al Pacino is extraordinary as the central figure. The entire cast, which also includes Charles Durning, John Cazalle, Chris Sarandon, and James Broderick turn in fine performances. Credit also goes to Penelope Allen as the head teller. Pacino, who plays an unemployed perhaps unemployable young man, has a wife and a lover, the latter needing expensive gender-changing surgery.  Pacino decides to rob a bank to get the money and creates a situation that shows his character’s humanity and almost comic incompetence. This is a must see for film lovers and historians.

 

Inside Man — Justice isn’t always served the way you think it might. Inside Man, a 2006 release is a solid entry in the heist genre. Directed by Spike Lee, the intricate robbery plot is exercised by Clive Owen who faces Denzel Washington, representing the law.   Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer add fascinating dimensions to the already clever screenplay by Russell Gewirtz. Actors Willem Dafoe and Chiwetel Ejiofor are also featured in this quick-paced drama that challenges the imagination.  How are the robbers going to get out with what they want and a couple of dozen dozen hostages kept safe? It seems impossible. Will there be a bloodbath? Perhaps we viewers make too many assumptions.

My suggestions for sustenance on these cool nights involve the drug caffeine.  Why not an Irish coffee?  Or some other coffee mix with or without alcohol that will keep you buzzed and able to keep up with Pacino’s typical high-energy performance.

Film Pairings — White Heat, Rififi, A Night Of American Black And French Noir

Virginia Mayo and James Cagney in White Heat

I may have to give up my mystery writer’s license for my admission: I’ve never liked watching James Cagney and avoid most of his films. But I see now, it’s been my loss. In White Heat, he plays a macho, mama’s boy, a complex character that Cagney pulls off with aplomb. White Heat is on everyone’s list of great gangster films.  It’s also a heist movie with a reliable supporting cast — Virginia Mayo, Edmond O’Brien, Steve Cochran, and a very convincing  Margaret Wycherly as “Ma.”  We’ve got guns and trains, prison violence, car chases and explosions, and still we don’t lose that sense of noir gloom. Virginia Kellogg picked up an Academy Award for Best Writing, and the 1949 film won the Best Picture Edgar from the Mystery Writers of America.

Jean Servais threatening in Rififi

No doubt an inspirational resource for many American crime films to follow, the word for White Heat is “American.”  In 1955, The French produced Rififi a gangster/heist film that epitomized noir.  In all fairness, the story was realized by American director Jules Dassain who had been banned from Hollywood, blacklisted during the notorious McCarthy era of “commie” hunters. Based on the Auguste Le Breton’s Du Rififi Chez Hommes novel, a recently released, over-the-hill gangster brings together a specialized crew to rob a high-end jewelry store.  The meticulously planned (and filmed) robbery is worth the price of admission alone; but the film is not over.   I suspect that anyone wanting to understand film noir would do well to study this masterpiece, not only for its story, but for the superior cinematography which captures the working streets of Paris in the mid-fifties.

If the diminutive Cagney casts a big shadows on the screen as the manic American tough guy, French actor Jean Servais, does it in reverse.  His depression (ennui) is tangible without being melodramatic.   In White Heat, Cagney is so intense we cannot take our eyes off him.  In Rififi, Servais, the central character, almost doesn’t exist. It’s his immense and cool quiet that astounds. However, the last minutes of the film more than confirm the greatness of all that precede it and create a genuine work of art.

If you take in this double feature some night, consume with glasses of champagne or Pernod (if you’re the moody type) because the French are slightly victorious in the match of these two great films.