Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Mark Turner Most younger viewers today have no concept of the term gangster as it applied to films of the seventies or for that matter the gangsters of the past. For them gangster refers to gang bangers and gang members in today's world with no relation to where the term originally came from. While for the term "O.G." or original gangster means gang members in the hood the reality is that the true original gangsters were the bank robbers and killers of the 20s and 30s who ran rampant at the time. Perhaps the most famous of these was John Dillinger and Arrow Film has just released the blu-ray version of a movie made about him back in 1973.In the late 60s and early 70s gangster movies were making a comeback as seen in the success of films like BONNIE AND CLYDE and THE GODFATHER. So it was natural for a studio like AIP, known to make low budget films on popular film cycles, to dip their toe into the water. The result of their efforts was this film starring Warren Oates as Dillinger.Picking up in midpoint of the career of Dillinger the movie shows him as a folk hero to some and a hard boiled killer to others. Dillinger and his gang robbed banks at gunpoint and were not shy of firing on anyone who tried to stop them. As the film opens their robbing a bank and escaping, wounded after a gun battle at their latest bank robbery.The film is told through the narration of FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Ben Johnson) as he tracks down not just Dillinger but any and all gangsters on the run. With Dillinger as public enemy number one, Purvis has set his sights on him but knows it will take time. Time is on his side as he tracks down each criminal in the hopes they will lead to Dillinger.Dillinger on the other hand is content to live his life on the run. With original gang members Homer Van Meter (Harry Dean Stanton), Harry Pierpont (Geoffrey Lewis) he takes on two new recruits, Pretty Boy Floyd (Steve Kanaly) and Baby Face Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss). His inclusion of the psychopathic Nelson will help with his downfall.While most of us are aware of the life and times of John Dillinger this movie gives us a perspective of him rarely seen. Showing both sides of his life, perspectives from his point of view and Purvis', we get an idea of the real man rather than just those who were out to capture or kill him. Many of the movies made at the time attempted this with their depiction of gangsters. While BONNIE AND CLYDE almost made heroes of their characters, DILLINGER doesn't quite do so displaying the harshness of the character as well as the moments when things were calmer.One of the things that stands out in this film is that it was the first major film directed by John Milius who went on to direct films like CONAN THE BARBARIAN and RED DAWN. Milius was more known as a screenwriter having written DIRTY HARRY, JEREMIAH JOHNSON and THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN prior to this film. Fans of Milius will be overjoyed to see this release on blu-ray. Not only that they'll be delighted to see it get the full on Arrow Film treatment.As with all Arrow releases this film provides the cleanest transfer to be found of the movie. Their transfers are so well done that there are times you feel as if you're watching a film for the first time no matter if you've seen it before or not. But that's never enough for Arrow and the new release is packed with extras as well. Included are a commentary track featuring Stephen Prince the author of SAVAGE CINEMA and SCREENING VIOLENCE, a new interview with producer Lawrence Gordon, a new interview with director of photography Jules Brenner, a new interview with composer Barry De Vorzon, a stills gallery, the theatrical trailer, a reversible sleeve with new artwork by Sean Phillips and a collector's booklet that includes an interview with Milius.At the time of the film's release I was a year shy of a driver's license and the ability to see an R rated film. I'd looked forward to seeing this one for some time since and for some reason never had the chance. I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. If you're a fan of the genre or seventies films then this one is not just worth watching but one to own as well. You won't find a better version out there.

mw1561 Had I one dollar for every burst of machine gun fire then I'd be a rich man. The actors in this film are talented people with good resumes, but that it the only positive comment I can make about this film. Cheap, trashy exploitation that wants us to feel sympathetic for John Dillinger.In these types of movies I am amazed at the gall of the director. In scene after scene Dillinger is involved in machine gun battles with police, and yet he is never touched. While the film might be somewhat accurate from a historical perspective, I am fairly certain that the gun battles did not take place as brazenly as the film suggests. There is no way that a person could stand in the open without cover, and have numerous police officers firing at them from a close distance and not get hit. While it might make for good action scenes, it defies reality. And the was also no attempt to explain the love interest between Dillinger and his "moll". One minute they meet, and the next she is his woman. Perhaps they could have shortened the gun battles and fleshed out the romantic entanglements a little.

lastliberal If I am looking for a tough bank robber, I could not find a better one than Warren Oates. His portrayal of John Dillinger was spot on. He has the gangster look; no baby face for him.The question throughout was whether Dillinger was the most self-absorbed or was it Melvin Purvis (Ben Johnson), the man who smoked 50 cent Montecristos while he chased Dillinger and others. 50 cents in 1933 was a lot of money for a cigar! Lots of shooting and lots of blood in this film that also featured singer Michelle Phillips, Cloris Leachman, Geoffrey Lewis, and Richard Dreyfuss.There are a lot of laughs in the film, too. It was a good story that kept you interested until the end.

winner55 This is still the definitive biography of John Dillinger on film. I just saw Mann's Public Enemies - this film blows that one away. Forgive me for quoting my own review of Mann's film: "Milius, taking his cue from "Bonnie And Clyde," from the earlier Lawrence Tierney film "Dillinger," and from the gaudy gangster films of Roger Corman, fashioned a film that was both flashy yet homespun, part unabashed B-movie, part evocation of American Gothic. Even his occasional tinkering with historical accuracy could be forgiven, since it was clear he had a firm grasp on what the Dillinger phenomenon was really all about - 'farm boy makes good by turning bad' is an undeniable folk-theme of American life. And the brilliance of Warren Oates' performance in the Milius film is that Oates plays Dillinger like a runaway farm-boy with a sense of humor and a quick temper, who just happened to rob banks for a living. That's as much as you can give any professional criminal without lying about the nature of crime namely, it's about stealing other peoples' money and hurting many of them in the process." Other reviewers have remarked this as a B-movie - but it is intentionally so, it never makes any pretense otherwise; and that's important: having decided to make a B-movie leaves Milius with considerable leeway as to how far he wants to push any aspect of the material. So while it's hard to think of any particular dramatic high-point of the film (perhaps the scene where Dillinger and Purvis go to the same restaurant, or the death of Pretty Boy Floyd?), it's much harder to find any moment that really drags the film down - the pacing of the film is that of a B-movie, it moves! There's nothing exceptional about the cinematography or music, or production design; what we're left with are memorable performances by some of the greatest character actors in cinema at the time, and an exciting story with enough savvy to trigger our emotions.Milius watched the Lawrence Tierney "Dillinger" and learned from it before starting this film; Mann should have watched Milius' film over and over before starting "Public Enemies." In any event, this is still THE Dillinger story, and and an entertaining action film as well.