Review Of The Movie The Big Combo
Movie that was initially released in February 13th, 1995 and directed by Joseph H. Lewis, may be one of the finest film noirs. Photographed by cinematographer John Alton, with music by David Raksin. The black and white cinematography, the memorable use of shadows and light that is gently playing with darkness and light by dazzling our eyes for 87 minutes. Only with the budget of $500’000, one of the greatest film noirs was made.
“The Big Combo” focuses on Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde), driven man, a big city police detective with a dual obsession, he is obsessed to bring to justice a certain mobster, vicious thug, crime lord known as Mr. Brown (Conte). Police lieutenant Diamonds has seen innocent people being driven into crime by the syndicate, and he has had enough. With the love to his girl, anger towards crime lord Mr. Brown and his willingness to get to the justice, he is under pressure to close the case of Mr. Brown, who is accused of murders. He is helped by the gangster's wife, Alicia that is jealous at her husband's affair with another woman, who supplies him with information to help him close the net on his foe. Even though, Alicia was hiding for several years and everyone thought she was dead, Mr. Diamonds could find her and the truth. In the beginning of the movie detective had a mystery to solve, he had to find a mysterious woman called Alicia. Alicia, in this movie, is the main character because half of the movie, the detective is looking for her “dead body”, which is not dead at all and after he finds her she helps to stop crime lord and come to justice.
Detectives Diamond’s efforts to nab Mr. Brown not only endanger his own life but also the well-being of those close to him – but that doesn’t stop him. Example could be that crime lord Mr. Brown is self-absorbed, vicious, sadistic, and completely devoid of conscience, he demonstrates this in a particularly explicit scene, where he tortures Diamond, who’s been abducted by Brown’s hoods.
First Brown blasts the volume in a hearing aid device that he places in Diamond’s ear. Then he forces him to drink hair tonic containing 40 percent alcohol. Brown mentions - “Look at the drunken cop,” and “Isn’t that a shame.” This scene proves all the Mr. Browns characteristics and that Diamond’s efforts to nab Mr. Brown only endanger his own life as he was tortured. The plot is a bit of mystery. Police detective trying to build a puzzle with most missing pieces, like Alicia in the first part of movie. The movie itself has many tough scenes of brutality, gunshots and suicide, but my favorite is the unforgettable execution that takes place in total silence. In my opinion, that is the perfect conclusion to a scene that has been building up with tension.
"The Big Combo" normal crime syndicate thriller, where a sleaze story of obsession turns out to be a story of revenge. Despite the bland title, watch this film. It’s got everything – outstanding writing, direction, music, cinematography, acting. And it is all wrapped up in a neat little noir bundle. It's time it got recognition amongst the greatest films Hollywood has ever produced. Complex characters, and the good hero makes this film great. The cast of the movie did a great job. I was bewildered with this movie at the start but thanks to my English teacher, my eyes have been opened to the world of film noirs’.
