Blast of Silence (1961)
Having been 'away' for some time professional killer Frankie Bono returns to New York to do another job: assassinate some mid-level mobster. Although intending to avoid unnecessary 'contact' while carefully stalking his victim Bono is recognized by an old fellow from the orphanage, whose calm and unambitious citizen's life and happy marriage contrast heavily with Bono's solitary and haunted existence... (imdb)
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller, Crime
Country: USA
Directed By: Allen Baron
Written By: Allen Baron, Waldo Salt
Starring: Lionel Stander, Larry Tucker, Molly McCarthy, Allen Baron, Peter Clume, Danny Meehan, Dean Sheldon
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Blast of Silence belongs to 24 collections
1. Criterion Collection (public: moderated by caffe - 133 stars)
2. Film Noir (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 47 stars)
3. Features under 91 minutes (public: moderated by epiphany - 38 stars)
4. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (public: moderated by Scottathon - 34 stars)
5. Psychotronic Film and Video Guides (public: moderated by Gregzilla - 30 stars)
6. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (public: moderated by Cinephile - 15 stars)
7. Black and White Photography (public: moderated by JooJoo - 6 stars)
8. New York (public: moderated by djross - 5 stars)
9. Doubling The Canon (2010 update) (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 5 stars)
10. BFI 100 key Noir films (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 5 stars)
11. Voiceover narration (public: moderated by djross - 4 stars)
12. 1,000 Noir Films: They Shot Dark Pictures, Didn't They? (public: moderated by lisa- - 4 stars)
13. Hitman (public: moderated by td888 - 3 stars)
14. They Shoot Pictures ex-Top 1,000 (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 3 stars)
15. Director's only work (public: moderated by jodamico - 3 stars)
16. List: Noir of the Week (public: moderated by KasperL - 2 stars)
17. Pre-Guiliani New York (public: moderated by mattburgess - 2 stars)
18. Doubling the Canon (2011 update) (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)
19. Doubling the Canon (2012 update) (public: moderated by Cinephile - 1 star)
20. 2nd-person narration (public: moderated by Dorkovsky)
21. Cinema Discusso: Movies You Should See (private - 31 stars)
22. Coheed's Films I Need To See Or Try To Track Down (private: Coheed - 3 stars)
23. They Shoot Pictures: More American Noir, 1940-64 (Cat. B) (private: afx237vi - 2 stars)
24. Forrest Watch List (private: ForrestQ)
Browse the full list of collections
| Date | User | Rating | |
| Oct 16 |  |
vitruvian | 90 76% |
| Sep 11 |  |
babarok | 91 69% |
| Aug 09 |  |
Fritz Fass | 80 72% |
| Jul 26 |  |
CMQuinn | 80 71% |
| Jul 16 |  |
kennkoon | 80 79% |
| Jul 01 | CinemaLover7 | 85 56% |
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| Jun 20 |  |
FreddieQuell | 85 82% |
| Jun 18 |  |
RavynLoony | 78 89% |
| May 16 | alexmc | 0 10% |
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| Apr 10 | mate_cosido | 65 39% |
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| Mar 20 | apsays | 65 56% |
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| Feb 17 | coldesser | 70 43% |
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| Dec 31, 2017 |  |
Curb | 25 62% |
| Dec 20, 2017 | Systematicer | 80 87% |
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| Sep 12, 2017 | felixgartner | 90 77% |
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| Jul 24, 2017 |  |
Walterpoa | 65 37% |
| May 15, 2017 | DrWade42 | 79 63% |
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| May 12, 2017 | HillJackBob | 30 3% |
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| Apr 30, 2017 | 92filmgeek | 72 85% |
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| Mar 09, 2017 |  |
RYM-byrates | 74 91% |
| Mar 07, 2017 | filmcricket | 86 96% |
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| Feb 25, 2017 |  |
mCihhh | 80 81% |
| Feb 24, 2017 | Panunzio | 74 58% |
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| Feb 06, 2017 | Diggler | 85 84% |
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| Jan 28, 2017 |  |
PaulB1 | 90 87% |
| Jan 11, 2017 |  |
joewkeh | 46 16% |
| Dec 14, 2016 |  |
Maaxwell | 60 38% |
| Nov 22, 2016 |  |
JJ1986 | 70 76% |
| Nov 21, 2016 | Ronin22 | 68 81% |
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| Oct 30, 2016 | zkas1225 | 78 73% |
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| Oct 23, 2016 | jerrywarton | 84 95% |
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| Oct 12, 2016 |  |
Charlie | 85 90% |
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A great and almost forgotten noir classic in which the character study of the lonely wolf killer clearly stands out. Besides that great photography and soundtrack. Highly inspirational.
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| Oct 06, 2016 |  |
Dominoes1992 | 85 52% |
| Jul 20, 2016 | Cernat | 65 7% |
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| Jul 13, 2016 | eddiewinslow | 80 57% |
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| Jul 04, 2016 | Col_Needham | 80 78% |
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| Jul 04, 2016 | MrWhiplash | 90 69% |
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| Jun 30, 2016 |  |
bal3x | 90 96% |
| Jun 20, 2016 | empire434 | 74 67% |
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| Jun 02, 2016 | marcinvg | 60 40% |
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| May 21, 2016 |  |
Babycarrot | 95 37% |
| Apr 30, 2016 |  |
GrimsChild | 75 92% |
| Apr 26, 2016 | justaname | 80 59% |
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| Apr 25, 2016 |  |
twijfel | 62 45% |
| Mar 24, 2016 |  |
NightGoat72 | 50 43% |
| Feb 08, 2016 |  |
pmcinern | 80 67% |
| Jan 31, 2016 | SEE-MIDD | 79 82% |
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| Jan 07, 2016 |  |
MUBIvotes | 38 74% |
| Dec 14, 2015 |  |
robot2xl | 75 96% |
| Nov 27, 2015 |  |
syvyys | 80 50% |
| Oct 22, 2015 |  |
ITBSPodcast | 100 % |
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"It's still the same thing: dissatisfaction with what is supposed to be The American Dream."
http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2014/05/episode-15.html
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| Oct 15, 2015 | anandare | 80 60% |
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| Aug 08, 2015 | panchovilla | 78 59% |
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| Jul 25, 2015 |  |
Kitano7 | 85 90% |
| Jul 19, 2015 | bensonmum2 | 20 5% |
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| Jul 17, 2015 | thirdeye42 | 82 91% |
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| Jun 21, 2015 |  |
Inkerictus | 85 88% |
| Jun 13, 2015 | strangelime | 80 48% |
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| May 18, 2015 | zetes | 80 63% |
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| May 13, 2015 | preppy-3 | 60 38% |
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| May 08, 2015 |  |
jackinthebox | 80 78% |
| Apr 24, 2015 | OldAle1 | 90 82% |
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| Apr 20, 2015 | Fillmore | 80 76% |
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| Apr 11, 2015 | Zeherit | 72 47% |
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| Mar 23, 2015 |  |
Aron Ericson | 68 64% |
| Mar 02, 2015 |  |
Warren | 87 86% |
| Feb 15, 2015 |  |
kakivsjok | 78 54% |
| Feb 01, 2015 | kharms2 | 50 17% |
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| Jan 29, 2015 | LosWochos | 87 52% |
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| Jan 03, 2015 | btbenham | 85 69% |
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| Dec 28, 2014 | aliosmanoglu | 75 64% |
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| Dec 27, 2014 |  |
Marte Olsen | 78 65% |
| Dec 18, 2014 | 10kfilms | 87 83% |
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| Nov 27, 2014 |  |
ratedargh | 80 65% |
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Succinct and slick with a great jazz soundtrack. It might be a bit too spartan for its own good, but there is no dicking around. There are a series of standout scenes (specifically the jazz bar) and shots (testing the gun). The narration may be polarizing to some, but it mostly works. And even if it falters, it's a pretty creative choice and just adds an extra layer of hard boiled.
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| Nov 21, 2014 |  |
gargantua | 77 75% |
| Nov 03, 2014 |  |
adamj1982 | 91 95% |
| Oct 20, 2014 | Citizen 6 | 95 81% |
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| Sep 17, 2014 | angela79at | 70 79% |
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| Sep 10, 2014 |  |
inmate | 76 46% |
| Sep 05, 2014 |  |
Sockman | 65 49% |
| Aug 19, 2014 |  |
Xalechim | 75 72% |
| Jun 01, 2014 | Melvelet | 70 17% |
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| May 25, 2014 |  |
Risselada | 58 29% |
| May 07, 2014 |  |
Mr. Mxyzptlk | 100 % |
| Mar 26, 2014 | glm01 | 81 68% |
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81.000
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| Mar 24, 2014 | oddis87 | 83 72% |
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| Feb 25, 2014 | arzinger | 80 85% |
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| Feb 13, 2014 | robixsmash | 80 73% |
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| Dec 27, 2013 |  |
dormice | 75 55% |
| Dec 07, 2013 | Dicke_Taube | 80 86% |
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| Dec 04, 2013 |  |
Hans_Lucas | 80 53% |
| Oct 21, 2013 | Jorg | 70 63% |
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| Sep 21, 2013 |  |
M_A | 79 76% |
| Sep 18, 2013 | negativland | 65 32% |
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| Sep 16, 2013 | caffe | 72 47% |
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| Sep 14, 2013 | Barkinson | 80 93% |
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| Aug 07, 2013 | donquixotic | 53 37% |
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| Aug 03, 2013 | debaser1985 | 70 58% |
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| May 12, 2013 | TonyS. | 90 97% |
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| Apr 17, 2013 |  |
Piglet | 76 82% |
| Mar 01, 2013 |  |
Weafdog | 34 39% |
| Jan 06, 2013 | adoongdong | 84 82% |
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| Dec 15, 2012 | grapeshine | 77 75% |
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| Dec 14, 2012 |  |
frbrown | 60 11% |
| Dec 09, 2012 |  |
wetwillies | 60 10% |
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Couldn't get into this, mostly because that horrific narration was so distracting that I completely tuned out to pretty much everything that happened in it. Some nice photography, though. Love seeing New York at Christmastime. Allen Baron looks like a mixture of George C Scott and Lorne Michaels.
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| Dec 06, 2012 | Simon M. | 77 56% |
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| Nov 24, 2012 |  |
KasperL | 90 97% |
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Wonderful conflation of noir and character study. The use of voice-over narration is original and very effective.
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| Nov 24, 2012 |  |
darkman | 76 68% |
| Nov 15, 2012 | Ronin21 | 77 60% |
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| Sep 04, 2012 |  |
AlexanderMG | 93 89% |
| Sep 02, 2012 |  |
sengir | 80 65% |
| Aug 22, 2012 |  |
BNGPotential | 69 23% |
| Jul 31, 2012 | MalkHead | 50 10% |
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| Jul 17, 2012 |  |
alexandrsaar | 80 70% |
| Jul 01, 2012 | asdfg | 70 36% |
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| Jun 24, 2012 |  |
onuryilyang | 81 75% |
| Jun 23, 2012 | glm | 81 69% |
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81.250
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| Jun 21, 2012 |  |
jeff_v | 68 52% |
| Jun 15, 2012 |  |
gwynplaine | 75 38% |
| May 25, 2012 | e-ball | 76 66% |
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| Apr 24, 2012 |  |
AshenLight | 95 95% |
| Apr 07, 2012 |  |
Gordon Cole | 86 83% |
| Mar 20, 2012 |  |
kronstadtli | 70 47% |
| Feb 13, 2012 |  |
3rdman | 8 73% |
| Feb 11, 2012 |  |
gert | 65 61% |
| Jan 10, 2012 | xacviant | 87 84% |
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"Remembering, out of the black silence, you were born in pain." So begins this case history of a hit. The story binds us to the killer (director/writer Allen Baron), and for all his personal ugliness, we're constantly compelled. A few dramatic beats don't quite work (Baron the actor is a bit amateurish), but they pale next to the great semi-documentary cinematography, Meyer Kupferman's thrilling score, Larry Tucker as a sleazy fence, and Lionel Stander's brilliant, Waldo Salt-written narration.
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| Dec 28, 2011 |  |
Valenzetti | 90 88% |
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It's got moxie enough for the both of youse.
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| Nov 26, 2011 | mattnawrocki | 75 55% |
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| Oct 17, 2011 |  |
avgcrtckr | 69 86% |
| Sep 21, 2011 |  |
puppyd | 69 0% |
| Sep 13, 2011 |  |
Guernica | 43 36% |
| Aug 29, 2011 |  |
sebby | 80 89% |
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Intense, super-gritty, tightly woven noir that upends many of the genre's conventions.
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| Aug 27, 2011 |  |
cinema_hell | 90 86% |
| Jul 24, 2011 | daisytuna | 87 79% |
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| Jul 14, 2011 |  |
dairylee | 4 81% |
| Jul 02, 2011 | chiphall72 | 50 15% |
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| Jun 30, 2011 | hoolie | 88 73% |
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| Apr 24, 2011 |  |
jmsenise | 79 67% |
| Apr 21, 2011 |  |
RoXoN | 92 91% |
| Apr 15, 2011 |  |
Dorkovsky | 7 85% |
| Apr 13, 2011 |  |
deckard0 | 88 42% |
| Apr 08, 2011 |  |
ugur | 8 71% |
| Apr 06, 2011 |  |
JohnSandwich | 85 90% |
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I loved it. Some terrific scenes (f ex opening sequence, village gate conga, the party) and Larry Tucker as Ralphie was really memorable. Liked Baron in the lead role as well. Great.
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| Mar 28, 2011 | cosmic_bus | 70 57% |
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| Mar 25, 2011 |  |
Noblet | 76 60% |
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The lead character is pretty interesting, and the weird narration actually added to the film for me. The tone, photography and narration makes this fairly standard story stand out more.
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| Feb 09, 2011 | IHateMovies | 90 75% |
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| Feb 09, 2011 |  |
guppy | 88 97% |
| Dec 27, 2010 | spins | 75 32% |
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| Dec 24, 2010 |  |
Art Vandelay | 76 50% |
| Oct 24, 2010 |  |
overseas | 95 86% |
| Oct 17, 2010 |  |
SlantMag | 20 41% |
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"The tension doesn't so much revolve around the antihero's job, redemption, or ultimate fate but rather the disconnect between its mundane milieu and the grandiose flourishes they're meant to convey." - Eric Henderson
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| Sep 23, 2010 |  |
JerryJ | 40 24% |
| Aug 18, 2010 | DTI | 84 74% |
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| Aug 11, 2010 |  |
IMDb-byvotes | 77 78% |
| Jul 25, 2010 |  |
MadMan | 93 78% |
| Jul 24, 2010 |  |
MartinTeller | 94 97% |
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A wonderful slice of noir: gray, gritty and gloomy, augumented by a smoky jazz score and terrific use of location shots. Most notable is the 2nd-person narration. It's very existentialist, and puts you right inside Frankie's mind. While I imagine the movie would work quite well without any narration at all, its unusual nature really adds something. A very compelling character study that simultaneously feels polished and rough around the edges.
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| Jul 02, 2010 | DividedFrame | 72 44% |
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| Jun 09, 2010 |  |
jodamico | 87 97% |
| Jun 05, 2010 |  |
kastenm | 81 84% |
| Jun 01, 2010 |  |
Prof. Sebby | 70 64% |
| May 15, 2010 |  |
tonydal | 80 73% |
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Interesting 2nd-person VO gimmick (though I couldn't help but wonder if the whole thing could've worked without it). Prescient and no doubt influential film, with an attitude years ahead of its time, despite the occasional beatnik wallowing (that cat on the conga was crazy, man, crazy!). And yes, Ralphie was very creepy indeed. I wonder: was the doublecross at the end because Frankie had gotten cold feet, or had they been planning it all along?
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| Apr 01, 2010 |  |
syrena | 62 39% |
| Mar 18, 2010 | Blevo | 79 64% |
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| Mar 16, 2010 | ledfloyd | 61 33% |
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| Mar 12, 2010 |  |
Shmendrek | 2 33% |
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It's an average noir, to be sure, but it was made a couple years after the film noir truly "peaked," so there's really no excuse for this pedestrian jaunt through well-worn territory. The opening sequence is similar to the introduction of "the butcher" in Seul Contre Tous, but that's where the similarities end. As much as I wanted Blast of Silence to be the spiritual predecessor of Noe's masterpiece and the thematically similar Taxi Driver, I found it rather toothless and facile.
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| Mar 09, 2010 |  |
Dally | 70 42% |
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Love, LOVE the frequently OTT voiceover, though the film relies too much on a messy story to get to its existential point. Larry Tucker is fantastic in a brief supporting role.
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| Feb 19, 2010 | Quezacotl | 80 74% |
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| Feb 15, 2010 |  |
JohnnyZombie | 86 63% |
| Jan 29, 2010 | MurphDick | 95 97% |
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| Jan 26, 2010 | Jazzaloha | 71 71% |
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This film noir with a European sensibility is a wonder in that the director had no experience and almost no budget--and yet he manages to make a solid film.
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| Jan 02, 2010 |  |
Veterini | 59 18% |
| Dec 20, 2009 | paulstomb | 75 42% |
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| Dec 07, 2009 |  |
hekkon | 90 89% |
| Dec 03, 2009 |  |
cat9man | 40 6% |
| Nov 23, 2009 |  |
jbissell | 80 59% |
| Oct 27, 2009 |  |
dumbjaw | 70 77% |
| Sep 13, 2009 |  |
ricardo reis | 92 91% |
| Sep 09, 2009 | negative | 3 % |
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| Aug 30, 2009 |  |
RCMERCHANT | 90 76% |
| Aug 25, 2009 |  |
torontodog | 75 71% |
| Aug 08, 2009 |  |
PenningtonNY | 95 87% |
| Jul 09, 2009 | ootoss | 85 67% |
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| Jun 11, 2009 |  |
drstrangeluv | 90 91% |
| May 26, 2009 |  |
JooJoo | 4 54% |
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A clear influence on the gangster movies to come, but a movie this well made really deserves a better script.
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| May 24, 2009 |  |
elmakebabi | 73 71% |
| May 23, 2009 | spiritofeden | 73 73% |
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| Apr 21, 2009 |  |
Alex Watkins | 3 42% |
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A nice crime-pic-slash-character-study. It starts off fairly dull (and the narration is terrible - whose idea was it to put it in second person anyway?) but among its strengths it can count some really excellent, hard-edged B&W photography that lend it an air of gloominess, and a fairly interesting (if cliched) plot with compelling character development.
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| Apr 10, 2009 |  |
Gregzilla | 60 66% |
| Apr 08, 2009 |  |
imdb | 78 90% |
| Mar 30, 2009 |  |
Moribunny | 45 32% |
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My expectations that this would be a blast were silenced as soon as I heard the husky Brooklyn-accent voice-over. If there's anything more annoying than overly chatty voice-over narration, it's one that also addresses "you" in second person. The music (by the forgotten Meyer Kupferman, a fantastic composer) is excellent, and it's well shot, but the story is just cliché after cliché. Baron looks a bit like George C. Scott.
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| Mar 19, 2009 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 72 32% |
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The terrible over reliance on voice overs and really slow build up get it off on the wrong foot, but I have to admit the film really grew on me. The deviations from some noir conventions are interesting and the lead character is just sympathetic enough.
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| Mar 12, 2009 |  |
sidehacker | 76 69% |
| Mar 11, 2009 |  |
Actionberg | 60 30% |
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There's some groovy photography scattered about, but for the most part it's fairly average.
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| Mar 02, 2009 | nuotio | 60 66% |
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| Jan 30, 2009 |  |
filmaffinity | 72 86% |
| Jan 04, 2009 | Neveryan | 85 82% |
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| Jan 02, 2009 | fletch | 75 62% |
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| Dec 21, 2008 |  |
supergloo | 8 58% |
| Dec 19, 2008 | theyshoot08 | 52 4% |
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965
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| Dec 14, 2008 |  |
piratejerk | 7 37% |
| Oct 17, 2008 |  |
dookobore | 70 48% |
| Sep 03, 2008 |  |
iceblox | 75 77% |
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Without the quintessential femme fatale, this is more crime than film-noir. Also, this is more brooding and depressive than its contemporaries. The voice-over which goads the antagonist to his doom is creepy and effective, and from what I can remember from other movies of its times, quite unique in its approach. Allen Baron delivers, more so as a director than as an actor.
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| Aug 25, 2008 |  |
Zarkon | 80 52% |
| Aug 11, 2008 |  |
BlueHeat | 73 64% |
| Aug 10, 2008 |  |
Nathan S | 5 94% |
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One of cinema's greatest New York stories, a lean and mean crime thriller composed of simple elements, but elevated with impressive style and precision into a tale of urban alienation. It's low-key and pulpy, with a unique second-person narration that functions as Frankie's existential subconscious. The cinematography is street-level gritty, a vérité depiction of misanthropic loneliness in the big city. A decent companion piece to Scorsese's Taxi Driver.
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| Jun 09, 2008 |  |
kangadoodoo | 60 53% |
| Mar 15, 2008 |  |
drcriddle | 100 90% |
| Sep 07, 2007 |  |
Stain | 60 47% |
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This movie keeps getting hailed as some kind of noir classic. It's not bad, but I don't see what excites people so much
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| Sep 04, 2007 | Udo S. | 95 33% |
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| Jan 01, 2003 | Reavic | 50 42% |
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| Average Percentile 62.9% from 210 Ratings |  |
