The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
A major heist goes off as planned, until bad luck and double crosses cause everything to unravel. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: John Huston
Written By: John Huston, W.R. Burnett, Ben Maddow
Starring: Marc Lawrence, Anthony Caruso, John McIntire, Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore, Louis Calhern, Marilyn Monroe, Brad Dexter, Sam Jaffe, Barry Kelley, Jean Hagen, Teresa Celli
Country: USA
Where to Stream
Loading...
The Asphalt Jungle belongs to 65 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (public: moderated by kozan26 - 226 stars)
2. Film Noir (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 55 stars)
3. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (public: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
4. They Shoot Pictures 250 Quintessential Noir Films (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 38 stars)
5. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)
6. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (public: moderated by theficionado - 31 stars)
7. National Film Registry (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
8. Netflix Instant (public: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)
9. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 29 stars)
10. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (public: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)
11. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)
12. List: Empire's five star movies (public: moderated by KasperL - 24 stars)
13. Academy Award - Oscar - ALL Best Picture, Directing, Acting & Screenplay Nominees (public - 22 stars)
14. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (public: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)
15. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (public: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
16. Heist (public: moderated by td888 - 17 stars)
17. Best of criticker: Drama (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 17 stars)
18. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (public: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)
19. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (public: moderated by Aron Ericson - 16 stars)
20. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)
21. Films available in HD (public: moderated by kubricksucks - 12 stars)
22. films101.com's 5 star films (public: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)
23. TimeOut's 1000 films to change your life (public: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)
24. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)
25. 1,000 Noir Films: They Shot Dark Pictures, Didn't They? (public: moderated by lisa- - 9 stars)
26. BFI 100 key Noir films (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 8 stars)
27. Best of criticker: Crime (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 8 stars)
28. David Thomson's 1000 Films (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 7 stars)
29. Best of Classic Old Hollywood (pre-70s) (public: moderated by 90sCoffee - 6 stars)
30. No Soundtrack (public: moderated by saudade - 4 stars)
31. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (public: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)
32. List: Noir of the Week (public: moderated by KasperL - 3 stars)
33. Best of criticker: Film Noir (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 3 stars)
34. the perfect crime (public: moderated by livelove - 1 star)
35. Ratings (public: moderated by cheapthrills)
36. polisiye (public: moderated by ceseth)
37. Golden film reels from L.A. Noire (public: moderated by juntakinte99)
38. The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: The Gangster Film (public: moderated by RoyalB)
39. Film gris (public: moderated by tirefeet)
40. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (private: djross - 13 stars)
41. Best by different standards (private: sesito71 - 5 stars)
42. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray and 4K) (private: PepeCamello - 3 stars)
43. Netflix Watch Instantly (private: dgeiser13 - 2 stars)
44. Paste Magazine: The 100 Best Film Noirs of All Time (private: TychoCelchuu - 2 stars)
45. The 100 Best Film Noirs of All Time: Slant Magazine (private: TychoCelchuu - 2 stars)
46. Edgar Allan Poe Awards: Best Motion Picture (private: sianaa - 1 star)
47. List: TSPDT's 100 Noir Films (private: KasperL - 1 star)
48. The Greatest Movies of All Time - Filmweb's Alternative Top 500 (private: Hadleyreis - 1 star)
49. To see (private: nyg500)
50. Favorites of Each Year (private: Actionberg)
51. prowler's DVDs (private: prowler)
52. 4: Rewatches (private: KasperL)
53. Movies to See (private: gsb)
54. 1950: Year in Review (private: polanski28)
55. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 6 (private: PeaceAnarchy)
56. Owned Films (private: TheSaberfool)
57. Movie Collection (private: BeeDub)
58. Unseen (private: Walser14)
59. flogged's 1001 (private: smuhu)
60. D:Movies (private: ptkw)
61. Forrest Watch List (private: ForrestQ)
62. Cast aAwayAdam (private: rnest)
63. Watchlist (private: Panunzio)
64. 1950s Mile High Club (private: Dunstan-xxx)
65. vertgraisbrune (private: rnest)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 5 |  |
Nathan S | 4 74% |
|
Essential film noir: one of the most gritty, hardboiled films of its era and an exemplary heist flick. It hosts a plethora of nasty characters, and every interaction is laced with tension. The action occupies narrow, malevolently lit spaces, and the film is constantly underscored by dread and anxiety. Jaffe, Hayden, and Calhern lead a great cast.
|
|||
| 4 |  |
hehejaja | 95 97% |
|
This is not as much a "cool" noir as it is an earnest one. Huston treats his "bad guys" with dignity, implicitly revealing the tenderness behind their hard-boiled persona and, maybe, even suggesting that they are, at least some of them, "victims" of social and economic structures rather than "evil" creatures lurking in the dark... It's directed with astonishing composure and heart.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
TonythePony | 84 82% |
|
I love my capers and this pioneer certainly delivers. Unlike later films (such as the brilliant Rififi) the focus here tends more towards characterisation, weaknesses and strengths holding sway over their ultimate fates. The granite jaw and gruff demeanour of Hayden is thoroughly enjoyable, but Jaffe is the real joy as the man with the plan; so professional and meticulous - how could anything go wrong?
|
|||
| 2 |  |
MartinTeller | 93 97% |
|
This is the first John Huston picture where I've been impressed with his direction. It really captured the urban underground, "asphalt jungle" feel. Striking compositions and lighting. The story is a gripping heist tale, an obvious inspiration for Dassin and Melville and others. The way the plan builds and gradually unravels has a natural, inevitable feel to it. Quite a satisfying film.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
Actionberg | 90 92% |
|
This movie works because of its fantastic atmosphere. It's noir in a nutshell.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
TheDenizen | 90 95% |
|
Brilliant noir. Every character is flawed, there is no real hero, and nobody ends up getting what they wanted.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
Alex Watkins | 4 70% |
|
A fair bit better than I gave it credit for upon my initial viewing. Though I still feel it lacks the amount of tension that could've made it a classic essential noir, there's nothing much else to complain about. Some pretty great noir photography with stark contrasts and sharp compositions, nice direction by Huston, good performances all around, and a nicely executed heist plot that serves as an inspiration for later films like Rififi and Bob le flambeur but works on its own merits. Good noir.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
Valenzetti | 90 88% |
|
Huston's angular, foreshortened direction finds the characters, all memorable, in a cramped, suffocating maze, turning corner after corner only to find an endless string of dead-ends. Seminal, I'd think. The only detraction: Hayden is kind of goofy, though only when he opens his mouth.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
KasperL | 85 93% |
|
The prototype for heist films, featuring an ensemble cast. A top-tier noir.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
Seryxa | 75 82% |
|
Probably the very first film to show a 'caper' from the criminals' viewpoint (a genre which has since has been done to death several times over), this is a clever character study rather than a thriller, extremely well executed and indeed generally irreproachable yet somehow not a film likely to appear on many top ten lists; perhaps the writer-director stands too far back from everybody, or perhaps he just needed Humphrey Bogart.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
paulofilmo | 74 90% |
|
This has got to be the coolest thing I have ever seen. Completely eclipses the five John Huston classics previously viewed. It's the first noir that has met my expectation and imagination of the dark, mysterious word; where all others seem a pastiche of something I hadn't yet experienced.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Jimmy Suede | 90 93% |
|
This movie is ... wait, what's this poster? Marilyn Monroe top billed? Is this a joke? I, uh, what was I doing again? Oh yes, a review. I really enjoyed this heist flick, from before they became dominated by suave anti-heroes whose cleverness is only matched by their coolness. Here you are kind of repulsed and hooked at the same time, both in the characters' corners and waiting for them to get their just deserts. Moody, well-filmed and well-acted.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
benoliver999 | 90 87% |
|
The Asphalt Jungle comprises everything great about Film Noir, whilst adding its own spin on the genre. We get a glimpse into a seedy criminal underworld, yet Huston keeps the characters grounded, thus making the film feel much less dated than many of its counterparts. The innovative imagery and use of silence place it as an instant favourite of mine.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
ribcage | 81 79% |
|
Huston just loves degenerates and knows how to showcase them. Lovely gritty film full of nasty people...and a good cast.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
afx237vi | 85 90% |
|
Just great in every area. Tightly plotted, a fantastic ensemble cast, wonderfully photographed by Harold Rosson and with a great score by Miklós Rózsa. You could spend hours arguing about who gives the best acting performance here, but Louis Calhern as the lawyer with quiet desperation seeping from every pore just edges it for me. Love that final scene, too; pure poetic justice.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Okkervil | 86 91% |
|
One of the great heist movies. A sumptuous feast for the eyes.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Barthalen | 81 84% |
|
Just a really solid heist movie. No frills and rather straightforward, but that doesn't mean it's boring. Quite the opposite. Killer cast and pretty atmospheric.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
CosmicMonkey | 83 77% |
|
Just when I was starting to get sick and bored of noirs, Huston comes along with an efficiently-directed, exciting noir full of well-acted three-dimensional characters and dripping with human pathos, and I really enjoyed it. The first great heist film in a long string, and a film noir that's aged better than most. Also, damn, even when she was a nobody Marilyn Monroe knew how to steal a scene, it's not a surprise she became so famous so quickly.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
eveelun | 82 85% |
|
Hard-nosed heist picture that paved the way for some great films (e.g. Rififi, The Killing). While those later films raised the stakes in terms of intensity, this is no slouch itself - Hayden is great as the vicious thug down on his luck and Jaffe is delightful as the master heist planner.
|
|||
| 1 | Q31 | 100 98% |
|
|
One of my favorite film noir movies--classic!
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Icarus | 86 82% |
|
Director John Huston does an excellent job allowing the caper narrative to unfold in a natural way, from planning and execution to the inevitable setbacks that cause the plan to spin out of control. The way that many of the characters' weaknesses lead to their own demise provides an excellent, and somewhat softening, companion to the grim and cynical tone of the noir genre. Huston's photography is often memorable here, with well-framed compositions and economical use of the camera.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
caiman | 87 85% |
|
A great heist film, a great film noir, and a great character piece. The script is tight and intriguing. Dialog is classic gangster lingo. It's a pleasure watching the stories of the (very fleshed out) characters unfold, as well as the heist plot. The direction is top notch, with touches of noir style in every frame: faces dimly lit in the shadows are a recurring motif here, and it's quite enjoyable to see. A really good movie.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
joseywales | 85 93% |
|
This film is awesome! John Huston can do no wrong.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
TheDiceman | 60 62% |
|
Classic.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
DavidKahane | 90 83% |
|
Huston's film noir heist film is as direct and tough as a sock to the gut. Huston's directing is a model of unfussy efficiency, handling the many complexities of the plot with ease and allowing for plenty of room to get at the underlying psychologies of the various troubled souls onscreen. The performances are largely undistinguished, but it is interesting to see Marilyn Monroe in an early role, clearly trying to challenge herself as an actress.
|
|||
| 1 | doyler29 | 100 96% |
|
|
I absolutely adore this film. There are a lot of films made about tough guys and street criminals, and a lot of films with realistic grit, but very few of them have this film's poetic heart. There's something magical about the way Huston wrangles this marvelous collection of character actors and creates this meditation on how the very fabric of the universe seems to crush people.
|
|||
| Average Percentile 68.13% from 980 Ratings |  |