Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

The Asphalt Jungle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 12, 2016

Nominated for multiple Oscar awards, including Best Director and Best Cinematographer, John Huston's "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new video interview with film noir historian Eddie Muller; new video interview with cinematographer John Bailey; Wolf-Eckart Buhler and Manfred Blank's documentary film "Pharos of Chaos" (1983); excerpts from archival interviews with director John Huston; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Geoffrey O'Brien's essay "A Left-Handed Form of Human Endeavor" and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The hoodlum

There is an important advice that some retired athletes-turned-high-profile-pundits like to give younger athletes when occasionally they struggle with their game. It is "Let the game come to you". The message behind it is that patience is absolutely essential in achieving success.

The parallel may seem a bit unusual but the main reason why John Huston’s classic film The Asphalt Jungle works so well is basically the same -- patience. The film does not rush the evolution of its characters, it allows its story to expand naturally, and it gradually builds up its desired atmosphere rather than immediately force it on the story. All of this adds up to a very classy and complete film, confident in its potential but remaining respectful of the rules of the genre that ultimately give it its identity.

The aging German con man Doc Erwin Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) gets out of prison and immediately approaches the flamboyant lawyer Alonzo Emmerich (Louis Calhern) to see if he can help him hire the right people for a big job that he has been planning from his cell for years. It turns out that there isn’t a shortage of people willing to risk their lives to get rich quick and Doc hires Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden), a temperamental streetwise gambler, Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso), an experienced safecracker, and Gus Minissi (James Whitmore), a tough bar owner who routinely does odd gigs on the side to make ends meet. A shady bookmaker (Marc Lawrence) who has been secretly dealing with a corrupt detective (Barry Kelley) is also welcomed to help finance the entire operation.

A few days later, Doc and his crew quietly enter a big jewelry store. For a while everything goes according to his plan -- the alarm system is effortlessly bypassed, the safe is quietly opened, and then the boxes of diamonds are quickly emptied in Doc’s sturdy leather case. On the way out of the store, however, a clueless night guard confronts the thieves. In the ensuing chaos the guard drops his gun after Dix hits him in the face and a stray bullet gets stuck in Louis’ chest. Gus then transports Louis to a safe place where he can get medical help, while Doc and Dix head to Alonzo’s apartment to exchange the diamonds for cash. The business meeting quickly confirms Doc's initial suspicion that Alonzo is a dirty player with a very different plant in mind, and before they leave Dix kills his partner (Brad Dexter). The thieves then decide to split, but when the police begin tracking them down one after another they start making amateurish mistakes.

The Asphalt Jungle is based on one of many great novels that W.R. Burnett wrote between the 1930s and 1950s (Burnet's work was also used for such classic films as Little Caesar, High Sierra, and Scarface). It is a classy but also very gritty film with flawed characters that are definitely not easy to forget. The trick here is this: Huston allows them to remain authentic even after they complete their transformations and become dangerous thieves and killers. In a notably cynical fashion, Huston then also reveals that the supposedly fine line that separates the real world and the underworld is nothing more than a giant optical effect.

The entire cast is sensational but Jaffe and Hayden deserve special praise. There is a sequence towards the end where the former temporarily falls under the spell of a very young and beautiful girl while watching her dance in roadside café that in a way sums up everything that makes the film great. Hayden just looks like a real tough guy who would roll the dice and take his chances, even when it is pretty damn clear that they are not particularly good.

A young Marilyn Monroe has a cameo as a needy doll with two simple objectives in life: look elegant and ask silly questions.

The Asphalt Jungle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner from a 35mm fine-grain master positive. Restoration was performed by L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using DaVinci's Revival, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm optical soundtrack positive and a 35mm composite print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.

"Transfer supervision: Lee Kline.
Scanning facility: Motion Picture Imaging, Burbank, CA.
Colorists: Lee Kline, Russell Smith/Criterion Post, New York."

The film has the healthy and solid appearance one would expect it to have after a complete 2K makeover. Both the darker indoor and nighttime footage as well as the better lit and daylight footage boast strong depth; clarity and fluidity are also consistently pleasing. If prior to the restoration there were any areas of the film with notable deterioration it is impossible to tell now because there are no visible signs of age-related anomalies that might have affected density and fluidity. Transitions are very smooth and stable. Grain is well exposed and appears nicely resolved. Some rebalancing work was likely done, but the end result is very convincing. There are absolutely no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Asphalt Jungle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Clarity is very pleasing, but there are a few segments it is easy to tell that some work was done to minimize crackle and background hiss, quite possibly even some more serious deterioration. Other than that depth is good and there are no balance issues to report. Also, there are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in our review.

The Asphalt Jungle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The Asphalt Jungle. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• John Huston - presented here is a short archival interview in which director John Huston quickly comments on The Asphalt Jungle. In English, not subtitled. (1 min, 1080i).

• Pharos of Chaos - this outstanding archival documentary film offers a fascinating glimpse into the personal world of actor Sterling Hayden. It was directed by Wolf-Eckart Buhler and Manfred Blank in 1983. In English, not subtitled (119 min, 1080i).
  
  1. A Second Birth
  2. Wanderer
  3. The Barge
  4. The Sea
  5. Late Afternoon
  6. Alcohol
  7. Pharos of Chaos
  8. River and City
  9. The Committee
  10. Hollywood

• Eddie Muller - in this brand new interview, film noir historian Eddie Muller (Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir) deconstructs The Asphalt Jungle and explains what makes it a quintessential American crime film. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080p).

• John Bailey - in this brand new video interview, cinematographer John Bailey (American Gigolo, Cat People) discusses the visual style of The Asphalt Jungle and various specific technical choices made by cinematographer Harold Rosson (with excellent observations about the use of lamps/dramatic lighting, wide angle lenses, low angles, the psychological rawness that is incorporated into the visuals, etc). The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• City Lights - presented here is an archival episode of the television program City Lights in which director John Huston discusses his personal life and professional career. The episode was broadcast on October 10, 1979. In English, not subtitled. (49 min, 1080i).

• The Huston Method - presented here is a new piece edited from several archival audio interviews in which John Huston discusses his approach to writing and directing. The interviews were conducted by critic Gideon Bachmann. In English, not subtitled. (7 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - this audio commentary with film historian Drew Casper also includes excerpts from an archival interview with actor James Whitmore (Gus Minissi). It initially appeared on the R1 DVD release of Asphalt Jungle from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Geoffrey O'Brien's essay "A Left-Handed Form of Human Endeavor" and technical credits.

The Asphalt Jungle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A motley crew of thieves and hoodlums are forced to improvise after their perfect plan to get rich quick collapses in John Huston's classic film noir The Asphalt Jungle. Criterion's new Blu-ray release is sourced from an excellent 2K restoration of the film and offers a great selection of new and archival supplemental features, including yet another outstanding interview with cinematographer John Bailey. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.