VHS : The Big Knife (Amazon.com Exclusive)
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Editorial Review:
Description:
Disenchanted with his life, a Hollywood box office star decides it's not worth living.
Amazon.com:
After 1952's The Bad and the Beautiful skewered Hollywood with a scathing attempt at self-analysis, The Big Knife (1955) finished the job of exposing the slimy underbelly of the studio system. This high-gloss noir, cynical to the bone and altogether hysterical in its potboiler theatrics, is a deliriously entertaining mid-'50s melodrama, adapted from the play by Clifford Odets (who brought a similar brand of vitriol to Sweet Smell of Success) and starring Jack Palance in a role that transcended his trademark villainy. Palance is quite effective as rising star Charlie Castle, whose continued ascension in Hollywood depends on his willingness to renew a contract with studio bully Stanley Hoff (Rod Steiger), who treats Charlie like an indentured servant and, even worse, has plenty of dirt to hold against Charlie if he doesn't cooperate.
Trapped between stardom and a desperate desire to reconcile with his neglected wife (Ida Lupino), Charlie's facing a no-win scenario, haunted by the indiscretions of his past. Palance's overwrought performance is perfectly keyed to director Robert Aldrich's typically histrionic approach; he's eclipsed only by Steiger, whose Method madness has rarely been as outrageous as this (his character was partially based on studio honcho Jack Warner). Set primarily in the well-appointed den of Charlie's Bel-Air manse, The Big Knife is stagy but stylish, with Charlie's home taking on the appearance of a gilded cage as his predicament intensifies. Add a stellar supporting cast, and you've got film noir at its finest--dark souls baking in the California sun. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Campy but substantial.
Ok, ok, I know, this movie is campy. And ok, I know, I know -- this movie is "over the top." But, still, it's a damn good movie.
Serious, well-acted and based on the work of Clifford Odets (not exaclty a slouch when it comes to writing and creating chartacters), this movie deserves a wide audience.
Note to any would-be Rich Little-wannabee ... This is the movie to see to get down pat the definitive Rod Steiger impersonation. ("Ho-ho ho-ho! If you don't start reacting ... Read More
Rating:  - Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Who ever thought that Jack Palance could ever deliver an emotionally wrought performance at this stage in his career? He does just that. He gives such a performance that it is just heartbreaking to watch him. Jack Palance had more range than he was ever given credit for having. This is a brutally well scripted realistic film directed by Robert Aldrich. Wendell Corey also gives a rationally based, cold and detached, but curiously humane performance driven by the system and in too deep for his own good ... Read More
Rating: - The Realist, the Philistine and the Idealist....You figure it out.
There is very much room for debate on The Big Knife. The casting of Palance and Steiger, good 'ol whinny Winters, the stage-related lack of locales, etc., etc. Each of these can be parsed to illuminate why the film works or doesn't. In a way that's a sign of a good film, one that has made bold choices, and risks it's essential qualities.
I liked it. The thing that stood out for me though, was the seeming-multiple-endings. About three times I felt an ending, only to have another character enter, ... Read More
Rating:  - Stagy and poorly cast
I'm a great admirer of Clifford Odets, and I suspect "The Big Knife" worked very well on stage. But as a movie, no way. A film about Hollywood that confines itself to conversations in people's living rooms is not using the medium effectively. I'll concede that some of those conversations are well-written, and the supporting cast (notably Ida Lupino and Wendell Corey)mostly excellent. But beyond the staginess, the movie suffers from two monumentally bad casting choices. Jack Palance is nowhere near ... Read More
Rating: - The Old Movies
For anyone who likes old movies, made in the early 50's etc this is for you. Jack Palance is fabulous along with the other stars, Ida Lupino, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters. The story is believable and although it is in black and white it lacks for nothing. I was not dissappointed.
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