5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A box o' crime, October 13, 2008
This review is from: Classic Crime Collection - Street Justice (Murder Inc., The French Connection, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The Seven-Ups) (DVD)
I love a good crime movie. The Classic Crime Collection offers a set of four movies, and as is sometimes uncommon in these sets, all four movies are really good.
Chronologically, the first movie is Murder, Inc., a story of Prohibition-era gangsterism done in a docu-noir style. The lead character is an ordinary enough guy who gets in debt to loan sharks to take care of some medical expenses; to work off his debt, he has to get involved in crimes. The show, however, is stolen by Peter Falk, however, in one of his earliest roles: he plays a vicious killer with no real scruples; I would have to think that Joe Pesci's Goodfella's character is partly based on Falk's role.
Next in the set is The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, a tale of the famous Chicago killing engineered by Al Capone. As is typical of a Roger Corman movie, the sets are low-budget, but the rest of the movie is good enough. Also done in a documentary style, this movie has all sorts of stars: Jason Robards as Capone, as well as George Segal, Ralph Meeker and Bruce Dern, along with an uncredited cameo by Jack Nicholson. While a decent movie, this is also the weakest of the four, principally because there are no characters with redeeming values; it is only a story of gangsters killing each other.
On the other hand, the third movie is not surprisingly the best in the set: Best Picture winner The French Connection. This was at least the third time I've seen this movie and - as with the best of movies - it gets better with each viewing. The story of a pair of NYPD detectives out to stop a drug shipment from being smuggled into their city, it features a top notch performance by Gene Hackman as the obsessed Popeye Doyle. The centerpiece of the movie remains a chase scene that remains one of the best ever filmed.
The final movie is The Seven-Ups, which refers to a special squad of NYPD detectives who will do whatever is needed to bring criminals to justice. The squad name comes from the fact that the felons they catch do major time: seven years and up. It is a decent enough movie, but it's also obviously an attempt to imitate The French Connection. It has some of the same actors (including lead Roy Scheider), the same producer and the same setting, plus its highlight is another nice chase scene.
The French Connection has a pair of commentary tracks, which is the main extra feature in the set. With a foursome of good or great films, this easily earns a five star rating. For fans of crime movies, this boxed set will be a blast.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Crime DVD collection, March 19, 2009
This review is from: Classic Crime Collection - Street Justice (Murder Inc., The French Connection, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The Seven-Ups) (DVD)
This is a great dvd set if you like crime movies. My favorite is the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Great value.
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great collection, September 5, 2006
This review is from: Classic Crime Collection - Street Justice (Murder Inc., The French Connection, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The Seven-Ups) (DVD)
Great collection. Good movies, high quality. Buy it ! An excellent production.
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