Dillinger
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Dillinger
filmbuff-36 — 22 years ago(September 26, 2003 12:47 PM)
Dillinger
is a sadly forgotten masterpiece, brilliantly filmed and realized by John Milius and with a stunning a memorable cast. Each character is unique, the violence is brutal and unrelenting, the dialogue powerful and the cinematography crisp.
This is truly the only other bank robber movie that deserves to be spoken of in the same sentence as
Bonnie and Clyde
. It is also the only film to offer up an argument that conflicts with
Bonnie and Clyde
if that film showed bank robbing as fun and gangs as tight knit groups, than
Dillinger
reminds us that it is a dangerous enterprise and that most gang members will just as much step over a dead member of the gang without flinching as they would break wind. -
PhillyMobster — 21 years ago(February 08, 2005 10:30 AM)
I enjoyed both films from a purely cinematic standpoint. However, you're right, the historical accuracy of both films is pathetic.
btw, I just read Dary Matera's book (John Dillinger: The Life And Death Of America's First Celebrity Criminal), and I think its one of the best factual gangster books to have been published in a long time.
"Four things greater than all things are, Women and Horses, and Power and War." Rudyard Kipling -
jurajjak — 19 years ago(September 02, 2006 01:01 PM)
Both "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Dillinger" are good movies, but for very different reasons, and it really isn't fair to compare them. "Bonnie and Clyde" was meant to represent 60's-era hippie ideals and anti-establishment freedom in gangster dress (Arthur Penn, who also directed "Little Big Man," is very liberal). But "Dillinger" was directed by John Milius, one of Hollywood's most conservative writer-directors (remember "Red Dawn"?), and therefore he really takes all of the macho posturing (and misogyny, I'd say) quite seriously. So while both movies belong to the same genre, their tones/attitudes are diametrically opposed.
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filmbuff-36 — 19 years ago(May 01, 2006 08:45 AM)
Well, let's think about it. "Bonnie and Clyde" is a well respected film made by a major movie studio that has never been out of print and all the critics orgasm over when they hear its name.
"Dillinger" on the other hand was made by a B-movie studio and is mostly forgotten today. I was saying it in a positive way because its such a good movie, and there were a ton a films that came out after "Bonnie and Clyde" to exploit its success. I think "Dillinger" stands out in this crowd.
The real life views of Dillinger against Bonnie and Clyde are irrelevent to this discussion.