10660 Dynomite writing - dynomite directing - dynomite acting. Edmund O`Brian is completely believable. Twist some M and take it in. Dynomite diamond 2004-03-20 17:44:12 2004-03-20 17:44:12 5 10826 I'm surprised that this hasn't gotten the respect it deserves, I've never heard about it until I saw it on this website. The acting is beleivable, the direction excellent, and the script so timeless that you could basically film a remake, and keep all the dialogue exactly the same. Indeed, there has been a remake, made in the 1980s, although it is considered to be rather pathetic. I recommend you snap this up, either by downloading the version available here, or getting it on DVD. I am currently trying to track down a remastered DVD version, since the public domain version is a quite sketchy in places, with many audio dropouts and badly damaged film. It is more than watchable though. Has aged well, and is still very watchable. SwissCM 2004-03-26 07:59:42 2004-03-26 07:59:42 5 10845 What a great movie! A whodunit with a very clever twist: the murder victim himself looking for his own killer. Even though we know the ending from the start, the suspense is fantastic. Add to that the surprisingly subtle relationship story, plus the philosophical implications (as Paula tells Frank, "you're just like any other man, only a little more so") and you've got a classic. Too bad about the silly sound effects 10 minutes in, but other than that, superb. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin ("Lost Horizon", "Dial M for Murder"), and cinematography by Ernest Laszlo ("Judgement at Nuremberg", "Logan's Run", and...wait for it..."Attack of the Puppet People"). Wow trafalgar 2004-03-26 19:40:42 2004-03-26 19:40:42 5 10869 A highlight of D.O.A. is Neville Brand's performance as the psychotic, sadistic Chester. His wild-eyed character raises the level of menace further in this great film. Neville Brand LinusMines 2004-03-27 11:39:27 2004-03-27 11:39:27 5 13358 What a find! I've been curious about this film and its premise ever since the ill-fated remake of 1988, which I avoided, coward that I am. Its greatness, I think, lies mostly in the premise, which is irresistable, and in the plot structure which leads from red herring to red herring but gradually circles closer and closer to the truth. The acting is not up to the standards of Mildred Pearce, despite Miss Foster's astonishing ability to open her eyes wider than I thought anatomically possible. But the mood is effective, and the bar scene and drugstore scene are both wonderful. Vintage Film Noir Grant Campbell 2004-05-19 08:48:55 2004-05-19 08:48:55 4 16398 This is a very effective and taut thriller. I enjoyed it immensely. An Excellent thriller Silverfish 2004-07-10 18:11:55 2004-07-10 18:11:55 5 20342 Maybe I love this film because of the city mentioned in it: Banning, California. I was fired there, and broke. A miserable place for a miserable man like me. The fat character in the film, who asks about his loan, sure looks like the editor that fired miserable me...but that's another story. This is film noir. It doesnt get any better than this, just different. It's about shadows, and dark tables, darkness all around, even inside a man, who seemingly has life on his sleves, about to do that infamous American Way of Life. Except, with Frank Bigelow(Edmund O'Brien), it doesnt work that way. That Unfair Fate, that gives life, and then, for the hell of it, takes it, takes it from Bigelow. Just to be unfair: cold, deliberate, hard....unfair. The scene in the jazz joint, has to be the Filmore District of San Francisco, where all that great West Coast Jazz cooked and swung, close to the Blackhawk and Jimbos Cafe. Even the title is perfect, DOA. The Stamp of Fate. Maybe, it's my stamp too, maybe thats why I also know about Banning and dark tables. This film deserves 10 stars. DOA eduardo.t. 2004-09-06 03:27:17 2004-09-06 03:25:47 5 24438 Isn´t it funny, that one actually does not need all the things (multi-million-dollar-budget, computer-tricks, etc.) to make a good movie out of a good story. It´s great but still a B-Movie - a 4.6 Damned Old Art Sharks_Dive_Shop 2004-11-07 03:29:44 2004-11-07 03:29:44 4 24615 If this film had a little more character development (yeah, I know we're not supposed to expect that from noir, but why not?), it would be amazing. Most accountants never have to play Sam Spade--it would have been something to see more of the hero's adjustment to this foreign role. But still, it's an exciting flick with some great bad guys and a stunning jive joint scene. Great Premise Jen Kollmer 2004-11-09 09:36:13 2004-11-09 09:36:13 4 26297 I was thinking real campy. And it was, up to a point. But this is a solid film, along the lines of White Heat or The Killer in terms of production and entertainment value. Unexpectedly good. Yodelling Llama 2004-12-03 18:00:25 2004-12-03 18:00:25 4 26413 Most films from the year of my conception were black and white. The greys were breaks in a gritty beam of photons. Buildings were obese and blunted, their hallways poorly lit by dingy daylight, or by the warmless neon of night. As the film "D.O.A." opens, a man darkly jacketed walks rapidly down such hallways. He enters a Los Angeles Homicide Division, where men in cheap suits wait for no reason. Go to www.siglamag.com for remainder of article on film noir. This is my personal favorite of that genre. A man darkly jacketed Jan82950 2004-12-05 18:52:04 2004-12-05 18:52:04 5 34092 Un bon polar de Rudolph Maté. L'acteur Edmond O'Brien porte le film ; une vraie tension appuyÃÂÂÂÃÂÂÂÂÂÃÂÂÃ