Great Cagney. Film influenced Scorsese.

Scorsese says on the DVD that he loves this movie and it is quite evident that it helped form his film style. In this movie there are many things that resonate in Scorsese’s films. One that I saw immediately was when Tom kills Putty nose; it reminded me so much of when Tommy killed Stacks in Goodfellas. They both kill then exit speaking to who else is there in casual conversation as if it never happened. There are also other details that show up in scorsese's films that pay homage to other great gangster movies of old.

Also, Cagney was amazing in this film. He acted so naturally compared to the rest of the cast. He slouched on couches, he moved like a shark, changed the way the dialogue was said, he changed his facial expressions as other actors talked, improvised body language and actually looked like someone who walked of the street. The rest of the cast were really weak and their performances did nothing for the movie. He began modern film acting with this picture. Great film and a great actor.

I really like this movie; it gets better with every watch.


Brando is King
Eastwood is cool
De niro is Badass