Allen barons blast of silence was dumped like a corpse into a handful of theaters by universalinternational in april 1961 and rapidly vanished without a trace, only to be revived with no real frequency over the ensuing decades. In this way it reminded me of a gritty, new york version of the 1958 elevator to the gallows set in paris. Allen barons lowbudget 1961 film noir, blast of silence which i discuss in this clip, was his first feature, and though it wasnt his last, it didnt. It was produced by merrill brody, who was also the cinematographer. This lowbudget, carefully crafted portrait of a hit man on assignment in manhattan during christmastime follows its strippeddown narrative with mechanical precision, yet also with an eye and ear for the oddball idiosyncrasies of urban living and the imposing beauty of the city. Filmed on a less than zero budget with the director also acting as the protagonist, baby boy frankie bono.
It was, along with john cassavetess shadows 1959 and shirley clarkes the connection 1960, one of the first of the. Criterions dvd of blast of silence is a fine presentation of a rare picture that wed frankly expect to see released by a gray market seller. Blast of silence allen baron, 1961 begins dramatically with an audacious and innovative opening shot. Download blast of silence 1961 thrillerfilm noir 720p x264. Blast of silence is an absolutely crackling downanddirty 90 minutes of gritty new york streets, twobit hoodlums, and sleazy bars. Decades later it was rediscovered and has become a film noir classic. For a nobudget film shot on location in new york city on the sly with a nonactor in the lead role, there is a grand, existential audacity to allen barons blast of. Blast of silence 1961 thrillerfilm noir 720p x264classics. Blast of silence 1961 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Blast of silence has no business being as entertaining and groundbreaking as it is. He learned rudimentary camera work while working on a film down in havana in 1959. Its a shame this is the only film this director ever made.
A hired killer from cleveland has a job to do on a secondstring mob boss in new york. The music score was by meyer kupferman which featured some very nice jazz pieces. Clune, danny meehan, charles creasup, milda memonas. Swift, brutal, and blackhearted, allen barons new york city noir blast of silence is a sensational surprise, a lowbudget, carefully crafted portrait of a hit man on assignment in manhattan during christmastime. Blast of silence is a 1961 american crime film written and directed by allen baron and produced by merrill brody, who was also the. The night stalker the devils platform, the werewolf, the ripper and shows like. Richard brody on allen barons blast of silence 1961. Blast of silence 1961 film noirgangster tcm message. Watch the front row blast of silence the new yorker. A gritty crime film about lonely professional hit man frank bono allen baron, blast of silence is interesting in its meticulous detail of the killers work, a device that has been used in many crime films since.
Allen then became a film director by way of writing, directing, and starring in the 1961 film blast of silence. These eight are the naked city 1948, killers kiss 1955, two men in manhattan 1959, odds against tomorrow 1959 only partially set in nyc, blast of silence 1961, something wild 1961, aroused 1966 and the incident 1967. Although a very low budget film, it gained him entrance into the world of hollywood and international fame. Jun 26, 20 read of his escapades making a film with errol flynn in cuba right after the revolution. Blast of silence is an american crimethriller film released in 1961. If you like film noir this low budget film is worthy of your viewing. Directed by allen baron who worked mostly in television, in particular kolchak. Somewhere between film noir and the sopranos lies blast of silence, a concise, compelling psychological portrait of a lowlevel hitman, shot in 1961 on a shoestring budget with new york city grit. Add blast of silence 1961 to your criterion collection. On april 15, 2008, the criterion collection released blast of silence on bluray. You were born in pain, a voiceover announces over the black screen that opens writerdirectorstar allen barons 1961 film blast of silence. Ever since its mention in researchs incredibly strange films, ive been trying to locate this illusive pic a whackedout, noir lowbudgeter thats right up there with shack out on 101 and joseph e. This is the sort of movie, unique but out of sync with its time, that criterion practically exists to rescue.
However the nowdemolished sky lighted departure hall of new yorks penn station is seen. New dvds include blast of silence, inside and juno. Blast of silence is a textbook on how to kill a motherfucker dead. Trains do not burst into the light an important metaphor in the film entering new york city, but arrive at dark, underground platforms.
Written, directed, and starring allen baron as the main hero, the film tells the story of a hitman named frankie bono, who comes to new york city during christmas time in order to carry out a contract. Jun 19, 2012 blast of silence, a 1961 film noir, 00. Watch the front row blast of silence the new yorker video. The film is directed by and stars allen baron as hit man frank bono. Oct 17, 2015 3 responses to blast of silence 1961 netdog451 says. It stars tetsuro tamba, mako, eiji okada, and shima iwashita alongside english actors david lampson and don kenny. Allen baron directed the film starring allen baron, molly mccarthy, and larry tucker. Having been away for some time, professional killer frankie bono returns to new york to do another job. Blast of silence is a 1961 american neonoir film written, directed by, and starring allen baron. Before it appeared on turner classic movies last week, id never heard of this movie. Film the blast of silence 1961 en streaming vf papystreaming. Allen barons blast of silence, from 1961, belongs to one of those independent movements, the one that began in new york city in the mid50s. For the first couple of seconds of the film, the screen is entirely black. For a nobudget film shot on location in new york city on the sly with a nonactor in the lead role, there is a grand, existential audacity to allen barons blast of silence.
Brody is outstanding, and allen barons background as a cartoonist pays off in his striking visual acuity. Allen barons documentary style noir, blast of silence has no business being as entertaining and groundbreaking as it is. This includes all 1961 films that can also be found in the subcategories. Blast of silence 1961 in some ways, the filming and the cool grey timbre of this film are so singular and evocative, you really have to watch it. Although intending to avoid unnecessary contact while carefully stalking his victim, bono is recognized by an old fellow from the orphanage, whose calm and unambitious citizens life and happy marriage contrast heavily with. Swift, brutal, and blackhearted, allen barons new york city noir blast of silence is a sensational surprise. Very cool slice of 1960,s film noir with great camera work and a good story. Allen barons lowbudget 1961 film noir, blast of silence which i discuss in this clip, was his first feature, and though it. Trains do not burst into the light an important metaphor in the film entering new york city, but arrive at dark, underground.
A christmas movie for noir fans and nostalgia buffs alike, and one thats hard to forget. A gritty crime film about lonely professional hit man frank bono allen baron, blast of silence is interesting in its meticulous detail of the killers work, a. There are also some fascinating photographs contrasting the new york locations between 1961 and 2008 one location currently sports an ironic billboard for an extremely distant blast of silence relative, the videogame based bomb hitman. A llen barons stark, moody blast of silence 1961 is a movie of many strange distinctions. Blast of silence 1961 thriller film noir 720p x264classics seeds. It turns out that this is an authentic cult classic, and its out on dvd from criterion. The film also stars molly mccarthy, larry tucker, and peter clume. Download blast of silence 1961 thrillerfilm noir 720p. That its here at all is a gift, but the transfer is a bit questionable. With allen baron, molly mccarthy, larry tucker, peter clune. At 17, he joined the navy during the tail end of world war ii, then completed art school and worked as a comic book artist. The rights went to universal, which let it become lost.
But a special girl from his past, and a fat gun dealer with pet rats, each gets in his way. Subscribe to the new yorker on youtube to keep up with all of our latest videos and shows. For the first couple of seconds of the film, the screen is. Allen barons stark, moody blast of silence 1961 is a movie of many strange distinctions. The film features a ton of narration by lionel stander which gave it a early noir feel. Oct 10, 2014 in 2006, blast of silence was also screened at the cannes film festival to an appreciative audience the film had originally been entered in the cannes film festival in 1961, but unfortunately it arrived two weeks too late to be included in the program robert fischer and wilfried reichart. Allen barons lowbudget 1961 film noir, blast of silence which i discuss in this clip, was his first feature, and though it wasnt his last, it didnt launch the career that baron. Even though im not the biggest fan of blast of silence, its clear that baron had real talent. Arguably, allen barons blast of silence 1961 is one of the very best film noirs in cinema history. Looking at it from the studios point of view, its not difficult to see why the film was barely a priority at. Its a minor issue during some scenes at the beginning. Wikimedia commons has media related to 1961 films for convenience, all 1961 films should be included in this category. This film has kind of a cult following because its underrated.
Brody art direction charles rosen film editor merrill s. Jun 19, 2012 richard brody on allen barons blast of silence 1961. Then slowly a tiny pinprick of light begins to emerge from the centre of the screen. Overview of blast of silence, 1961, directed by allen baron, with allen baron, molly mccarthy, larry tucker, at turner classic movies. For anyone familiar with the roles played by french actor lino ventura, think of bono as one of linos gangster characters, but with baggage which effects how he goes. Its among the last of the true film noirs, those fatalistic blackandwhite urban crime dramas that darkened the american screen so gloriously in the years after world war ii. It was written and directed by allen baron and produced by merrill brody, who was also the cinematographer. Trains between cleveland and new york generally traveled over the new. Baby boy franky buonoblast of silence 1961 the targets names is troiano, you know the type, second string syndicate boss with too much ambition and a mustache to hide the facts hes got lips like a woman the kind of face you hate.
Blast of silence 1961 by moorman, february 22, 2019 in film noirgangster. Chinmoku is a 1971 japanese historical drama film directed by masahiro shinoda, based on the novel of the same name by shusaku endo. The story of a hitman who allows himself to fall in love with mccarthy while trying to take. Written, directed, and starring allen baron as the main hero, the film tells the story of a hitman named frankie bono, who comes to new york city during christmas time in order to carry out a contract on a lowtier mobster. Blast of silence 1961 thriller film noir 720p x264classics 0. Migliori blast of silence 1961 film gratis guardare blast of silence filme online gratis in italian in aggiunta alle una trama emozionante ed una grande storia, blast of silence contiene caratteri uniche che il film in disparte dagli altri nello stesso genere. Blast of silence 1961 in the relatively short amount of time that people have been talking about allen barons blast of silence 1960, the longunseen but recently resurfaced film noir footnote has been compared to everything from early godard to vintage scorsese, with a jigger of neorealismo thrown into the mix. You were born with hate and anger built in, it continues as it becomes clear that this ugly telling of the films protagonists birth accompanies a pointofview shot of a train emerging from a tunnel. Blast of silence 1961 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. My watchlist keep track of your favorite shows and movies, across all your. Somewhere between film noir and the sopranos lies blast of silence, a concise, compelling psychological portrait of a lowlevel hitman, shot in 1961 on a. The film is a low budget affair so take that with a grain of salt. Add blast of silence 1961 to your criterion collection today.
In one scene, involving an attempted axmurder, it is also remarkably violent and bloody for 1961. Accompanied by an absolutely classic noir narration that you have to hear to believe, this is pure bliss for lovers of cigarettes, fedoras, and big black sedans. Blast of silence was mostly shot guerrilla style without permits on the streets of new york city for roughly 20,000 dollars. Baron basically faked his way into his career by making and starring in the film blast of silence in 1961. Jan 14, 2017 this feature is not available right now. But blast is a little independent noir about a hitman in new york during christmastime, made in 1959 and released in 1961. The film also stars molly mccarthy, larry tucker, and peter.