Criss Cross 1949 DvdRip Mp4 Lee1001

Criss Cross 1949 DvdRip Mp4 Lee1001



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041268/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criss_Cross_(1949_film)

In faithful accordance with classic film noir convention (a modus operandi also reminiscent of the Greek tragedies of old), armored truck driver Steve Thompson, protagonist of "Criss Cross", Robert Siodmark's and Burt Lancaster's follow-up to the outstanding "The Killers", brings about his own ruin and demise through two primary tragic flaws, namely hopeless infatuation and unfounded optimism. The object of his affection is his ex-wife Anna, memorably played by the stunning Yvonne De Carlo, whose hubris prompts her to wed sleazy gangster Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea), apparently to spite Steve's detective friend Pete Ramirez (Stephen McNally) for intimidating her the night before. Regrettably I cannot be too sure of this plot point, though, as at the time my attention was solely focused on Miklós Rózsa's wonderfully dark and driving underscore.



Naturally a torrid affair ensues between Mr. Thompson and the now-Ms. Dundee, and -- even more naturally -- they are almost immediately caught together by her new husband, which impels Thompson to divert Slim Dundee's attention by unexpectedly suggesting a heist of his armored truck. It remains somewhat unclear whether this is something he'd been planning all along or just an inspired attempt to weasel himself out being killed on the spot, but the gangsters thankfully decide to go along with it. Crosses and double-crosses follow, Anna somehow escapes with the money, lovesick Steve stupidly leads the mobsters to her hideout, and Slim shoots them both in cold blood.



Undeniably this summary, either through simplification or omission, paints Steve Thomson as a bit of a nitwit, but although he makes some unbelievably bad choices, they are always well-rooted in his character, which screenwriter Daniel Fuchs (working from a novel by Don Tracy, of "Death Calling Collect" fame) takes great pains to establish in the first third of the story. The real conflict here is one of ideology, Steve being an idealist and Anna being a realist. One Imdb user cites Steve's refusal `to become completely cynical and hard-bitten' as his most admirable feature, likely unaware of the famous H.G. Wells quote that states `A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist.' Steve is more than just a hopeless romantic, he possesses and indefatigable optimism that allows him to rationalize any action not just for the sake of being with Anna, but due to the firm, absolute conviction that they belong together and that nothing will stand in their way. Alas, in film noir love does not necessarily conquer all and, as Anna put it, `you've got to watch out for yourself.'



In the end, when taking one of the gangsters to Anna's hideout for a payoff, Steve has obviously abandoned all logical reasoning and is acting on pure, emotion-fueled impulse. He is so blinded by love, so single-mindedly focused on Anna, that he gives no second thought to Slim or the money, certain that his police friends will take care of the matter eventually. In many ways, the traditional gender roles of him and Anna are reversed here. She is the tough, down-to-earth pragmatist struggling for survival; he is the longing, pining fool, willing to sacrifice everything for her love. It is the against-type casting of Burt Lancaster, in other way the blue-collar macho idol of the time, that makes this reversal fascinating



VIDEO

Size.... 903mb

Duration.... 01:24:05

Codec.... avc1

Frame Width.... 720

Frame Height.... 528

Data Rate.... 1383kbps

Frame Rate.... 25F/S

AUDIO

Bit Rate.... 114kbps

2 Channel Stereo

Audio Sample Rate.... 48KHz

Bits Per Sample 16 Bit/Sample