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99
& 44/100% Dead
In 1974, Frankenheimer’s [dir.
Grand Prix, The Manchurian Candidate &
Seven Days in May] self aware pop art
gangster satire, 99&44/100% Dead,
took audiences for a ride they were
not ready for. This mind bending psychedelic
neo-noir simply did not fit into the high
brow movie houses where it played. A dystopic
world of albino alligators, skillful chase
scenes, and Chuck Connors as a one-handed
psycho who can fit various deadly weapons
on his stumpy arm was an idea that fell
flat with most moviegoers of the time, leaving
them confused and unsure of what exactly
they were watching. The core story is one
many gangster film fans have seen before,
an elderly mobster (Edmond O'Brien) hires
a hitman (Richard Harris) to eliminate his
rival. But the brilliance of the film is
in the way this genre staple is taken and
applied to a world of nightmare reality,
a kind of dream state where anything and
everything can happen, with or without reason.
With this seemingly blasphemous take on
the crime film, the film expands the genre
to a kind of adolescent art film, a clear
and pure distillation of the possible mind
state of the murderer.
Adventurous filmmaking at it’s finest!
video source
quality rating: B |
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99
& 44/100% Dead
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Item
price: $14.99 |
| Color/
98 Min./ 1974 |
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