The Asphalt Jungle The Criterion Collection

In a smog-choked city somewhere in the American Midwest, an aging criminal mastermind, newly released from prison, hatches a plan for a million-dollar jewel heist and draws a wealthy lawyer and a cherry-picked trio of outlaws into his carefully devised but inevitably doomed scheme. Anchored by an abundance of nuanced performances from a gifted ensemble including a tight-jawed Sterling Hayden (Dr. Strangelove) and a sultry Marilyn Monroe (Some Like It Hot) in her breakout role this gritty crime classic by John Huston (The Maltese Falcon) climaxes in a meticulously detailed anatomy of a robbery that has reverberated through the genre ever since. An uncommonly naturalistic view of a seamy underworld, The Asphalt Jungle painstakingly depicts the calm professionalism and toughness of its gangster heroes while evincing a remarkable depth of compassion for their all-too-human fragility, and it showcases a master filmmaker at the height of his powers. TWO-DVD SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES - New 2K digital restoration - Audio commentary from 2004 by film historian Drew Casper, featuring recordings of actor James Whitmore - New interviews with film noir historian Eddie Muller and cinematographer John Bailey - Archival footage of writer-director John Huston discussing the film - Pharos of Chaos, a 1983 documentary about actor Sterling Hayden - Episode of the television program City Lights from 1979 featuring John Huston - Audio excerpts of archival interviews with Huston - Excerpts from footage of the 1983 AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony honoring Huston, featuring actor Sam Jaffe and the filmmaker - Trailer - New English subtitle translation - PLUS: An essay by critic Geoffrey O Brien - More!