The Asphalt Jungle
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 and a sultry Marilyn Monroe in her breakout role—this gritty crime classic by John Huston 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.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary from 2004 by film historian Drew Casper, featuring archival recordings of actor James Whitmore
- Pharos of Chaos, a 1983 documentary about actor Sterling Hayden
- New interviews with film noir historian Eddie Muller and cinematographer John Bailey
- Archival footage of writer-director John Huston discussing the film
- Episode of the television program City Lights from 1979 featuring Huston
- Audio excerpts of archival interviews with Huston
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien
New cover by F. Ron Miller
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary from 2004 by film historian Drew Casper, featuring archival recordings of actor James Whitmore
- Pharos of Chaos, a 1983 documentary about actor Sterling Hayden
- New interviews with film noir historian Eddie Muller and cinematographer John Bailey
- Archival footage of writer-director John Huston discussing the film
- Episode of the television program City Lights from 1979 featuring Huston
- Audio excerpts of archival interviews with Huston
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien
New cover by F. Ron Miller
Cast
- Sterling Hayden
- Dix Handley
- Louis Calhern
- Alonzo D. Emmerich
- Jean Hagen
- Doll Conovan
- James Whitmore
- Gus Minissi
- Sam Jaffe
- Doc Erwin Riedenschneider
- John McIntire
- Police Commissioner Hardy
- Marc Lawrence
- Cobby
- Barry Kelley
- Lieutenant Ditrich
- Anthony Caruso
- Louis Ciavelli
- Teresa Celli
- Maria Ciavelli
- Marilyn Monroe
- Angela Phinlay
- William Davis
- Timmons
- Dorothy Tree
- May Emmerich
- Brad Dexter
- Bob Brannom
- John Maxwell
- Dr. Swanson
Credits
- Director
- John Huston
- Produced by
- Arthur Hornblow Jr.
- Screenplay by
- Bed Maddow
- Screenplay by
- John Huston
- From a novel by
- W. R. Burnett
- Director of photography
- Harold Rosson
- Art directors
- Cedric Gibbons
- Art directors
- Randall Duell
- Film editor
- George Boemler
- Music by
- Miklós Rózsa
- Recording supervisor
- Douglas Shearer
- Set decorations
- Edwin B. Willis
- Hairstyles designed by
- Sydney Guilaroff
- Makeup created by
- Jack Dawn
A scene from The Asphalt Jungle
