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White Heat (BD) [Blu-ray]

James Cagney (Actor), Virginia Mayo (Actor), Raoul Walsh (Director) Rated:
NR
Format: Blu-ray
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 672 ratings
IMDb8.1/10.0
Additional Blu-ray options Edition Discs
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Blu-ray
May 21, 2013
BLU-RAY SINGLE
1
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White Heat $3.59 $10.49
Genre Drama
Format Blu-ray
Contributor Raoul Walsh, Edmond O'Brien, Steve Cochran, James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Margaret Wycherly
Initial release date 2013-05-21
Language English
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Product Description

White Heat (BD)

Top of the world, Ma! Oscar-winner James Cagney ("The Public Enemy," "Yankee Doodle Dandy") explodes on the screen as a demented gangster whose intricate plan to rob an oil refinery is thwarted by a government infiltrator. Co-starring Oscar-winner Edmond O'Brien ("Julius Caesar") and Virginia Mayo ("The Best Years of Our Lives"). Recently selected by the prestigious American Film Institute as one of the 400 greatest American films of all time, who also added Cody Jarrett to its' list of 50 Greatest Villains.

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Product details

  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 0.01 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ TCMV1000346840BR
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Raoul Walsh
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 54 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ May 21, 2013
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly, Steve Cochran
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Studio Distribution Services
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00BUALYHM
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 672 ratings

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
672 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mel W
5.0 out of 5 stars Best gangster movie
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024
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Absolutely one of my favorite old movies. James Cagney was one of the greatest!
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Patrick Small
5.0 out of 5 stars White Heat
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2024
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Another James Cagney classic gangster film noir movie.
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Dr. Robert F. Knoll
5.0 out of 5 stars Cagney at the Top of the World and His Career
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2013
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"White Heat" opens with a locomotive roaring out of a tunnel and ends with the fiery explosion of an oil storage tank. In the 110 minutes in between, the film, propulsively directed by Raoul Walsh and underlined by a relentless and pounding score by Max Steiner, presents James Cagney in the performance of his career. Older and chunkier than in his days as a hoofer (most notably in "Footlight Parade"(1932) and "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942) ), Cagney portrays a sociopathic gang leader who engineers and executes robberies and killings with a vehement and unapologetic glee. Most famously, he offers a hostage, who tried to kill him while they were in prison together, ventilation in the form of bullet holes when he complains about the lack of air in a car trunk.
We had seen Cagney strutting his bad boy stuff from the time of "Public Enemy" (1931), through his Oscar nominated role in "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938), and , opposite Bogart, in "The Roaring Twenties" (1939) . Never before did we see this consummate American film actor take the chances he does as Cody Jarrett, a mother-fixated middle aged man who sits on his mother's lap and hurtles aside prisoners, dishes and guards, anyone or anything in his way when he receives the news of his mother's death while eating lunch in the prison mess hall. Not one of Cagney's contemporaries, not Tracy, not Gable, not March, not Stewart nor Fonda, or any of the other actors who rose to stardom in the 1930's, would have tried this; not one would have succeeded.
Cagney's supporting cast includes Virginia Mayo as Verna, the ultimate pouting, simpering and simmering blonde gold-digger wife. (When Jarrett goes off to prison to serve a 2 year term in lieu of facing the death sentence for crimes he's actually done, Verna complains about what she'll have to do for those 2 years and Ma Jarrett tells she can go back to doing what she did before she married Cody.) Mayo is spot on perfect, as is Margaret Wycherley, a character actress who also has the role of her career- tough as nails, whip smart and devoted to her deranged son to the point of her death. Edmond O'Brien, as an undercover Treasury agent who becomes Jarrett's cellmate and eventual substitute mother, soothing him when he has his explosive headaches, completes the theme of betrayal that threads its way through this remarkable film.
"White Heat" is very much a part of its time. The 1940's obsession with pop psychology ("Spellbound"(1945) anyone?) is very much present as is the reverence for law enforcement in the form of Treasury agents who use the latest 1940's crime fighting techniques (oscillators?) to track down and corner the criminals. "White Heat" and its fellow police procedural, "Naked City" (1948), might very well be the granddaddies of "Law and Order" and "NCIS".
The Warner Brothers Blu-ray presents the 64 year old material as well as it can be. The black and white cinematography is sharp ( Only one scene set in the train engine cab is soft and grainy, as it has been in every version of this film I've seen.) The soundtrack is effective, but not juiced or tweaked. The special features are modest, but the film speaks for itself.
Made it, Ma. Top of the world!- both the film's most celebrated lines/epitaph and a summation of its quality.
7 people found this helpful
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CAPTAINDELVIN
5.0 out of 5 stars Vino’s Review
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2024
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James Cagney’s acting is top notch.
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Steve A. Kovacs
4.0 out of 5 stars Great actor...but we knew that...
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2023
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Great actor keeps you glued to the screen in addition to an interesting plot.
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JB
5.0 out of 5 stars Best movie of all time
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2024
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So great!
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ovpower
5.0 out of 5 stars FAST SHIPPER
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2023
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Product was delivered fast and in in excellent condition.
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mojo_navigator
5.0 out of 5 stars The Blu-Ray: It's a stunner!
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2013
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White Heat is one of my favourite films, a bona fide gangster movie with a touch of Noir-esq psychological discomfort that has nothing soft, kind or lightweight in it. Human nature at its grimmest, for sure. I've seen it many times including once in a repertory cinema where the entire audience (full house) stood up applauding at the end. And this was 50 years after it was made!

The Blu-Ray edition is unquestionably one of the most beautiful film-like transfers I've ever seen in this still young medium. From the first scene of the train approaching through the tunnel, you're hit with the film-like quality of the transfer. Solid, authentic grain throughout, looking exactly how I imagine it would have during the first week of its release in 1948. The transfer is so film-like that when I watched it, I found it impossible to follow the story - the visuals were so breath-taking!

The detail is extremely strong - the texture of a police officer's leather jacket, the palm tree-lined streets of `40s LA, the manufacturer's label on the vacuum tubes of the surveillance equipment. I particularly dug the way that you could tell exactly what the weather was like on the day the outdoor scenes were shot. And the facial detail - WOW!! Such clarity - even the mother looks attractive!

It is deeply satisfying to see this true cinematic masterpiece presented in such a classy fashion. I would put this on the same level as anything I've seen on Criterion. Don't be misled into thinking "old black and white movies" can't benefit from 1080p `cos this sucker does in bucket loads. A gritty transfer that truly matches the edgy subject matter and should be held up as an excellent example of what Blu Ray can offer.
25 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars clasicazo
Reviewed in Spain on January 12, 2023
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Esta pelicula es un claro ejemplo de el porque hay que verlas en v.o. En castellano se comen la mitad de cosas (impagable la escena donde ella esta roncando y en castellano se lo comen con patatas).
buena imagen y sonido (v.o)
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D. C. Newby
5.0 out of 5 stars ... Panasonic blu ray player that is not multi region great
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2015
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superb quality arrived on time played on my Panasonic blu ray
player that is not multi region great film
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HIGGY
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2015
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Region free
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