Michael Mann’s impressive television debut foreshadows much of his later work – the criminal world setting, an isolated hero who lives by his own code, slightly expressionistic dialogue, an interest in black culture, emphasis on music, honour among thieves, attention to realism.
Peter Strauss is excellent as a Folsom lifer who has the potential to be a champion miler; he looks in shape, seems like a working class type – why did he never escape TV land? The supporting cast is full of familiar faces: Brian Dennehy, Roy Moseley (from Magnum), other actors you’ll recognise from TV drama. It was actually shot in Folsom which helps (the officers are depicted sympathetically – which works for the drama)
Sometimes the dialogue sounds a bit odd coming from the actors – maybe the actors weren’t up to it, or it was too stylised, or they just needed more time. Indeed, you wish Mann had been given a little more time and money to smooth it out.
I wasn’t crazy about the back story of Strauss having only killed his father because he was bashing his sister – it softens someone who doesn’t need softening. Great versions of Rolling Stones songs – a bossanova riff like ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ is used throughout; there’s also a bit of ‘No Expectations’.
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