The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Gloria
Crime · Drama · Thriller · 1980
When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
Movie details
Gloria
“She's tough… but she sides with the little guy. And she's out to beat the mob at their own game.”
1980 Crime · Drama · Thriller 2h 2m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.9 / 10
Community rating
When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Gloria?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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The Grissom Gang
Crime · 1971
Violent crime caper set in 1930s Kansas in which a gang kidnap an heiress and attempt to recover a ransom. However, the scheme is jeopardised when the leader falls in love with their beautiful captive.
Juice
Crime · 1992
Four Harlem friends -- Bishop, Q, Steel and Raheem -- dabble in petty crime, but they decide to go big by knocking off a convenience store. Bishop, the magnetic leader of the group, has the gun. But Q has different aspirations. He wants to be a DJ and happens to have a gig the night of the robbery. Unfortunately for him, Bishop isn't willing to take no for answer in a game where everything's for keeps.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Crime · 1973
An aging hood is about to go back to prison. Hoping to escape his fate, he supplies information on stolen guns to the feds, while simultaneously supplying arms to his bank robbing chums.
Donnie Brasco
Crime · 1997
An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.
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In New York, former convict Pete Koslow, related to the Polish mafia, must deal with both Klimek the General, his ruthless boss, and the twisted ambitions of two federal agents, as he tries to survive and protect the lives of his loved ones.
Violent Ends
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Lucas Frost, an honest man brought up in a crime family whose only legacy is violence, tries to make his own life with his fiancée, Emma. He is suddenly pulled back into the family business he so despises when his cousin, Eli, perpetrates an armed robbery on a local scrap yard and an innocent life is caught in the crossfire.
Blood Ties
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Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.
A Walk Among the Tombstones
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Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.
Scarface
Crime · 1932
In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, aka Scarface, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to protect his sister from the criminal life.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Cassavetes
Written by
John Cassavetes
Gena Rowlands
Gloria Swenson
Buck Henry
Jack Dawn
Julie Carmen
Jeri Dawn
J
John Adames
Phil Dawn
T
Tony Knesich
1st Man / Gangster
G
Gregory Cleghorne
Kid in Elevator
L
Lupe Garnica
Margarita Vargas
Court is in session
Put Gloria on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.