Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Wyatt There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

classicsoncall As primarily character actors, you don't get many chances to catch Warren Oates and Ben Johnson at the top of a bill, but they get the opportunity here in this Seventies gangster romp featuring many of the top hoodlum names of the era. My instincts tell me that most of this story was probably fictitious, and without the time or inclination to check out the details, I'll just say that it was an entertaining flick if you go for this kind of stuff.The film opens with an 'Introducing' Michelle Phillips credit, an early picture for the former Mamas and Papas singer. Though third billed right after the nominal stars of the picture, I didn't get a sense that she had a major impact on the story, even though she wound up as John Dillinger's (Oates) moll following his virtual kidnap of her in a run down barroom. She certainly didn't find herself in league with the era's infamous Bonnie and Clyde pair, though she did manage to squeeze off a few effective machine gun rounds in the latter part of the story.There's some interesting casting for Dillinger's associates, folks like Harry Dean Stanton as Homer Van Meter, Geoffrey Lewis as Harry Pierpont, and a young Richard Dreyfuss aptly chosen as Lester 'Baby Face' Nelson. That scene where Dillinger works over the fresh mouthed Nelson was one of those instances that didn't ring true to me. If it happened, I'm surprised Nelson would have stuck around.The coolest scene in my estimation took place right after Dillinger maneuvered his way out of the Lake County Jail, freeing Reed Youngblood (Frank McRae) and grabbing a guard and the warden for a brief period as hostages. As they make good their escape, Dillinger has his driver pull over so he can rob a bank! That I believe, is what they call chutzpah!

videorama-759-859391 Dillinger is another example of great 70's American filmmaking. This is a well made pic and when you've got actors of great stature like Oates and Johnson, this somehow guarantees you're in for a great ride and the strong performances don't stop here. Even Dallas's Steven Kanaly as one of Dillinger's gang impresses in what is a very violent film, the likes of a similar film, Boxcar Bertha. Many films have been made of John Dillinger, this one the only one I've seen. Dillinger was one of the most feared bank robbers who just kept robbing. It was in his blood. No way in hell, could you make a guy like this stop. From the movie's start that has him robbing a teller, he pre warns the clerk, as not to get ideas, saying "This is the greatest moment in your life, don't make it your last". Oates depicts a range of emotions of the famous John Dillinger, his flaws, etc. He had a baby like nature, about him, someone who refused to grow up. The same could be said for Richard Dreyfuss who shines, in his much younger days as the smart alecky, cocky, Babyface Nelson, if stealing the scenes from the great Oates, who's performances are always of high accolade quality. Of course, it ends bloodily of course, with his execution out front of a cinema, in front of many shocked public. Dillinger openly admits how his mates wanting out careers, while he wanted to steal people's money, and here again is a prime example of how crime doesn't pay. Kanaly's running, slowly dying scene is memorable.

Lechuguilla G-man Melvin Purvis (Ben Johnson) chases bank robber John Dillinger (Warren Oates) high and low, in this Depression-era action flick that's heavy on gunfights and short on character development. Throughout the film, a herd of other public enemies, including Harry Pierpont, Homer Van Meter, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, among others, stampede the plot, diverting us away from Dillinger the man. It's as if all these hoodlums suddenly exploded on the scene, without benefit of a childhood or motivation of any kind, and one of these hoodlums just happened to be Dillinger.Multiple shootouts go on and on and on. Bang, bang, bang ... dying bodies jerk, squirm, twitch, and lurch, with lots of blood. Antiquated autos zoom away at twenty miles an hour, tip over, crash, and blow-up. And Purvis smokes lots of cigars.Another irritation is the casting of Warren Oates. He looks way too old to play Dillinger. An unknown, younger actor would have been more convincing.On the other hand, the film's color cinematography and terrific production design create an authentic 1930s look and feel, helped along by era songs, like "Red River Valley" and "Happy Days Are Here Again". The outdoor scenes, especially, with those dirt roads and cheap frame rural houses, convey a dreary, lonesome, forlorn mood, totally in keeping with the poverty and hopelessness of that period.My impression of this film is similar to that of the more recent Dillinger film "Public Enemies" (2009). Both films lack focus on Dillinger. Both get carried away with action. And both do a great job with the Depression-era style. That is to say, in "Public Enemies" and in "Dillinger", the strength is the visuals; the weakness is mainly the script.

Robert J. Maxwell Near the beginning, after it's been established that outlaw John Dillinger (Warren Oates), is an egomaniacal rapist, another bandit of the 1930s is cornered in a farm house and surrounded by the FBI. Second-in-command Melvin Purvis (Ben Johnson), surveys the situations, sticks a lighted cigar in his mouth, picks up two loaded .45-caliber automatics, and stalks off into the distant house alone. Bang, bang, bang. Purvis emerges alone from the house, carrying the female hostage, the miscreant dead. All in long shot.If you're enthralled by stories like Red Riding Hood, this should have considerable appeal.Oh, it's as exciting as it is mindless. Pretty Boy Floyd meets his demise dramatically. Multiple violations of the civic code. Plenty of shoot outs with Tommy guns and pistols. Blood all over.As history, it stinks. Few remember Melvin Purvis as an FBI hero, partly, I would guess, because of his name. Melvin PURVIS? We all remember J. Edgar Hoover, who fired Melvin Purvis because he was a rival in the quest for public attention though.The picture was written and directed by John Milius. He's the guy who had it written into his contract that, should any animals be shot and killed in the course of one of his productions, he should be the designated shooter. Milius is the guy, a compleat gun freak, who had Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Spanish-American war shouting quotations from Henry V -- "Saint Crispin's Day" and all that.Exciting, yes, and complete garbage. "I knew I'd never take him alive, and I didn't try too hard neither." That is, kill 'em all and let God sort them out.You'll just love it.