Product ReviewsSweet Smell of Success (DVD, 2001)

Powerful and Hard Hitting

If you ever wondered just how powerful the media is, this movie explains it. Whether it's 1957 where the newspapers, radio, and television are king, or 2021 where the Internet has taken over, it all comes down to having a following of Believers. The other point this movie makes is that Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. Burt Lancaster is the sophisticated version of Andy Griffith's role in A Voice in the Crowd. Both are very scary movies showing that the human condition hasn't changed much. It's an excellent movie out of which was born the 2002 film Phone Booth starring Colin Farrel, Kiefer Sutherland, and Forrest Whitaker.Read full review...

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Doesn't live up to the hype; the print is only fair

This movie is considered by some to be one of the best film noirs, but I found all the characters unappealing, the story was very weak, and motivations for what little story there was, was unconvincing. This was a big disappointment.Read full review...

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1957 Film Boasts Best Screenplay Ever Written

With a Clifford Odets-Ernest Lehman screenplay of the highest calibre, director and Englishman John Mackendrick, and master cameraman James Wong Howe place us in the middle of late-1950s NYC nightlife in very snazzy black and white at the table next to Burt Lancaster's J.J. Hunsecker, a ruthless. all-powerful newspaper columnist whose acid tongue and pen have stripped the flesh off many a New York entertainer and, even, a U.S. Senator (Hunsecker tells him, "Go and sin no more.") In comes Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis), a hungry, sleazeball press agent, impatient and willing to do anything to win a seat at Hunsecker's table. J.J.'s current job for Falco is to bust-up his sister's relationship with jazz musician and good guy Steve played by Martin Milner. At about any point in time, there are acerbic verbal exchanges between Hunsecker and Falco, Falco and Steve, or Hunsecker, Falco and Steve, which give rise to some of the sharpest dialogue on screen. Steve, sensing Falco's undercover role, tells him, "The next time you want information, don't scratch for it like a dog, ask for it like a man!" Or, Steve to Hunsecker, "Mr. Hunsecker, you've got more twists than a barrel of pretzels."
Steve, as we can see, holds his own, but he's not in Hunsecker or Falco's league. Falco, after planting an illicit weed in Steve's coatpocket, tells Hunsecker, "The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river." Shortly thereafter, Hunsecker replies to Falco, "I'd hate to take a bite outta you. You're a cookie full of arsenic." And later, after Hunsecker promises Falco his columnist job temporarily for just ONE more act of sabotage, "Don't remove the gangplant, Sidney - you may wanna get back onboard."
Finally, Falco reminds Hunsecker, "Every dog will have his day."
There just are so many great lines in the screenplay, and it's all acted to perfection by Lancaster, Curtis and the entire cast. Falco sleazes up to Hunsecker's secretary, Mary, in order to get a peak at tomorrow's column, and she informs him, "You're an amuzing boy, but you haven't got a drop of respect for anything in human life."
This slice-and-dice never lets up as our two lead characters continue to hit new lows of humanity. There's really nobody with whom the audience may identify except maybe Hunsecker's sister, or maybe Milner the "jazz musician," but the film's true focus remains Hunsecker and Falco, who are unredeemable.
This is a very, very good film with a great screenplay, and consumate actors to perform it. There's no one to like in the film, but there's plenty to like about it.Read full review...

Sweet Smell of Success

The acting and the film score are excellent but the two main characters are not what I would call likable. They are great in their roles. A sleazy columnist and promo guy.
It’s a very engaging movie. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.Read full review...

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Great sophisticated movie about power.

The other review is excellent so I thought I'd simply add that this film is a very rare look at the dark side of power. The characters are all in the grips of a system that makes people use others, think selfishly and abandon their better side. It is a rare realistic look at many levels of cruelty to others in the name of getting ahead, or just surviving. Beautifully written, acted, shot and directed it's a masterpiece of film making. It's entertaining because it is not simplistic and you don't know where it's going as the plot unfolds.Read full review...

GREAT CLASSIC!

GREAT MOVIE! Loved it.Fantastic acting,m script, cinematography! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! BEST TONY CURTIS MOVIE EVER!!!!

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Amazing performances!!!!!!

One of the best movies ever made! Burt and Tony are Supreme!

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Sweet Smell of Success

One of the Best Films ever made about NYC.

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Better then I rembered

Great

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Sweet Smell of Success: Performances by Lancaster and Curtis highlight riveting, seamless screenplay on the folly human weakness.

Exactly as represented

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