The Big Easy - The great carelessness

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Movie
German title The Big Easy - The great carelessness
Original title The Big Easy
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1987
length 99 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Jim McBride
script Daniel Petrie Jr.
production Mort Engelberg , Stephen J. Friedman
music Brad Fiedel
camera Affonso Beato
cut Mia Goldman
occupation

The Big Easy - The Big Easy (Original title: The Big Easy ) is an American thriller from 1987. The director led Jim McBride , the writer wrote Daniel Petrie Jr. The film starred Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin . The title is to be understood ambiguously: "The Big Easy" is also the slang term for New Orleans , where the film takes place. The name was coined by black jazz musicians at the beginning of the 20th century , as it was relatively easy to find an engagement there.

action

A murdered drug mafia man is found in the fountain in New Orleans' Piazza d'Italia . The investigating detective Remy McSwain belongs to a network of corrupt police officers who accept bribes, pay them into a joint “widows and orphans' fund” and then divide them up among themselves. With his share, Remy McSwain finances his younger brother Bobby - he believes, without his knowledge - to study law. When the public prosecutor Anne Osborne tries to convict Remy of bribery, the latter begins to flirt with her in order to distract her from the illegal activities. The policeman and the clumsy lawyer clash and argue before passionate scenes.

When Remy McSwain accepts bribes, he falls into a trap and is filmed, which leads to legal proceedings. In disguise, he then throws a strong magnet into the window of a bank branch. A policeman friend later placed the magnet in the evidence room as evidence right next to the video tape showing the attempted bribe. The tape is erased and McSwain is acquitted for lack of evidence. Osborne then wants nothing more to do with him.

McSwain, who has meanwhile seriously fallen in love with Anne Osborne, has her "arrested" by police officers related to him and brought to a party for his family. There they declare the fake arrest to be a "mistake". Remy dances with the angry Anne until her taxi arrives. His family thinks the woman is attractive and compliments him. Later, Anne and Remy get closer again.

McSwain gets scruples and can be removed from the distribution list of bribes. When his brother Bobby is shot on the street in front of Remy's apartment for wearing Remy's jacket in the rain, Remy changes his heart. He follows the trail of police officers who have liquidated parts of the drug gang and now want to sell the heroin themselves. Anne Osborne had this in her sights right from the start. Remy and Osborne investigate evidence, which includes fake police records. In the end there is a fight against the masterminds, including Remy's superior and stepfather-to-be. He is killed by his two police accomplices, who are then killed in a final exchange of fire with Remy and Osborne. A big explosion follows, the pressure wave of which throws the two protagonists high into the air.

In the credits you see Remy in a tuxedo and Anne in a white wedding dress while they dance to Cajun music in Anne's apartment.

Reviews

Roger Ebert praised the " interesting " and " complex " characters and the direction in the Chicago Sun-Times of August 21, 1987 . He described the film as "a great thriller " ( " a great thriller ").

"Furiously staged police crime thriller that is attractive for friends of the genre and that translates its moral message into a fun and exciting way."

- Lexicon of international film

Awards

Dennis Quaid won the Independent Spirit Award in 1988 , Jim McBride and Stephen J. Friedman were nominated for the same award. Dennis Quaid also won a prize at the Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid film festival in 1987 . Ellen Barkin won the Spanish Premios Sant Jordi in 1988 .

Jim McBride won the Grand Prix of the Cognac Festival du Film Policier in 1987 . Daniel Petrie Jr. was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1988 . The film was nominated for the Casting Society of America Award in 1988 .

The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.

backgrounds

The film was originally supposed to be called Windy City ; in an earlier version of the script, the action was set in Chicago .

District Attorney Jim Garrison played the role of a judge in the film. Soul singer Solomon Burke has another appearance as mafia godfather Daddy Mention. He says he has 21 children, which is Burke's actual number of children. Celebrity chef Paul Prudhomme also appears in the film as the head of the Tipitina's restaurant.

Template for television series

This film served as a template for the later two-season television series " Big Easy - Streets of Sin " with 35 episodes, 1996–1997, the original title of which is also "The Big Easy" as a synonym for the city of New Orleans and its lifestyle.

The role characters of Remy McSwain (played by Tony Crane ) and Anne Osborne (played by Susan Walters ) were retained, but the rest of the staff was completely changed.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Big Easy - The great carelessness. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 2, 2017 . Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-big-easy-1987
  3. ↑ Big Easy - Roads to Sin