Tcm Greatest Classic Films: Gansters Prohibition [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

This is a really good deal - four films, including extras. The films are good quality and well-restored. The acting is first rate, and the extras add to the understanding of the background to each film. Plot-wise, the only sub standard one is Smart Money; all the rest are deservedly top notch.

four of the greatest actors ever seen. could watch them all day. jimmy cagney has always ben my favourite actor but the other three come very close. watch and enjoy.

for those who wish to discover why "warner bros." were one of the top hollywood studios during the golden era of hollywood, then fans should look no further than these four classics from the 1930s. from a personal point of view, i would rate "the public enemy" and "the roaring twenties" as being the best ones in this dvd set but "little caesar" and "smart money" are also worthy of your attention. each production crackles with tension, excitement and entertainment. the acting, directing, dialogue and the stories keep you nailed to your seat as the likes of james cagney and edward g. robinson fight their way to the top of the underworld, only for their success to come crashing round their ears as they struggle to regain their empires. i have rarely seen two more evil and sadistic villains in gangster films than little rico(robinson) or tom powers(cagney). both performances were star-making back in the early 1930s and they deserve to be. i still consider the grapefruit scene from "the public enemy" to contain quite an impact and i can understand how 1931's audiences were shocked by it. cagney's tom powers is one of those hoodlums who's destined to be thoroughly evil and vicious from the beginning. he shows no mercy when he's either shooting someone or threatening and carrying out violence. a splendid performance from james cagney. "smart money" shows a slightly different side to the underworld as edward g. robinson builds up an empire based more on gambling than any other rackets. his character is also a lot more likeable and therefore, i spared a bit more sympathy for him at the film's conclusion. in the one and only on-screen teaming of the two actors, it's a shame that cagney and robinson didn't appear in more films together. they have good on-screen in "smart money." "the roaring twenties" was one of the last gangster films from the studio for the next several years or more but it is one of the best of the bunch. cagney wants to earn a decent and honest living after the end of the first world war by returning to his taxi job. however, times have changed and he struggles to secure employment elsewhere. as a result, he goes into the liqour business and builds quite an empire as the city's leading bootlegger. the stock market crash follows and there's a good old showdown between cagney and humphrey bogart, one of the film's many highlights. this dvd set doesn't contain any special features but that hardly matters as it is the films that count. enjoy!

good

Love classic movies

This is another welcome set of reissues from TCM, and a bargain. The remasterings I have seen in this series have been uniformly clean and of good quality. This one is worth five stars for Little Caesar alone -- a classic of the era, fast-paced and compelling, successfully capturing the violence, cynicism and sometimes reckless risk-taking of the gangsterism of that time. Robinson gives a memorable portrayal of "the little psychopath that could", managing a swagger and gravitas that dominate throughout -- until his inevitable demise, in a memorable last scene, as the overreaching, self-destructive, classic tragic hero. Smart money, for another smartly- paced gangster movie, manages some effectively poignant moments, in addition to a few effective twists -- watch for the return of the sympathetic, helpful girl at the counter whom Robinson's character seems to charm, soon after he arrives in the big city as the small-town gambler confident of dominating the big games. The period settings are themselves a fascination -- the street scenes, automobiles, art deco architecture, and the flattering and punctilious women's clothing and grooming. Love those 1930s ladies!

No pun intended? These early gangster classics are just that. Love the TCM 'extras' included on the disks. I bought used and mine has 4 separate disks though the soft cover refers to them on side a and b of what I presume two disks? No matter the transfers, reviews, newsreel footage, animation, 'extras' for the day are just to me priceless and make these a great addition to the library. These well before twang and whatever soundtrack invade every possible second of silence if not more - silence that matters. Amazing on an OLED screen.Unique collection of classic film noir gangster, each of which you can research so i wont try to do that here. 1931 to 1939 gangster movies, Cagney, Robinson, Bogart... so many great supporting actors! This collection in my opinion a must have, stories that make you think as well as feel.

I purchased this two disc double-sided set a month ago, and wanted to watch "The Roaring Twenties" tonite. The double-sided disc is improperly marked- therefore the film "Public Enemy" appeared instead. After 53 minutes of viewing"TRT", the disc refused to play (on any dvd player) from chapters 15 thru 23.The Amazon replacement mumbo jumbo sounds like I could have to pay the return postage (because I haven't a printed return label)to send back the dvd set. I've mailed dvds before by regular mail, and it cost over ten dollars (almost the cost of this dvd set), and not the $6.70 that Amazon might reimburse me. It's easier to keep the discs & say farewell to Amazon.

I was happy with my purchase. No problems at all!