Massacre de Chicago

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is an artistic reconstruction of the climax of the gang wars over control of the illegal alcohol trade during the Prohibition era in Chicago. Its disadvantage is that this story is notoriously known and has been depicted on the big screen multiple times. Furthermore, this attractive period in American history has been thoroughly explored by top directors, charismatic actors, and generous producers, so despite director Corman's efforts, he couldn't achieve the highest rating from me. On the other hand, even though the screenwriter stuck to generally known facts, the whole story and the characters operating not on the edge but already beyond it are so intriguing that viewers will still enjoy it, even if it's not an Oscar-worthy affair. The film didn't inspire me, but it also didn't disappoint. It's an honest gangster movie, which is only harmed by the attempt at maximum factual accuracy; it's simply tiring to listen to when this person was born on such and such day and was divorced for the second time, etc. While the film doesn't feature the biggest movie stars, it also doesn't give off the feeling of the dull pseudo-acting of docudramas from recent years. Overall impression: 65%. (22/09/2012)

“...on the last morning of his life...” A docudrama about men who died of natural causes (natural for the activities they engaged in) and, from Roger Corman, an attempt to portray gangsterism as something that played a significant role in the development of American culture. This time, however, without the typical romanticizing where the protagonist is set against the system and the viewer tends to root for him. But it wasn’t just that. Its liveliness resembled a musical, with the choir made up of the sounds of Thompsons, shotguns, and blunt objects, while Jason Robards's theatrical Capone took it to the stage, and the dispute over the gangster Gusenberg’s fur coat and his blonde adornments came close to farce. Those who find Jack Nicholson in a small role can consider themselves lucky... (10/09/2024)

The title of this film and the reputation of its director raise expectations of a second-rate action flick for drive-ins. In reality, however, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre is probably Roger Corman’s most ambitious project. It was made for a major studio with well-known actors and, judging from the bountiful production design, a sizeable budget (which Corman, accustomed to guerrilla shooting conditions, didn’t use up). The film’s attractive components don’t begin with the production values and end with the more open depiction of violence, which few viewers today would find dazzling. This wonderfully straightforward gangster film, which is focused more on the course of the story than on the outcome, stands out with its “livelier” camerawork, emphasis on factual accuracy and its self-aware narrative. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre is thus a precursor of the work of Corman’s protégé, Martin Scorsese, in terms of both form and content. 75% (07/06/2011)

For insiders, the name Roger Corman is synonymous with easygoing B-movie entertainment, but that's not entirely true. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre may be mired in brevity and overwhelmed by the number of characters, many of whom are dismissed with just a few sentences from the narrator, but on the other hand it maintains a great pace and adds a pleasing and evocative framework with its unconventional "Chronicle of Deaths Announced" style, especially at the end. I really liked the lively camera rides in mostly interior scenes and the performances (among which Jack Nicholson can be seen for a moment), which puts the film ahead of Martin Scorsese's formal magic, but when compared with the first-rate, more tightly constructed gangster films by Martin and co, I can't give this one more than a very strong 3*. (24/05/2018)