Dillinger

In the Midwest of the thirties John Dillinger robs banks and the newspapers write him up as a kind of folk hero. FBI agent Melvin Purvis is assigned to hunt him, and the two men know each other from headlines before they ever meet. In his first film John Milius shows both sides cut from the same cloth: Purvis lights a cigar after every criminal he kills, and that ceremony is no different from Dillinger's own rituals. Warren Oates plays Dillinger and Ben Johnson Purvis. The violence is hard and direct for its period. The film ends with the real event outside the Biograph cinema. Despite a low budget the photography and period design are solid. Who it is for: viewers who like seventies American crime films and true gangster stories. Who it is not for: anyone after historical accuracy, since the film does not correct the legend.