Sweet Smell of Success (1957)'s comments

Do you want to let us know what you think? Just login, after which you will be redirected back here and you can leave your comments.

ChrisReynolds

The writing is brilliant, and everybody's on top form, especially Curtis as Sidney Falco, the "cookie full of arsenic", and Lancaster as J J. Hunsecker, the man with "more twists than a barrel of pretzels".

11 years 3 months ago

MrE2Me

Wow, the psychological brutality waged by the characters in this film is unrelenting. The lowest depths of human nature are plumbed. Great stuff.

13 years 2 months ago

DeathShrike

This movie is fucking SINISTER. Loved every damn second of it.

13 years 4 months ago

Ralf

Worthy of at least two viewings. The driving forces of the film are definitely Tony Curtis and the amazing dialogue, both of which are corrosive yet charming - often at the same time. The film didn't really get the recognition it deserved when it came out, I'm glad it has now found its place among the classics.

10 years 9 months ago

camilocabrera22

Dark, sharp-edged and coldly ironic, a movie screenplay can't go any better from here.

11 years 7 months ago

Dieguito

The golden age of newspapers and columnists, the birth of gossip magazines.. Sinister and good plot

12 years 7 months ago

Manaf

"Like most of the human race, i'm bored.
i'd go a mile for a chuckle"

8 years 1 month ago

contrafugal

Hey, the sweet smell of success kinda smells like marijuana.

12 years 9 months ago

Siskoid

Sweet Smell of Success has a Glengary vibe to it, with press agent Tony Curtis desperately hustling to get some of his acts in a newspaper, and having to compromise himself entirely to do so, at the whims of columnist Burt Lancaster, who plays the part with a dangerous edge. As good as Curtis can be, Lancaster is a terrifying presence in the picture, looming over New York City like he owns it. Because in this world, he does. Or how about that shot where his eyes seem to glow with the flames of hell itself? It's a world filled with oppressive darkness and shadow, where light can be malevolent or freeing. Traps abound. We're thrown in the deep end, running alongside to catch up and understand this business and the people who conduct it, or are destroyed by it. It's mean and relentless. The film's best feature, however, is its cracking dialog, every turn of phrase a gem. It's one of those movies you want to endlessly quote from, and the banter is so quick, you'll need to revisit it before you catch everything you'll need to be cool on the nasty side of Broadway.

5 years ago