movies (subject to tumblr's inconsistent search engine. for more complete results, try the archive): badlands, blow out, bring me the head of alfredo garcia, cadavres exquis, charley varrick, chinatown, dog day afternoon, il conformista, klute, le cercle rouge, marathon man, mean streets, night moves, point blank, prime cut, save the tiger, serpico, sisters, straight time, the day of the jackal, the don is dead, the driver, the friends of eddie coyle, the getaway, the harder they come, the hot rock, the killing of a chinese bookie, the last of sheila, the long goodbye, the mackintosh man, the onion field, the organization, the parallax view, the spook who sat by the door, the sting, the taking of pelham one two three, the yakuza, three days of the condor, villain, wanda
Robert Mitchum doing one of the best opening monologues ever (Criterion trailer for The Friends of Eddie Coyle)
According to Wikipedia, these are the characteristics of the anti-hero as identified by critics:
- imperfections that separate them from typically “heroic” characters (selfishness, ignorance, bigotry, etc.);
- lack of positive qualities such as “courage, physical prowess, and fortitude,” and “generally feel helpless in a world over which they have no control”;
- qualities normally belonging to villains (amorality, greed, violent tendencies, etc.) that may be tempered with more human, identifiable traits (confusion, self-hatred, etc.);
- noble motives pursued by bending or breaking the law in the belief that “the ends justify the means.”
The death of Eddie Coyle could hardly be more fitting for an anti-hero; passed out after drinking too much at a hockey game, he is shot in the head by the snitch that betrayed him to both the mob and the cops. Robert Mitchum plays the anti-hero Eddie “Knuckles” Coyle, a mid-level gunrunner who’s trying to keep his dependable Irish wife and their three kids off welfare and himself out of prison. So while still supplying guns to a group of high-profile bank robbers he’s also working for Uncle, hoping that he can get a phone call made to the judge who is about to sentence him for an earlier conviction. Part of what makes Coyle such a compelling anti-hero is, despite his less honorable characteristics, that he demands your respect. He’s past his prime, but still handsome. He’s selling out his friends to the government, but only because he needs to take care of his family. He’s never attained much notoriety in criminal circles, but not for lack of intelligence or toughness of character. Scheme as he might, he’s helpless in a world over which he has no control.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
