Released just shy of 50 years ago, Michael Ritchie’s Prime Cut is primarily a diseased sexist fantasy (poor Sissy Spacek), and secondarily about conflicting gangster values — a violent standoff between a relatively urbane, moderate mannered Chicago enforcer (Lee Marvin) and a beastly, intemperate Kansas City gangster named Mary Ann (Gene Hackman).
We’re encouraged to side with Marvin, who is presented as more refined and civilized than the slovenly, low-born Hackman. But despite the pastoral Midwestern vistas, the package is too weird and perverse. I saw Prime Cut theatrically back in the day, and had an immediate urge to take a shower.
