and evil—is one of noir's great unheralded triumphs." Critics have compared the quality of The Big Combo to Fritz Lang's The Big Heat as one of the great film noir detective classics in terms of style. A number of critics have commented on the unusual (for the time) treatment of Mingo and Fante as a gay couple, with Robert Keser noting that Lewis "ruptures mid-century American sensibilities with his pair of tender gay-coded henchmen" and Robert Singer commenting on the message that "two gay men can experience a healthy relationship". The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 92% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 13 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.04/10. Home media The film was released on Blu-ray in a new HD restoration in 2019 by Arrow Films in the UK and Eire. Soundtrack Most film noir movies feature scores that are orchestral, with strings. In contrast, The Big Combo is one of the few that have a score with brass and trumpets and with woodwinds and saxophones. See also Public domain film List of American films of 1955 List of films in the public domain in the United States References External links The Big Combo at Images Journal The Big Combo title sequence at Veoh (features David Raksin's music) 1955 films 1950s crime thriller films Allied Artists films American crime thriller films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Film noir Films about organized crime in the United States Films directed by Joseph H. Lewis Films scored by David Raksin American police detective films 1950s American films