"Ace in the Hole" presents curated news, a poignant satire on the work ethic of the media and the popular taste of entertaining to death, that remains relevant even in the 21st century
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This is a unique noir film, although the film takes place almost entirely during the day under the mountain sun, it has an extremely dark theme and rich shadow effects, which contrast with the ugliness of the characters' inner worlds. The protagonists Taiton and Wilder are both anti-heroes in film noir. They both died without being redeemed after returning to the bottom line of morality, which is very rare and bold in mainstream movies on Hollywood studios. In the film, Wilder ruthlessly attacked journalists for their moral depravity and the practice of making news just for the sake of sales and fame. At the same time, he also satirized the naivety and blindness of ordinary people who were bewitched by the entertainment industry. The rescue site in the film has become a carnival playground, and the inspirational songs sung for a while to cheer Leo are all accurate predictions for the "entertainment to death", a later comprehensive entertainment society.
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