The Killers (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

You've got to see these old film noirs.Review of the 1946 version:Hemingway’s jaded nihilism through a film noir lens.Robert Siodmak’s film noir mystery The Killers (1946) takes the hardened world view of Ernest Hemingway’s writing and turns it into a brutal and raw crime story like only the finest film noirs reach. Anthony Veiller’s screenplay adapts Hemingway with a dedication to Hemingway’s raw and direct style and intricate narrative. Everyone is out for themselves or money, and if you’re not, then you get out or are shot down. The Killers is the shocking nihilism and violent picture the frail hearts are always complaining about, but it feels real in how down in the gutter every moment is shot.Burt Lancaster is excellent and moving as The Swede. His quiet and thoughtful performance makes his strange criminal and victim a fascinating character study in and of itself. Ava Gardner is perfect in her brief role as the sultry and devious femme fatale Kitty Collins. Edmond O’Brien steals the show as the curious insurance detective Jim Reardon, who goes above and beyond to find the truth.Albert Dekker is great as the seedy and manipulative mastermind Big Jim Colfax. Sam Levene is wonderful as the charismatic cop Lieutenant Sam Lubinsky. Vince Barnett is nice as the kind and starbound old man Charleston. Virginia Christine is great as the lovely and endearing Lilly in her sweet little role. Jeff Corey is fun as the twitchy Blinky. Jack Lambert is fierce as the scary robber Dum-Dum. He’s as scary as the two killers Al and Max. You are immediately unnerved by the terrifying coldness of Charles McGraw and William Conrad’s “wise guy” act in the diner sequence as the killers.Siodmak’s direction adheres and inspires film noir style with his use of shadows clinging to characters like their seedy environments and lights appearing from heaven casting down a shining light on certain faces. He focuses The Killers with a patient, foreboding atmosphere that begs for more murders on screen. Bullets fly and memories wander to the past in Robert Siodmak’s tremendous display of gripping film noir filmmaking prowess.Arthur Hilton’s editing never cuts too often, so you feel shoved into intimate and emotional scenes or suspensefully tense situations for an engrossing 105 minutes. Elwood Bredell’s cinematography is gorgeously shot in black and white with a striking adoration of lights and shadows. His heavy use of wide shots instead of the usual close-ups for emotionally resonant shots is intriguing and keeps you invested in the scene entirely. Jack Otterson and Martin Obzina’s art direction sees New Jersey and Philly looking like a gritty hellscape of poverty and nightlife alike. Russell A. Gausman and Edward R. Robinson’s set decoration has lavish dining halls and ruined hotel rooms for the whole spectrum of wealth and poor tastes.Miklos Rozsa’s score is intense with his pounding orchestral sounds pulsing into a manic frenzy at the slightest hint of dark material on screen. I got increasingly nervous watching The Killers thanks to Rozsa’s thunderous symphonic score soaring above the gunshots and misgivings throughout The Killers. Vera West’s costumes feature gorgeous dresses for Ava Gardner as well as slick suits for the all wise guys. Jack Pierce’s make-up has bruises and blush alike depending on the kind of scene.In short, The Killers is a fearsome film noir with an intriguing mystery, satisfying reveals, visceral violence, and memorable characters.Review of the 1964 version:A visceral blast of action and intrigue.Don Siegel’s crime drama mystery The Killers (1964) subverts your expectations from Robert Siodmak’s 1946 film noir original adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s short story with a cunning twist. Siegel tells the story from the perspective of the two hired assassins learning about who the man they killed was and why he didn’t try to flee death once they came for him. It’s an interesting shift that lets you contemplate fate and fatalism while you watch Lee Marvin shoot people with a massive silencer pistol.Siegel’s direction is moody and playful as he’s well aware the audience has likely seen the original, and so he keeps it fresh by switching things around. The killers are now investigating the murder out of morbid curiosity and for their own greed, other character witnesses are more regretful, and the boxing gig is now a fast paced car race job. All the killing aside, The Killers is super entertaining with a dark sense of humor over having two professional hitmen make threats for Hemingway’s compelling story.Lee Marvin steals the show as the older, sly killer Charlie Strom with his hypnotically deep, gravelly voice and fearsome in your face threats. His acting performance in The Killers rivals his Liberty Valance or Point Blank performance for lethality and menace. Clu Gulager is funny as the charming and vicious young contract killer Lee alongside Lee Marvin’s ruthless Charlie. They have amiable chemistry as like minded murderers. John Williams’ eerie score blasts you like Lee Marvin’s fearless bullets.Angie Dickinson is excellent as the femme fatale Sheila Farr with her hurt eyes full of longing and self preservation. She plays the role even colder than Ava Gardner’s original Kittie. She looks gorgeous in Helen Colvig’s classy mod costumes. Bud Westmore’s make-up look both raw for the men and stunning on Angie Dickinson.John Cassavetes is passionate and proud as The Swede instead of Burt Lancaster’s dour leading man. Cassavetes is natural and sympathetic as the foolish Johnny North. Claude Akins is moving as Cassavetes’ old friend Earl Sylvester. Norman Fell is strange and fun as Mickey Farmer. Notably, Ronald Reagan gives his greatest dramatic performance in The Killers as criminal mastermind and sinister heavy Jack Browning. I found it cute to have Virginia Christine cameo as Miss Watson as she played Lilly in the original film.Richard Belding’s editing is swift with quick cuts from car chases to gunfire or distant memories. Belding’s job as editor keeps you guessing for a briskly paced 93 minutes of carnage and lovelessness. Richard L. Rawlings’ cinematography is fascinating with odd angles and low perspectives that ground this story in a suspenseful wonder. You never know when a gun will fire off killing yet another victim.

I've always enjoyed this classic film. Ava Gardner is my favorite all-time actress. She's great in the role of Kitty. Burt Lancaster is also fine as the torn man in love with a woman he struggles to have. This is based on one of Hemingway's short stories, and they did a fine job. Same with the remake in 1964 with Lee Marvin and Clu Gulagher. You will not be disappointed in either version, but my favorite is the orignal.

These two versions of Hemingway's "The Killers" aren't terrible films by any means, but they were not as dynamic as other reviews led me to believe. I doubt for example that if the 1946 version had not been Burt Lancaster's film debut that it would be anywhere near as well remembered. Ava Gardner fans certainly keep it on many lists as well, but she doesn't have a strong role here. The 1964 version with Lee Marvin has a bit of shock value (for its time) in places, but would probably not be even getting the Criterion treatment except for the novelty of being able to offer a "compare and contrast two-for-one" on the same bluray.While neither film is really a true "remake" of Hemingway's too short story, the 1946 version is much closer to the mark in attempting to flesh it out. His story is all about the opening sequence, which is done well in the movie and is fairly unique and compelling. William Conrad as a mobster is particularly effective but ends up playing a minor role for the rest of the film, which is never truly able to meet the expectations the beginning created. Also, although Lancaster and Gardner are in the movie plenty, in some ways they aren't even the lead characters. For me, Sam Levene playing a police lieutenant was the most interesting actor. Ultimately there is enough in the film to give it 4 stars for the sum of interesting aspects interspersed throughout what would ordinarilly be a pretty average movie.For Lee Marvin fans the 1964 version might be the main reason to pick this up. However, this version was much less true to Hemingway's vision, which would be perfectly fine if it still made for a good movie. It was 3 stars at best, in some ways most interesting for its in your face, matter of fact style. Angie Dickinson plays a much more prominent role in this version as the femme fatale than Ava Gardner did, but that also dramatically changed the chemistry of the movie. The race car driver character played by John Cassavetes is what really drags the movie down, particularly after seeing Lancaster play the same role. I soldiered through it just to see Ronald Reagan in the end sporting a revolver with a silencer, which was definitely worth it, and the ending of the movie was good and saved it from 2 star status.Ultimately these two movies have less in common than most people would anticipate, and are really only loosely connected. Still, if you look at this for getting the 1946 version, but then end up also getting what would be a really "killer" free bonus feature of the 1964 version, you can still justify the purchase. And the bonus features do include yet another (shorter) take from 1956 as well (thanks Criterion). Picture and sound are excellent.On balance, 3 1/2 stars and worth getting if the price is right or you are a particular fan of someone.If you are looking for interesting truer noir though, Criterion has much better fare out there. This Japanese noir film is truly amazing:  Pale Flower (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray ].

Film noir at its best!!! Thank you.

This is a great value for two great movies and it's fun to compare them to each other.

This DVD came with two films: the original film The Killers (1946) with Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner and a 1964 remake by the same name. I bought it for the 1946 film and have not yet watched the remake. The 1946 film is classic film noir. It is well scripted and suspenseful, even though the narration informs the viewers of the eventual outcome. When I first saw this film on Turner Classic Movies, I was transfixed and decided it was a film I wanted to own. The original film is based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway. All I can tell you about the 1964 film is that it stars Lee Marvin, Angie Dickenson and John Cassavetes. The liner notes describe it as "a brutal version...intended for television, but deemed too violent for home audiences and released theatrically instead." Frankly, I love older films because the violence displayed is only that which the plot requires to advance. I'm very sick of gratuitous violence in films. I highly recommend The Killers (1946).

I did not expect for this movie to be so great, but it is. It is a perfect representation of the film noir genre. Just a great cast and great acting.

Great to have both the 1946 and 1964 versions together, it's a close run thing but I think that I prefer the Clu Gulager version. Both are essential viewing and Criterion have done a splendid job as usual in bringing them to bluray. Lots of extras for both films make this collection the one to buy.

An excellent package, which includes both film versions of Hemingway's story and a number of valuable extras like a reading of the original story. If you are interested in this area of cinema and literature, you should definitely get it.

There is no indication that this dvd can not be played on a region 2 dvd player, so it was useless to me.( one star rating is here to much)

Un coffret indispensable à tout cinéphile et/ou amateur de polars de très grande classe. Ou comment, d'une brève nouvelle d'Hemingway (dont le texte - pas terrible - est fourni) sortir deux chefs-d'oeuvres du genre à deux époques et donc avec deux approches générationnelles différentes. La version noir et blanc (au couteau) de Siodmak est magnifique mais celle en couleurs de Siegel (qui avait déjà été pressenti pour réaliser la 1ère !) la surpasse encore. Pour l'un, le sujet principal est la figure du "tué", pour l'autre, celles des tueurs. Avec chez les deux, les couples les plus torrides de leur époque : Burt Lancaster-Ava Gardner et John Cassavettes-Angie Dickinson. Si les tueurs de Siodmak (Charles McGraw et William Conrad) sont très inquiétants, que dire de Lee Marvin et Clu Gulager et surtout du premier dont c'est une des plus fortes interprétations ! L'ouverture et la conclusion d'"A bout portant" sont an-tho-lo-gi-ques !Pour le fun, la version Siegel offrit son dernier rôle à Ronald Reagan juste avant qu'il n'entre en politique. Reagan détestait ce film où il incarna son unique personnage de salopard au cinéma et il n'a jamais été aussi bon qu'ici.Parmi les suppléments (très riches), une curiosité : la version des "Tueurs" par le jeune Andrei Tarkovski en 1956. Un court-métrage de fin d'études très fidèle à la nouvelle mais assez limité.Déplorable coquille d'Amazon qui attribue ce DVD au Studio Gie Sphe-Tf1 alors qu'il s'agit évidemment des incontournables Carlotta !Tous les détails ici :[...][...]

Arrived on time and as promised. Probably the archetype Noir film, of the era. dgp