Customer Reviews

The Killers (The Criterion Collection)

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The first thing I would like to say is that "The Killers," is a superb production from the people at Criterion. Long renowned for the excellence of their titles, they really have outdone themselves this time `round. Not only do we have the two feature length versions of Hemmingway's story, from 1946 and 1964 respectively, but we have a wonderfully atmospheric audio reading of the original by Stacy Keach, a 1949 radio adaptation, AND Andriie Tarkovsky's 1956 student film version; "The Killers" x 5!!! Of the rest of the extensive "extras," the jewel in the crown is an interview with Clu Gulager, filmed in 2002, in which he tells some great stories about the 1964 production, and Lee Marvin in particular!

As much as I'm a huge fan of Film Noir, and Burt Lancaster, I have to admit I'd never even heard of the original 1946 version... shame on me! No, I bought this for the masterful Don Siegel version, staring Marvin, Gulager, Angie Dickenson, John Cassavetes, and in his only "bad guy" role, the future President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan! Indeed, it was one of the first films I looked for on DVD when I got my shiny-disc machine, and this is somewhat surprising, as I'd only ever seen the film once, sometime back in the 70's, on British TV!

This film, especially its electrifying final scenes, featuring an incredible performance by Marvin, seared itself into my memory for the better part of 30 years, and watching it again after all this time has NOT been a disappointment! The character of hit man "Charlie Strom" was, for me, the defining image of Lee Marvin. Tough - damn, forget "tough," we're talking hard-as-nails here! - menacing, cold, logical, world weary, and brutal, when the situation warrants it. His presence drives the film, a powerhouse performance; he commands the screen every minute he's up there on it, something Clu Gulager talks about in detail. And Clu's character, "Lee," is as different from Marvin's as it's possible to get. Younger and "hipper," he wears his shades because they make him look cool, and not just to disguise his identity. He's a health nut, always ready to crack a joke, but he has a sadistic streak, he enjoys the fear he instills in people, and whereas "Strom' uses violence as a tool, "Lee" enjoys it for its own sake.

Separated by nearly 20 years in the making, the films are, in reality, light years apart in everything but the name. The 1946 version starts strong when two hit men, Max and Al, played by William Conrad - anyone remember "Cannon?!" - and Charles McGraw respectively, breeze into town, then park themselves in the local dinner. They spit out wonderfully hard-boiled Hemmingway dialogue almost verbatim from the original story, terrorize the staff, and then go off to kill "The Swede." And that is where the original story ends, and it's exactly here that the film runs out of steam, with a dogged insurance investigator, played by Edmond O'Brian, spending the next hour or so trying to piece together what happened to "The Swede." It's effectively done, using flashbacks from various characters, but in comparison to those first 15 minutes or so, it seems pretty lightweight.

Don Siegal's "The Killers," on the other hand, is altogether much stronger meat. He takes the basic premise of Hemmingway's story, a man accepting his own death at the hands of two paid hit men, and runs with it in an entirely different direction. Told entirely from the perspective of the hit men themselves, the story really takes off when Marvin's character starts to think about what just happened, why the mark, ex-racing driver "Johnny North," didn't try to escape, didn't plead for his life. "If they had a chance," he says of all his previous hits, "they ran... but he just stood there and took it." Just as the original film used the device of flashbacks to tell the story, "Strom" and "Lee" set about joining the dots as they track down the various players in this dark morality tale concerning the missing dough from a robbery, a triple-crossing dame, and a love-sick fall-guy. There isn't a wasted line of dialogue or a superfluous frame of celluloid in the whole production, every part is played to perfection, including Claude Akins as "North's" old racing partner, and a wonderfully slimy Ronald Reagan, all pomaded hair, pursed lips, and cocked eyebrow, as crime boss "Jack Browning."

Siegal's "The Killers" was planned as the original TV Movie, but, possibly, in the aftermath of JFK's assassination, the film was deemed to be too violent, the subject matter of two gunmen committing cold-blooded murder just too much for network television. By today's standards, however, the violence is minimal, although the actual hit itself is very effectively staged. But then again, what makes it work are the performances of Marvin, Gulager, and Cassavetes, and the setting, a school for the blind where "North" is a teacher; there's no graphic, blood splattered, "dance of death!"

As a piece of modern Noir, I think Siegal's "The Killers" is exemplary, as is the magnificent production from The Criterion Collection... this really IS Essential Cinema, buy it today, you won't regret it!

The Killers from 1946, Burt Lancaster's debut movie, is fantastic. It is one of the finest in the noir genre. Ava Gardner is a truly devilish femme fetale. The plot is full of twists and turns. The film begins with the ending so to speak, like Sunset Boulevard. The mise-en-scene is stylish and dark. I highly recommend this film for fans of film noir.

The DVD is an excellent print. It is sharp and the soundtrack is well restored.

The "remake" for TV (1964) starring Lee Marvin and co-starring Ronald Reagan (as a heavy no less) is included. It bears little resemblence to the original. The film focuses on the killers this time, rather than an insurance detective. The killers are a preview of the kind of characters we would see thirty years later in Pulp Fiction.

Despite the commonality of the source material, one would not expect these movies to be joined at the hip like Siamese twins. The 1946 Siodmak is definitive noir: black and white, contrasty, artfully lit, with William Conrad and Charles McGraw in the title roles, played almost as extras -- shadowy figures spouting Hemingway dialogue in an Eisneresque diner in a mythical New Jersey. The 1964 Siegel version, brightly-lit in color, casts the killers as the central characters, played not-quite-for-laughs in over-the-top characterizations by a prime-of-life Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager, (a very funny actor, who has also recorded a sensitive commentary) the philosopher hit-man and the health-food nut -- precursors perhaps of the Travolta and Jackson characterizations of Pulp Fiction. There's an excellent and knowledgeable reading of the Hemingway story by Stacy Keach, a poorly read excerpt from Don Siegel's autobiography, an interview with Siegel's biographer, a radio play with Lancaster and Shelley Winters (!) and for completists of Tarkovsky, a risible but competent student film. All in all a grab-bag that even includes an uncredited appearance of Charles "Ming the Merciless" Middleton as the farmer in the 1947 version. Marvin is hot, Gulager is a hoot, Lancaster a hunk and Ava a beauty. Then there's an Edmund O'Brien performance that's as subtle as the one he would give in The Wild Bunch. And for the political, John Cassavetes decks Ronald Reagan, who gives a cold, professional performance, and gets to slap Angie Dickinson. A great package, the sum worth more than the parts.

What more can I add to the reviews below? The Clu Gulager interview is absolutely fantastic. He reveals some very interesting facts regarding the filming and makes strong positive comments about his co-stars and the director. The Stacy Keach reading is also excellent.

The Killers (1946) - How do you make an interesting movie when the character the movie ostensibly is all about is just a dumb lug, as interesting as a boiled potato? The Swede stumbles into one situation after another, willing to believe in true love or lies. For me, director Robert Siodmak and screenwriters Anthony Veiller, Richard Brooks and John Huston (the last two uncredited) solve this problem three ways.

First, there is the great look and style of the movie. I think it's impossible to say one movie looks better than all others, especially when it comes to noirs, but The Killers nails as well as any the dark, foreboding feel of cheap hotel rooms, shadowy streets and close-ups of white, worried faces. Second, all the flashbacks in this movie create the sense of a complex jigsaw puzzle slowly being solved. The story not only becomes complicated and interesting, it's great fun to see what the next piece in the puzzle is going to show us. And what helps make all those puzzle pieces interesting is the cast of characters who take turns in the flashback spotlights. There's not a dud actor in the lot. And third, for me, is the sourness of the ending. No, not the last scene of a smiling Edmond O'Brien jauntily leaving his boss's office. It's the revelation of what a nasty piece of work Kitty Collins really was and how far out of her league was the Swede. He was just a big, thick-eared guy who, in other circumstances, might have gone straight, but he didn't have a chance when he saw Kitty that first time at the party sitting next to the piano player. I don't think this was what Rodgers and Hammerstein had in mind when they wrote about seeing a stranger across a crowded room.

Besides, "I did something wrong once" is a great line to power a crime movie with.

What also struck me is the simplicity of the logic behind Jim Colfax' decision to unleash the two hit men onto the Swede. At first, it seemed so much smarter just to let things coast by. But Colfax's reasoning holds up if you think about it, and that logic powers the action of the movie. What doesn't hold up is the motivation of the two hit men's behavior in the diner. How much easier it would have been to walk in, sit down and order a couple of cups of coffee. Then mention they were in town to pay back some money to the Swede but they don't have his address. Anybody know where he lives? Someone would have said, "Why, sure. He lives at Ma's boarding house just a couple of blocks from here." I know, this more practical approach would have gutted the foreboding and nervousness of the movie. I'm not advocating this, just suggesting that it's a little bothersome when a great plot device has a flaw.

The Killers (1964) - You know there's a problem when the extras on the DVD disc are more interesting than the movie itself. The excerpts from the memos written by whoever worked at Hollywood's Department to Avoid Naughty Situations are great fun. What is sadder are the memos and notes from director Don Siegel pointing out the weaknesses in the 1946 version and how they needed to be avoided...then seeing how he managed to turn out a movie considerably less interesting than the original.

Siegel was making a TV movie, then saw it released on the big screen when the violence seemed to be too extreme for home viewing. The movie has that flat, clear look that says "television." The back-screen projections are even worse than Hitchcock's. The racing sequences seem to go and on, looking both artificial and silly...actors who wear racing goggles end up looking as out of place as politicians who let themselves be photographed wearing helmets. The Sixties look has dated the movie mightily. When I saw the two bad guys, Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager walking around with their sunglasses on, I thought I was watching an Ackroyd/Belushi skit. (Marvin quickly set me straight on that.)

On the plus side, depending on how much you respond to vicious bullies, Lee Marvin does a fine job. The last third of the film, starting when the robbery takes place and then into the last two flashbacks and the conclusion, picks up a nice head of double-crossing steam. The last fifteen minutes or so, starting when Marvin and Gulager show up in Ronald Reagan's office, are so good I wished the whole film had reached that level. I suspect that without this movie sharing the same title as the 1946 film, and without Criterion resurrecting it to accompany the 1946 film, Siegel's version would be forgotten.

The Killers (1946) is a first-rate movie. The Killers (1964) is not. It's amusing to be able to see them side-by-side. Both have first-rate film transfers and a multitude of extras. Thanks, Criterion.

The Criterion Collection has moved beyond its original efforts toward film preservation, into actual education. Some of their most recent products feel almost like a portable film school, and this 2-DVD set of _The Killers_ is one of the company's best efforts to date.

This package features two very different, largely unrelated B-movies based on the same Ernest Hemingway short story. The lushly romantic 1946 version, directed by Robert Siodmak, is better known, if only for the iconic performances of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. But the 1964 Don Siegel film -- shot for NBC television but rejected for its violence -- has plenty of strong points, including what may be Lee Marvin's best performance (although I think his work in Samuel Fuller's _Big Red One_ is marginally better). In his last screen appearance, Ronald Reagan plays a heartless, calculating villain to bone-chilling perfection.

Extras include interviews, essays, and audio clips analyzing both films, though neither film features a separate audio commentary. There are also extra goodies for devoted cineastes and literature buffs. Criterion gives us Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky's student film of _The Killers_ (which features some fascinating, subtly pro-American cultural references). Stacy Keach reads the story aloud on Disc 1; excerpts from Don Siegel's autobiography are featured on Disc 2.

If that's not enough, the package also features Paul Schrader's masterful 1972 essay "Notes on Film Noir." With such a treasure trove of extras, this package could be used as a guide to mid-century American B-movies -- well worth owning for cinema buffs.

Why would a man, who knows he's about to die, not care enough to save himself when he has the chance? This question lies at the centre of Ernest Hemingway's short story, "The Killers." It would be a question that would inspire three filmmakers to create their own cinematic adaptations of Hemingway's tale. The folks at Criterion have collected all three versions of The Killers and presented them in a comprehensive two-DVD set.

The first DVD, with the 1946 version, features an impressive introduction into the film noir genre. Author and screenwriter, Stuart Kaminsky is interviewed at length about the origins of film noir and the similarities and differences between the 1946 and 1964 versions and how they compare to Hemingway's original short story.

In an amazing bit of cinematic archaeology, Criterion found Russian filmmaker, Andrei Tarkovsky's take on The Killers. It's very minimalist in style and set design but is quite faithful to Hemingway's story.

Another highlight on this disc is writer-director, Paul Schrader's seminal essay, "Notes on Film Noir." Schrader outlines and defines the characteristics of film noir and puts it into a historical context.

The second disc, with the 1964 version, doesn't feature as many extras but does present a fascinating look at how Siegel's film evolved from a made-for-TV movie to a theatrical release. Some of the highlights include a hilarious memo from NBC's Broadcast Standards Department as they outline all the objectionable material they found in the screenplay. It becomes readily apparent that Siegel ignored all their suggestions and kept in all the offending material!

For fans of film noir this is an essential purchase as these two films are given the deluxe Criterion treatment. The prints of both films have been lovingly re-mastered and have never looked better. The wealth of extras entertain and educate, making this set an excellent primer for anyone interested in learning more about film noir.

More than sex, food or survival, we are creatures driven to find meaning in our lives (or so it's said by those who claim to know such things). A recent film that taps into that mindset, with varying degrees of success, is now available in a fine digital edition.

Ernest Hemingway's famous short story, THE KILLERS, appears in three incarnations on this loaded Double Disc Special Edition. Robert Siodmak's 1946 version is best remembered for the luminous presence of Ava Gardner and the striking black-and-white cinematography of Woody Bredell. The essence of Hemingway's story about why Ole The Swede (Burt Lancaster) would passively accept his execution at the hands of hired killers takes up about 15 minutes of screen time. The rest is a look at the back story via an insurance investigation of his death.

This moody film whirls around an amoral central theme as all those connected to The Swede ironically seek meaning in his death. Also here is Don Siegel's 1964 movie Ernest Hemingway's The Killers, although not much of Hemingway's story remains. The cast features a menacing and unmannered young Lee Marvin and the last film appearance of Ronald Reagan in his only role as a heavy. And he's great.

Over 16 bonus features include Andrei Tarkovsky's 1956 student film of The Killers. Criterion is to be commended on the exquisite digital transfer of Siodmak's film.

The Killers (1946) is an excellent film noir that is virtual eye candy. Every scene is beautifully shot with intense blacks, pristine whites and shadowy silhouettes. Cinematographer Elwood Bredell did an outstanding job on a film that is as beautiful as it is well written with a storyline that immediately connects to the audience.

The transfer however, does not do this film justice. When I shelled out the [money] for this double disc, I EXPECTED a transfer that rivaled my Mildred Pierce disc from Warners and Sunset Boulevard from Paramount. This disc does not even come close to the perfection of the aforementioned discs by less expensive studios. The extras on Mildred Pierce and Sunset Boulevard RIVAL the extras on this one - for HALF THE PRICE. This transfer is grainy, with artifacts and a constant thin white line running down the right hand side of the film that is distracting. It is extremely frustrating to watch such a cinematic masterpiece presented in this condition. After two Criterion discs that are grainy and inferiorally transferred, I now associate them with Madacy, under the guise of excellence.

The reviews written below best describe the plotline of this film. I will however say that Burt Lancaster as the duped lover and Ava Gardner as the ultimate femme fatale are terrific in the leads.

This is a Universal film and with any luck they will re-release it in the condition that it deserves to be released in - flawless.

This 3 film double disc set is another great release by the Criterion Collection.

The set contains 3 film versions of "The Killers" all based on a short story by Ernest Hemmingway.

The first film was relaesed in 1946 and stars Burt Lancaster. A man known as "The Swede" is killed and the people in the area try to find out why. Much of the film is of flashback sequences involving the deceased and the events leading up to his murder. i don't want to say too much about the film as I don't like giving spoilers unless asked to.

The second film was made in 1958 by the famous Russian director, Andrei Tarkovsky. This was his first film which he made while a student at the film academy. It is a short film but is still good.

The third, made in 1964 is much more loosely based on the story but has an all-star cast including Ronald Reagan's last film and his only role as a villian. Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes and, Clu Gulager are also in the film. It has some great acting by all four of them, and the screenplay was written by Gene Coon, best known for producign and writing stories for many episodes of the Original Star Trek series. It was originally slated to be the first made for TV movie, but was shown in theaters instead because of the violence.

Each film is worth watching and has some great scenes.

The Criterion Collection set includes some fine extra features also.

Disc 1 contains the first two verisons of the film, plus the following:

The original Hemmingway short tory read by actor Stacy Keach.
an optional music and sound effects only audio track.
a Paul Schrader's essay about the film noir genre
a video interview with screenwriter Stuart M. Kaminsky
The 1949 Screen Director's Playhouse radio broadcast of a drama based on the story
Actor biographies
Trailers for several of the director's films
and a slide show of production, behind the scenes, and publicity photos pluse a facsimilie of the press book.

Disc 2 constains the 1964 version plus the following:

Actor biographies
a visual fascsimile of correspondence between the filmmakers and the TV censors
behind the scenes photos
theactical trailers
scenes from a flilm about the prodiciton of the release
a video interview with actor Clu Gulager.

this is a fine set to buy for persons who are fans of Hemmingway or Reagan. I highly recommend it.