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Kiss Me Deadly (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Ralph Meeker (Actor), Cloris Leachman (Actor), Robert Aldrich (Director) Rated:
NR
Format: Blu-ray
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 612 ratings
IMDb7.5/10.0
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Genre Mystery & Suspense/Film Noir, Mystery & Suspense
Format Blu-ray
Contributor Gaby Rodgers, Ralph Meeker, Maxine Copper, Cloris Leachman, Albert Dekker, Robert Aldrich, Wesely Addy See more
Language English
Runtime 1 hour and 46 minutes
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Product Description

In this atomic adaptation of Mickey Spillane’s novel, directed by Robert Aldrich (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Dirty Dozen), the good manners of the 1950s are blown to smithereens. Ralph Meeker (Paths of Glory, The Dirty Dozen) stars as snarling private dick Mike Hammer, whose decision one dark, lonely night to pick up a hitchhiking woman sends him down some terrifying byways. Brazen and bleak, Kiss Me Deadly is a film noir masterpiece as well as an essential piece of cold war paranoia, and it features as nervy an ending as has ever been seen in American cinema.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 1.44 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ CRRN2021BR
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Robert Aldrich
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 46 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ June 21, 2011
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Ralph Meeker, Cloris Leachman, Gaby Rodgers, Maxine Copper, Albert Dekker
  • Language ‏ : ‎ Unqualified (THX Surround EX)
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Criterion Collection
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004S801YK
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 612 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
612 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

James C Girasa
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Mike Hammer Movies
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2017
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This review is for the Blu-Ray version of Kiss Me Deadly released by Criterion in 2011.

This is an excellent release and highly recommended for fans of Mike Hammer, film noir and even science fiction.
This movie also serves as a kind of a time capsule for old Los Angeles.

BLU-RAY: The picture is excellent. It is presented in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. Inside the booklet that comes with this release there is information on the film transfer. It says that on a standard tv that it will appear letterboxed and that there will be bars if on the side if you watched on a wide screen tv as I did. The HD digital transfer was made from a 35mm master positive. Dirt, debris, scratches, etc. were manually removed. The monaural soundtrack was remastered.

PLOT/SUMMARY: The movie opens with a naked girl running out onto a road that Mike Hammer is driving on one evening. Mike drives off the road and gives the girl a ride. She tells Mike that she was put in a mental institution and to "Remember Me." Shortly they are stopped by some thugs. They kill the girl and beat up Mike and send him and his car over a cliff. Mike survives and wakes up in a hospital. He is now determined to find out why the girl was killed and go after the girl's killers.
From here the story takes several turns. Mike follows up leads throughout Los Angeles and eventually comes across a glowing case. It is implied that the case is the material for a nuclear bomb. Velda ends up getting kidnapped and Mike goes after Velda.

EXTRA'S: There are plenty of extra's with this release. This is a strong point of this release. They are as follows:
1) Double sided cover sleeve with the chapters on the reverse.
2) 20 page booklet - There are two articles, "The Thriller of Tomorrow" by J. Hoberman and "You Can't Hang Up the Meat Hook" by Robert Aldrich, the director. There is also information on the restoration and credits and photographs.
3) Audio Commentary by film noir specialists Alain Silver and James Ursini.
4) Video tribute by director Alex Cox - This was quite entertaining to listen to. Cox has that sarcastic humor that so many of the British have.
5)The Long Haul of A.I. Bezzerides, a documentary on the screenwriter of Kiss Me Deadly.
6)Mike Hammer's Mickey Spillane - This is a documentary made in 1998 of Mickey Spillane. Spillane is his usual entertaining self in his interview. He tells lots of stories and elaborates on his feelings about the Mike Hammer films. He did not like Kiss Me Deadly when it came out and he says he left the theater half way though the movie.
7)Film's Locations - You get to see comparisons of all the locations when filmed and how they look today.
8) Altered Ending - Self explanatory. The altered ending is not a different ending, it just cuts out the final minute of the movie and places 'The End' over the burning house.
9) Theatrical Trailer

All in all, some excellent extra's!

PRODUCTION: The movie had a budget of around $400,000 and was filmed in locations around Los Angeles in 1955.

There are two different endings to this movie. There had been rumors that the original has Mike Hammer die in the house at the end as the house burns down....or at least he isn't shown escaping so you can assume that. It is true that this version exists but it is not the original ending. The original ending is the one presented in this release where Mike and Velda escape to the beach. The alternate ending is the one that was shown sometime after the first release that shows the house burning with the words The End superimposed over it. This one has the last minute cut from it showing Mike and Velda running away.

This movie was not easy to get made. At the time, Mike Hammer had a reputation for being extremely violent and the censors didn't want to approve the movie. One of the ways that they got the movie approved was by Mike Hammer not using his gun. His gun is taken away by Pat early on in the movie.

There are distinct differences between the book and the movie. The most obvious difference is that in the book the 'bad guys' are the mafia not some guys (terrorists?) trying to get their hands on a nuclear bomb.
Also, Mike's main occupation is basically catching cheating spouses in the act. He uses Velda to set up the husbands.

The title's meaning was changed with an ever so slight change. The book has a comma in it's title after Kiss Me. So it reads Kiss Me, Deadly. This movie does not, thus changing the message of the title.

THOUGHTS/COMMENTS: I agree with most critics who say that Ralph Meeker was the best Mike Hammer. While he didn't have the rough look you might imagine from the books, he is a large guy and has a tough demeanor.

I loved the fact that this movie was not shot in a studio and that most of the locations are filmed in old Los Angeles. You get to see many locations that don't exist in the same state anymore, most notably, the Bunker Hill scenes.

This story, like many detective stories gets a bit confusing if you don't really pay attention. I had to go back a few times because I couldn't remember who all the people named were.

I did not like the casting of Maxine Cooper as Velda. I've read all of the Mike Hammer books and Cooper is just not what I had pictured in my head as Velda. I always imagined a more glamorous looking girl.

While Mike Hammer's violent nature was toned down for this movie by necessity in order to get it made, he does exhibit some violent behavior in other ways than shooting people. He uses his fists to beat up a mugger before throwing him down a long staircase. He smashes a collector's valuable record and he slams a drawer shut on an old man's hand.

I liked the implication that the glowing case was Pandora's Box and the very creepy noise it made when opened.

RECOMMENDATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: I think that this is an excellent release by Criterion. I'm giving it 5 stars based on the excellent picture and excellent extra's.

Highly recommended for fans of Mike Hammer and also for fans of science fiction films of the 50's. The movie is included in Bill Warren's excellent 'Keep Watching the Skies,' a book on all science fiction films from 1950-1962. It is included for the reason that the Pandora's Box in the movie sort of allows this movie to be called science fiction. If they had stuck to the book's story line then this would not be so.
35 people found this helpful
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Thomas L. Doering
5.0 out of 5 stars Kiss Me Deadly DVD
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2024
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Kiss Me Deadly is a top notch Film Noir movie, underrated and captivating, deals with radioactive Cobalt 14. A low budget but high quality Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer Crime Drama. Original budget was only $410,000.
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John Curtis
5.0 out of 5 stars Noir Movie
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024
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Good Noir movie by a great director
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Joseph P. Menta, Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars A genuinely pleasant surprise
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2001
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The temptation these days is to dust off modestly entertaining but little known films of the past, slap 'em in a nice DVD package, and market them as "the cult classic that's finally on DVD!" At first glance, that seems to be the case here. But I have to admit that after watching my new DVD of "Kiss Me Deadly" (which I ordered from Amazon after they helpfully sent me an e-mail about the movie, announcing its availability in the fashion described above), I happily added it to my growing DVD collection instead of targeting it for unloading or trade. Here are five things that this film noir fan liked, or at least found interesting, about this movie:
1) The Mike Hammer of the books, who is a man of conscience (if not pacifism), is converted here into a sleazy detective who wallows in messy divorce cases, manipulating their outcome to his advantage. One may not like this interpretation, but it's undeniably interesting and different. Funny thing, though: despite the alterations to his character, Hammer still remains somewhat likable.
2) Classical music (symphonies, opera, etc.) is heard repeatedly throughout the film, usually emanating from radios in the dwellings Hammer visits during his investigation. Don't know exactly why, but I liked the juxtaposition of hearing cultured music while watching the sleazy, brutal elements of the story unfold.
3) Hammer drives a couple of cool looking open-top convertibles during the movie, and we are sometimes treated to a sort of hovering-over-the-trunk-looking-forward view as he drives along. Most movies settle for the usual camera-in-the-backseat-looking-over-the-driver's-shoulder shot, but the innovative set up described above allows us to drive along with Hammer AND see most of the cool car's exterior, too. It's hard to describe these shots in a more specific manner, but viewers will notice and appreciate them immediately.
4) I liked the mysterious box with the strange, glowing contents that everyone is after. It's creepy and fun. Also fun to think about: the plot device of having an object that everyone badly wants is clearly inspired by "The Maltese Falcon", and the fact that the object here is a box with something glowing inside it in turn inspired a similar item in the film "Pulp Fiction" decades later!
5) It was a good move to affix the longer ending onto the DVD release of this film. Simply put (but without giving too much away here), the longer ending makes it clear whether or not our hero survives this adventure. The shorter ending (included in the DVD's "extras" section, so viewers can compare for themselves) is ambiguous and unsatisfying, as one could make a case either way about Hammer's fate. There is certainly a place in film noir for ambiguity, but- trust me- in this particular story it's much better to know for sure who lives and who dies.
So, if not a true "cult classic", I guess I have to say that "Kiss Me Deadly" is nevertheless a solid entry in the private eye genre, and it delivers the goods. The movie is moody, involving, dangerous, sexy, and damned fun to watch. It has all the things one likes to see in private eye movies, but several original touches, too. Oh, yes- the DVD features a picture that is crystal clear and sharp as a knife; it looks like they made the film yesterday. In short, pick this one up.
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Matt.H
5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious movie. Beauty transfer.
Reviewed in Canada on September 20, 2021
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This movie has grown on me the more I watch it. I am happy there was a recent price drop on the blu ray and I may not have purchased it. Very happy with the transfer, the price and the quality of supplemental materials.
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Phil Knight
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2023
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Kiss Me Deadly (1955) directed by Robert Aldrich

I have been wanting to see this movie again for years. It is the one with something horrific in a box. In the Mickey Spillane novel upon which this film is based, it is a shipment of narcotics everyone is after. However in the movie, it is newly discovered radioactive isotope. And hardboiled PI Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) has to stop Soviet agents getting to it, not the Mafia. This gives the movie a sci-fi edge.

The Kefauver Commission, a US federal government group investing corrupting influences in the media. Condemned the movie as "the number one menace to American youth". That is probably because the three bare foot women Hammer encounters MIGHT BE naked under their bath robes or raincoats! Sounds like a good way to catch a cold if you ask me. This must explain why the commission was so worried, it did not want young ladies going forth bare foot and nude under their trenchcoats, and catching the sniffles. Very sensible.

The crisp and clear black and white film photography is brilliant. These digital movies shot in colour and then degraded to appear black and white have never looked right to me.
And the movie's ending is still extremely powerful.
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Baja
4.0 out of 5 stars Bueno
Reviewed in Spain on May 10, 2019
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Visionado
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roby
5.0 out of 5 stars Un Bacio e Una Pistola
Reviewed in Italy on June 6, 2018
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Capolavoro del noir del grande Aldrich. Dvd di buona fattura con anche la lingua e i sottotitoli in italiano. Spedizione puntuale come sempre
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cinwdr
5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie fully restored at last.
Reviewed in Australia on February 4, 2021
Verified Purchase
Robert Aldrich's KISS ME DEADLY is a classic that has never appeared in a properly restored and presented version until now.
The film is ground-breaking and sensational, as many of Aldrich's films are.
It takes Mickey Spillane's hero and some of his book and turns them into something truly mythological and even poetic.
Of course, this will not be to everyone's taste. Some younger children and even some adults may find the movie frightening and/or incomprehensible -- and no one should be forced to watch a movie they don't like. People have different tastes and I do not mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with that.
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